Last updated:
22 October 2006;
Supplements this
Knowledgebase Article.
The Joys of Remote Troubleshooting
Even when information is forthcoming,
remote troubleshooting is a daunting prospect. So, it is not difficult to imagine how much harder it is to troubleshoot and resolve a problem when you are not in front
of the machine/network in question AND you cannot obtain a reasonable amount of information about the situation.
When asked to provide more information, most people will
quickly offer up the hardware specs of their
systems, but more often than not, it is information that they are reluctant
to provide (installed software, driver versions,
network configuration, etc) that leads to a swift resolution of their
problems.
Too often, the
Event Logs in NT (and family) are overlooked,
and they can provide key information for troubleshooting purposes. Couple
this with excellent resources such as
EventID.NET, and you can get your systems problems solved in short
order.
Be sure to check BOTH the Application
Event Logs and the System Event Logs.
It is not uncommon to have someone say "My CDR doesn't work!!!", and then wonder why they get no useful responses.
Furthermore, they often become offended when asked for more critical pieces of info such as:
Version of the Operating System in use Versions of drivers Installed Applications Critical Running software
Services which have been disabled - Error Messages in the Event Log or Application
Logs
- Exact Error Message provided by the System or
Application
It is for the purpose of answering these very questions in a consistent fashion, that the
Diagnostics Scripts were developed.
What Information Should You Provide?
Here are some of the critical things that people who are frustrated by
an ongoing problem often forget to mention:
When did the user become aware of the problem...
What was the last thing that changed before the
problems began...
The over-clocking of the CPU or some other peripheral...
The order in which software or hardware was installed...
The size and location of the pagefile... The type of filesystem(s) in use... The presence or absence of AntiVirus
software... The presence or absence of
Desktop Firewall
software... The
use of 3rd party disk partitioning, vs. the
built-in tools...
The less you skimp on info, the more likely you are to get some really good answers and recommendations to your
problem. Conversely, the less info you provide, the less useful the responses that you are likely to receive.
While the
"Please Provide More Info" questionnaire may seem rather daunting for those who are new to computers or
to the Windows NT Family (NT/2000/XP/2003), it is of a tremendous benefit
to the person with the problem (who will learn more about his/her system), and
to those trying to help resolve the problem. If nothing else, it will prevent a
half-dozen people from asking the same questions, and get everyone working on a solution that much sooner
-- with less bad answers...
If you are not sure what or how much information to provide,
then consider making use of the System or Network diagnostics
scripts found
here.
Additional Windows Support Links
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