Basic Laptop Desktop Software Diagnostics Guide

Basic Laptop_Desktop (Software) Diagnostics Guide

Basic Laptop/Desktop (Software) Diagnostics Guide

Software Diagnostics Checklist:

  • Reboot the machine
  • Run Malware Scan
  • Check for Windows/drivers updates
  • Run SFC/DISM/DEFRAG/CHKDSK, then reboot once finished
  • Check for any VPN or 3rd party programs & remove, then reboot machine
  • Disable & Enable drivers
  • Manually install correct drivers
  • Insert USB Wi-Fi dongle to force network card drivers to be recognized through the machine (in the event that the computer stops recognizing all Wi-Fi networks).
  • Reinstall Windows through the desktop
    1. Keep Data
    2. This will push any missing updates & fix corrupted updates that SFC couldn’t.
  • Research the issue online and attempt further troubleshooting found online.

Once this list of items has been completed, if the issue is still not resolved, then you can reach out to me.

Example.) Customer brought in a laptop because it has stopped recognizing/connecting to Wi-Fi. We verify the issue and check it in under Software Diagnostics – Labor. We would follow the above checklist, in that order, to see if any of the above resolves the issue. In this example, the above checklist did not resolve the issue. That tells me the network card has gone bad. We can replace the network card (if it’s non-integrated) for $25 more, or the customer can purchase a Wi-Fi dongle for $30 more. If replacing the Network Card does not work, and the machine does not recognize the Wi-Fi dongle, then that tells us there’s a board failure. The machine will need to be replaced.

Revision History

  • Status: approved
  • Imported from legacy approved SOP archive

Reference Videos

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