Run standard diagnostic tests

1. Run standard diagnostic tests ICAT3025A

2. Standard diagnostic tests This course is interested in : • Systems diagnostics • Virus Scanning

3. Key Concepts and Terms ICAT3025A - Create User Documentation • appropriate person • computer problems • computer virus • configuration procedures • deactivate and remove virus • destructive software • detection of viruses • diagnostic policy and procedures • diagnostic test • hardware maintenance procedures • preventative maintenance • problem-solving process • recover lost/damaged data • reporting and recording • sources of technical data and information • specification • system diagnostic program • system scan • system security guidelines • types of viruses • virus protection software • virus signature • workplace documentation.

4. Diagnostic Tools • Diagnostic tools provide information vital to solving problems • Major areas in which computer problems arise • electrical or electronic failure • mechanical fault • software failure • operator/user-generated error • Problems most likely to be found when: • booting the computer • loading the operating system • manually checking the system.

5. Booting the computer • Booting a computer system involves turning the machine on, checking that power LEDs come on and that the screen reflects the expected activity of the system start up procedure. • Power On Self Test or POST diagnostic toolis built in to the system and starts automatically when the system is turned on.

6. Power On Self Test (POST) On a PC based system, the POST provides feedback on the screen about the type of video card detected, the type and speed of the processor detected, the type and number of drives detected, as well as the amount of Random Access Memory (RAM) detected. It checks the presence of peripheral devices such as keyboard and mouse devices. It also internally tests the correct performance of many motherboard components.

7. CMOS or BIOS • To view the systems detected configuration more fully than presented in the POST, examine the system Setup or CMOS tool. Some references may prefer to use the term BIOS in place of the term CMOS. • The Setup or CMOS tool for your PC holds the configuration of your computer. It lists how much memory the system has, how many drives are detected and which drive it should load the operating system from. It will also have configuration options for a range of other items such as power management and I/O interfaces, just to name a few.

8. Exercise • Enter the BIOS on your computer and describe the following attributes of the system: RAM, Boot Order, Machine Type (if available), MAC address (if available), Wake on LAN (if available).

9. Loading the Operating System • Once the POST sequence has been completed, the system then looks for a boot device as the CMOS configuration dictates. From here the computer begins to load the series of services or programs that together form what is called the operating system (OS). Normally the operating system’s name and version (or service pack number) will be displayed during this process.

10. Log Files • Common failures that occur when the O/S is loading may relate to the failure of minor hardware devices or incorrect configuration of devices that are physically OK. Any services or devices that fail to load are usually noted in a log file by the operating system. This file can then be examined at a later time to help determine what went wrong.

11. Exercise • Examine entries in the log below to determine which (if any) represent possible errors in the booting process. Each entry has an Event ID number that can be searched for in Google • Event viewer can be found in Control Panel – Administration Tools – Event Viewer. Does your computer have errors?

12. Safe Mode If the system failure is so bad that the operating system fails before it loading process is complete, most systems provide tools that allows the computer to boot in restricted or ‘Safe’ modes, or alternatively provide emergency recovery disks. Using these options, the system then boots with a reduced set of services, allowing you to examine boot logs or device management tools to help detect problems.

13. Device Manager A driver is a small piece of software written for a specific device. To make life simpler, many standard drivers (keyboards, mice etc) are built into operating systems so they automatically work when installed. However, special features of that particular device model may only be available if the manufacturer’s device driver is installed. The device manager is used to control devices and alter their drivers

14. Exercise • Use device manager to find out what sort of Video Card your system has and the date of its driver. • To find device manager, Right-Click My Computer – Choose Properties – Click the Hardware TAB and Choose the Device Manager Button.

15. What is maintenance? Maintenance aims to: • preserveIT systems in optimal condition • fix problems that occur • upgrade the existing systems to minimise future risks to the business. Maintenance falls into two broad categories: • preventative (or routine maintenance), and • reactive (or non-routine).

