Another new tool you can use to diagnose hardware failures in
Windows 7 is a troubleshooter. Troubleshooters are
wizards that automatically attempt to diagnose and repair common
computer problems. Windows 7 includes many built-in troubleshooters,
but many more are likely to appear through third-party vendors by
means of the new Windows Troubleshooting Platform. The Windows
Troubleshooting Platform exposes detailed troubleshooting information
about the Windows environment through a scripting interface and then
provides a simple framework for creating new troubleshooting wizards.
As a result, software vendors, equipment manufacturers, and even
administrators can create new troubleshooters that help diagnose and
fix a particular device, application, or configuration area.
For example, an external hard drive manufacturer can easily
create a troubleshooter that helps customers diagnose and fix errors
related to this hard drive before the customers call tech support.
Also, an administrator can create a troubleshooter that detects and
fixes the most commonly observed problems on the local business
network, and then she can instruct users to run this troubleshooter
before calling the help desk.
At the time of this writing, Windows includes 23 built-in
troubleshooters, all of which are shown in Table 1. A few of these
built-in troubleshooters, such as Hardware And Devices, Playing Audio,
and Network Adapter, are designed to help diagnose hardware problems
specifically. In addition, the System Maintenance troubleshooter
includes a routine to check locally attached hard disks for bad
sectors, lost clusters, cross-linked files, and directory
errors.
Of the 23 troubleshooters listed, all but Devices And Printers
are available in Control Panel. The Devices And Printers
troubleshooter is discussed later in this lesson in the section Running the Devices And Printers Troubleshooter.
Note
TROUBLESHOOTING PACKS
The features of each troubleshooter are
defined in a set of scripts called a troubleshooting pack. Troubleshooting packs are created by using Windows
PowerShell, a scripting language and execution environment used for
Windows administration. Windows PowerShell is relatively easy to
learn, so you do not have to be a seasoned programmer to create a
troubleshooting pack. You can view the troubleshooting packs
installed on your system by navigating to
C:\Windows\Diagnostics\System.
Table 1. Built-in Windows 7 Troubleshooters
|
Troubleshooter |
Troubleshooting goal |
Category |
|---|
|
Aero |
Display Aero effects such as
transparency. |
Desktop Experience |
|
Connection To A Workplace Using
DirectAccess |
Connect to your workplace network over the
Internet. |
Network |
|
Devices And Printers |
Establish functionality for a device or
printer. |
Device, Printing |
|
Hardware And Devices |
Use hardware and access devices connected to your
computer. |
Device |
|
HomeGroup |
View computers or shared files in a
homegroup. |
Network |
|
Incoming Connections |
Allow other computers to communicate with your
computer through Windows Firewall. |
Network |
|
Internet Connections |
Connect to the Internet or to a particular Web
site. |
Network |
|
Internet Explorer Performance |
Help prevent add-on problems, and optimize
temporary files and connections. |
Web Browser |
|
Internet Explorer Safety |
Help prevent malware, pop-ups, and online
attacks. |
Web Browser |
|
Network Adapter |
Establish functionality for Ethernet, wireless,
or other network adapters. |
Network |
|
Performance |
Help improve overall speed and performance of
system. |
Performance |
|
Playing Audio |
Play sounds and other audio such as music
files. |
Sound |
|
Power |
Help improve battery life and reduce power
usage. |
Power |
|
Printer |
Establish functionality for a
printer. |
Printing |
|
Program Compatibility |
Make older programs run in this version of
Windows. |
Programs |
|
Recording Audio |
Record audio input from a microphone or other
source. |
Sound |
|
Search And Indexing |
Find items on your computer using Windows
Search. |
Windows |
|
Shared Folders |
Access shared files and folders on other
computers. |
Network |
|
System Maintenance |
Clean up unused files and shortcuts, check hard
disk volumes for errors, and perform other maintenance
tasks. |
System |
|
Windows Media Player DVD |
Play a DVD by using Windows Media
Player. |
Media Player |
|
Windows Media Player Library |
Make media files show up in the Windows Media
Player library. |
Media Player |
|
Windows Media Player Settings |
Reset Windows Media player to default
settings. |
Media Player |
|
Windows Update |
Establish proper functionality for Windows
Update. |
Windows |
1. Running Control Panel Troubleshooters
Most troubleshooters built into Windows 7 are available through the Troubleshooting
item in Control Panel. You should become familiar with these
Control Panel troubleshooters before you need them so
that you know which ones can help you when a problem arises. For
example, if in your job you are called upon to troubleshoot an audio
device, it is helpful for you to know that a built-in Playing Audio troubleshooter is available through
Control Panel. To access Control Panel troubleshooters, first open the Action
Center and click Troubleshooting, as shown in Figure 1.
This step opens the main window of the Troubleshooting item in
Control Panel, shown in Figure 2.
If you already see in this window a link to a particular
troubleshooter (such as Configure A Device) that you want to run,
you can select that link at this point. If you want to review a
complete list of all available troubleshooters without categories,
click View All on the left side of the window.
Otherwise, choose a troubleshooting category. For example, if
you want to troubleshoot a device, click the Hardware And Sound category to open the Troubleshoot
Problems - Hardware And Sound page, shown in Figure 3. Within the
Hardware And Sound category, the Windows 7 troubleshooters that are available at the
time of this writing are Playing Audio, Recording Audio, Hardware
And Devices, Network Adapter, Printer, and Windows Media Player
DVD.
From the list of available troubleshooters, select the
troubleshooter that you want to run. For example, if you are having
trouble with a network adapter, click Network Adapter. The first
page of the Network Adapter troubleshooter is shown in Figure 4.
