Chapter 16

Troubleshooting Operating Systems

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode: Windows Recovery Environment

Core 2: 2.3 Given a scenario, detect, remove, and prevent

malware using the appropriate tools and methods.
Objective(s):
Core 2: 3.1 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common Windows
OS problems.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode Description

The Windows Recovery Environment

(WinRE) provides technicians a powerful
toolset for repairing and recovering
Windows systems. While powerful, WinRE is
also easy to use once a tech understands
the function of all the tools it includes.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms
• 0:34 - Windows Preinstallation Environment
(WinPE)
• 0:55 - Windows Recovery Environment
(WinRE)
• 1:38 - Objective term - Click "Repair your
computer" to access the WinRE options
• 2:01 - Objective term - System Restore
• 2:17 - Objective term - Uninstall/roll back
updates

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms

• 2:34 - Objective term - Use System Image

Recovery to reimage a system
• 3:11 - Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition
• 3:11 - EaseUS Todo Backup Free
• 3:46 - Startup Repair
• 4:07 - Command Prompt

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Quick Review
• Select “Repair your computer” in the
Windows Preinstallation Environment
(WinPE) to access the Windows Recovery
Environment (WinRE)
• Advanced options offer System
Restore, Uninstall Updates, System Image
Recovery, and Startup Repair
• The Command Prompt option opens
the Windows command-line interface

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Advanced Windows Startup
Episode:
Options

Core 2: 3.3 Given a scenario, use best practice

Objective(s):
procedures for malware removal.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode Description

Advanced Startup Options was the go-to

tool before WinRE, providing many features
(such as Safe mode) that helped techs fix
Windows systems. Advanced Startup
Options live on in WinRE, so it’s important
for techs to know how to access and use
this tool.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms

• 0:23 - Objective term - Safe boot

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Quick Review
• To get to Safe mode options in
Windows 10/11, select Boot in System
Configuration for Safe boot
• Alternatively, intentionally crash your
system several times in a row to
get Advanced options
• Startup Settings offer debugging, boot
logging, Safe mode, and more

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode: Troubleshooting Boot Problems

Core 1: 5.2 Given a scenario, troubleshoot problems related to motherboards,

RAM, CPU, and power.
Core 2: 1.3 Given a scenario, use features and tools of the Microsoft Windows
Objective(s): 10 operating system (OS).
Core 2: 1.4 Given a scenario, use the appropriate Microsoft Windows 10
Control Panel utility.
Core 2: 1.9 Given a scenario, perform OS installations and upgrades in a
diverse OS environment.
Core 2: 3.1 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common Windows OS problems.
Core 2: 3.3 Given a scenario, use best practice procedures for malware
removal.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode Description

There are a thousand reasons for a

Windows system to not boot properly. The
trick is to separate the different reasons
into distinct areas and then understand the
right tools to diagnose the problems.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms
• 0:35 - Objective term - 1. Boot problems
• 0:48 - 2. Windows never loads to a desktop
• 1:00 - 3. Bizarre things happen at desktop level
• 1:07 - Objective term - Blue screen of death
(BSoD)
• 1:18 - Objective term - Black screen
• 2:17 - Device driver issues
• 2:47 - Objective term - Step 1: Boot to Safe
mode (Safe boot)
• 2:57 - Objective term - Reboot

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms
• 3:14 - Objective term - Step 2: Get to Device
Manager
• 4:31 - Roll back device driver
• 4:44 - Update driver
• 4:56 - Disable device
• 5:32 - Objective term - Event Viewer
• 7:33 - Objective term - No OS found
• 7:48 - Objective term - Reset/update boot order
• 8:46 - WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment)
• 9:00 - Objective term - Repair installation

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Quick Review
• A black screen on a booted computer often
indicates a video driver problem
• Get to Safe mode and try Roll Back Driver
or Update Driver in Device Manager
• For other errors like no boot device, check
boot order in System setup
• Major failure after installing a new device?
Uninstall the device and try again