16. Preventative maintenance (Page 1) • Protection of equipment due to changes in electrical supply: Surges and ‘brownouts’ cause major damage to computer devices. Un-interruptible power supplies (UPS), power conditioners and surge protection devices are all valuable preventative maintenance tools for any computerised device. • Protection from environmental conditions:Humidity, temperature variation and dust are major causes of computer device failures. Actions taken to limit these factors in the workplace are valuable preventative maintenance tasks. • Protection of data using backups:It is vital that backups of both user data and system configurations are done regularly.

17. Preventative maintenance (Page 2) • Protection of data from threats: Data needs to be protected from viruses, malware, hackers and so on, through the use of both hardware and software security measures. • Keeping software updated through service packs, patches and driver upgrades • Checking integrity and performance by using diagnostic tools:Routine running of any in-built diagnostics and/or checking for display of maintenance messages generated by the device.

18. UPS • Hardware device which houses large batteries. When power is interrupted (or fluctuates) the UPS will maintain power supply at optimal lever using batteries. • Usually includes surge and brown-out protection. • Usually includes software that can communicate with Server to shut it down safely during prolonged periods of power outage so data is not lost.

19. Protection from environmental conditions • Temperature :The room environment as well as cooling and ventilation systems are important in maintaining computer equipment in optimum operational condition. • Humidity: Protective measures would include keeping them well ventilated and away from windows, and avoiding food and drinks spills. • Dirt and dust :Dust build-up around fans and on electrical components becomes a problem because it tends to prevent heat dissipation, and interferes with the fan’s cooling function. Cigarette smoke :The particles from cigarette smoke have the same effect as dust • Electromagnetic interference: All electronic devices are capable of producing electromagnetic interference that can cause data to be lost, problems with picture quality on monitors, and other problems.

20. Backup An organisation will have policies that relate to: • the frequency of backups (daily, weekly, monthly) • the time of day backups are done • how long backups are kept • where backups should be stored. • what will be backed up

21. Types of Backup What to Backup • backup of selected directories. • backup of entire drives • Full system backups • Imaging How to Backup the Data • Full Backup. Backup everything. • incremental backup – backup of only files that have been created or changed since the last full or incremental backup • differential backup – backup of files that have been created or changed since the last full backup.

22. Service packs, patches and operating system updates • It has become obvious in recent years that when operating systems are released, they are not finished products. Because they are so complex, even after a period of rigorous testing, security flaws are often discovered after distribution. • For critical security holes, as soon as the flaw is discovered, the software manufacturer quickly develops and releases a patch, which is a small software update to eliminate the hole. A group of patches is sometimes released as a major update, or service pack.

23. Malware • Trojans, which appear to be harmless programs, are actually designed to either do damage or carry out a range of malicious activities • Dialers, programs that change the number you use for a dial-up modem, causing increases in charges • Worms, generally spread as email attachments • Spyware, adware and browser hijackers collect information from your computer or change the Internet options in the browser. • Root Kits, “Root” refers to administrator access to a system. A root kit gives intruders administrator access to your system – usually over the internet. Once an intruder has root access, they can effectively take over your system and do anything. Often this includes DOS (Denial of Service) attacks on other systems. Intruders collect many, many systems (zombies) and instruct them all to send messages to one system (for example a bank) and flood the system with requests. This effectively removes the system from the internet. • Viruses are small programs that piggy-back on other legitimate programs to infect computers. Once inside a computer they replicate quickly, slowing the system down, and try to find ways to infect other systems with copies of themselves.

24. Protection. • Anti-Malware software : This is software that looks for and (often) eliminates Malware like trojans, root kits and worms. • Anti-Virus Software : This is software that particularly concentrates upon protection from and elimination of viruses • Firewalls : Software that protects data entering and leaving the system. It only allows data through particular (allowed) ports and blocks all communication that trys to enter through other ports.

25. Determining your organisation’s maintenance requirements Most organisations will have specific procedures that deal with maintenance and how it is scheduled. • Organisational policies, for example, a particular procedure may be in place because of your organisation’s policy on the management of risk. • Equipment, in particular specialised equipment, is covered by warranties and maintenance contracts. These will often involve an agreed level of support for the equipment, also called a service level agreement (SLA). • Both equipment and software are provided with documentation regarding their handling and maintenance requirements as well as how often to perform tasks. • Support is also often provided by phone or website, and may even involve the provision of training.

