Windows 8 Bible

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting computer problems isn’t always easy; it involves a host of skills that take a lot of time, education, and experience to build. But you can use some resources to troubleshoot some of the more common problems without being a total computer geek.

First, it’s important to understand that troubleshooting comes into play only when you already know how to do something but it’s not working as it should. This is not the same as not knowing how to do something, or not being able to figure out how to do something by guessing. It’s an important distinction to make because if you can’t do something because you don’t know how, troubleshooting won’t help.

As for non-technical troubleshooting, there are many resources for that. The first is Windows 8’s automated troubleshooting. Windows 8 can often recognize when something has gone wrong. When it does, a message may pop up asking whether it’s okay to send information about the problem to Microsoft. You should always choose Yes. No human will receive the message. Nobody will call or pop up on your screen to solve the problem. Instead, another computer will check to see whether it’s a known problem that has already been solved.

If a solution is available, you’ll (eventually) see a message in your Notification area offering to solve the problem. Just click that message and follow any additional instructions that appear on the screen. If you’re lucky, the problem will go away without your having to call for technical ...