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode: Troubleshooting at the GUI

Core 2: 1.2 Given a scenario, use the appropriate Microsoft command-

line tool.
Core 2: 1.3 Given a scenario, use features and tools of the Microsoft
Objective(s): Windows 10 operating system (OS).
Core 2: 3.1 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common Windows OS
problems.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode Description

When a system boots there is a point where

Windows begins to load. Any boot failure
between the initial Windows boot and the
Windows Desktop requires careful
understanding and use of multiple tools to
diagnose and repair.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms

• 0:34 - Objective term - Reboot

• 1:50 - Objective term - Event Viewer
• 3:48 - Objective term - chkdsk /f
• 4:16 - Mark Russinovich – Sysinternals
• 4:34 - Autoruns
• 5:48 - www.sysinternals.com
• 6:07 - Objective term - Corrupted profile
• 7:08 - Neosmart.net/wiki/corrupt-user-profile

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Quick Review
• Try rebooting when you encounter a
startup problem
• Check the logs in Event Viewer in Safe
mode
• Try Autoruns from Sysinternals for
stopping programs that load on boot
• Create a new user account and copy old
profile to try to recover from corrupted
profile

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode: Troubleshooting Applications

Core 1: 5.2 Given a scenario, troubleshoot problems related to motherboards,

RAM, CPU, and power.
Core 2: 1.2 Given a scenario, use the appropriate Microsoft command-line tool.
Objective(s): Core 2: 1.3 Given a scenario, use features and tools of the Microsoft Windows
10 operating system (OS).
Core 2: 3.1 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common Windows OS problems.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode Description

Applications cause trouble at two main

times. The first is right after Windows
finishes loading and then loads startup
applications. After that, applications can
cause trouble any time a user starts one to
get their work done. Either way,
applications require special understanding
to troubleshoot.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms

• 0:23 - Objective term - 1. System running

slow/sluggish performance
• 0:26 - Objective term - 2. Applications
crashing
• 0:29 - Objective term - 3. Problems with
services
• 2:28 - Objective term - Defragmentation
• 2:35 - Objective term - chkdsk
• 4:09 - Application repair

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms

• 4:44 - Objective term - Uninstall and

reinstall application
• 5:02 - Apply updates
• 5:36 - Objective term - Services that fail to
start
• 5:46 - Objective term - Restart the
service…but wait! There’s more!

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Quick Review
• When you have sluggish performance, try
Task Manager to find and kill programs
hogging CPU or disk resources
• When applications crash, try repair or
reinstallation
• With a service that fails to start, start it
manually in the Services
Administrative Tool, or check Event Viewer
for details

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode: Kernel Panic

Core 1: 5.2 Given a scenario, troubleshoot problems related to

motherboards, RAM, CPU, and power.
Core 2: 3.1 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common Windows OS
Objective(s): problems.
Core 2: 3.3 Given a scenario, use best practice procedures for malware
removal.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Episode Description

A kernel panic is an unrecoverable error,

generated by every operating system, to
inform the user that a serious problem has
taken place to the system. Kernel panics
look scary, but to an informed tech they’re
often very easy to fix if the tech knows
where to look.

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Key Terms

• 0:44 - Objective term - Spinning Pinwheel

of Death (SPoD)
• 1:12 - Objective term - Blue Screen of
Death (BSoD)
• 2:42 - Most BSoDs are caused by
hardware
• 3:43 - Update the hardware
• 4:16 - Objective term - Safe boot

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson
 Quick Review
• Kernel panic means the OS is crashing
and can’t recover
• The most common symptom is a Blue
Screen of Death (BSoD)
Most BSoDs are caused by hardware
compatibility – try updating drivers
• Check Event Viewer in Safe mode for
clues

CompTIA A+ (220-110x)
Mike Meyers and Steve Nicholson