PCs All-in-One For Dummies®, 5th Edition

Chapter 1. Easy PC Troubleshooting

In This Chapter

• Taking a moment to relax

• Troubleshooting your hardware and software

• Using System Recovery options

• Reinstalling Windows 7

• Locating troubleshooting help

I hate my Rubik's Cube. I've never been able to solve the silly thing, and it just sits on my desk, taunting me and driving me to distraction until I grab it and make another futile attempt to match up all those squares. (Perhaps I'm in need of cube therapy.) What really gets me, though, is how my 18-year-old daughter can pick up that same cube, spend 45 seconds turning it in some wizard way, and then drop the solved puzzle and move on to something different. Geez! Why is such a difficult thing so easy for some people to do?

Troubleshooting Windows 7 has the same frustrating effect on most PC owners. You sit, staring at the keyboard and wondering why your operating system no longer works right and how you can fix it. Often, the solution is to call a friend or family member who can help — or, in the worst case, pack up the entire heap and take it to a computer shop where technotypes smile that mysterious little smile and fix your problem in 45 seconds. And then charge you an arm and a leg.

This chapter is here to help you tackle your Windows 7 troubleshooting puzzle. It might take more than 45 seconds, but you'll feel an enormous sense of accomplishment. Plus, you might avoid lightening your wallet.

Relax and Breathe Easy

Here's the first step in Mark's Troubleshooting Procedure: When the going ...