26. Organisational policies The maintenance procedures in an organisation will be determined by a number of factors, including: • how critical the IT components and/or software are • cost constraints • the risk to business continuity • pre-existing commitments • expectations of service by the organisation’s business units.

27. Preventative maintenance tasks Cleaning

28. Whole system maintenance • checking system event logs regularly • viewing POST results • routine checking using system monitoring utilities that track system temperatures, voltages and fan speeds • checking for dust accumulation, particularly around fans and vents • updating drivers for printers, modems, soundcards, video cards and so on, as needed • updating operating system and applicationsoftware with the latest service packs; eg later versions of Windows allow updates to be automatically downloaded and installed, but this can be disabled • updating anti-virussoftware and virus definitions.

29. Hard disk maintenance • removal of unwanted files — this can include old files, temporary files, downloaded files, corrupt files, Internet cookies, and browser history • removal (uninstalling) ofunwanted software • backup — this may be by means of standard backup/restore software, or through imaging software such as Norton Ghost • cleaning up the registry • defragmenting files • creating system restore/boot disks • scanning for viruses, spyware, adware, malware, and so on • disk checking using standard diagnostic tests.

30. Printers

31. Aims of preventative maintenance. • to meet the needs of the business • to extend the working life of equipment • to reduce the amount of emergency downtime caused by faults that can be prevented • to be practical • to make the IT system more cost effective.

32. Cost effectiveness • It is important that any preventative maintenance be cost effective. It is possible to spend significant amounts of time cleaning and testing devices such as keyboards and mice to extend their life. However, the replacement cost of those devices, including the cost of having an inventory of such items on hand, may mean that it is cheaper to purchase new devices rather than extend the life of the existing devices.

33. Minimise downtime • It is important that preventative maintenance focuses on items that may cause significant downtime and cost to the business if they were to fail. Such items may include hard disk drives (HDD) of servers. Should they fail, emergency downtime may occur at a significant cost to the business. As a result, such devices should be considered high priority in a maintenance schedule.

34. Practicality • Preventative maintenance must be practical within the working of a business. If the process of preventative maintenance causes a major interruption to the daily working of a business, the maintenance program will fail. Always try to consider the impact on the users of the computers when considering a preventative maintenance program.

35. Meet business needs • Any maintenance program must meet the needs of the business if it is going to be successful. While this should have been considered when an SLA was written, the maintenance work must be carried out within the organisation’s guidelines and requirements.

36. When should tasks be scheduled? • Scheduled maintenance should obviously impact as little as possible on normal business operations, and should therefore be carried out at periods of low activity, such as during the night, at weekends or holiday periods. It is possible to carry out many tasks with very little client awareness or involvement. • If client involvement is required, they should be informed in advance of when they will be affected, for how long, and how it will impact them. You may need to give them instructions, such as logging out of their PC, leaving it on, rebooting, and so on.

37. How often should tasks be scheduled? • To determine how frequently maintenance tasks should be done, you should first refer to the types of documentation mentioned earlier in this topic. • The preventative maintenance strategies in place would also help determine the frequency of tasks.

38. What should be recorded? The following should be documented in a preventative maintenance schedule: • 1 dates for maintenance to occur • 2 business unit/floor/building/computer facilities where the maintenance will occur • 3 the IT staff member responsible for completing the maintenance • 4 dates for completion • 5 notification that maintenance has been completed • 6 comments or notes where problems are detected.

39. Reporting problems • Your preventative maintenance schedule will occasionally alert you to potential problems. When this happens, you should be aware of the appropriate person to inform. Your organisational guidelines and/or service level agreements should indicate who this is. It may be your supervisor, authorised business representative, external supplier, or client. Reporting: • verbal/written • formal/informal. Appropriate person/s including: • supervisor/team leader • information technology (IT) technical support staff • help desk operator • system administrator • network administrator • trainer • supplier.

40. Support Log – Example 1 For standard computer systems in a small office environment the follow example of a support log may be used. At this location, users record problems with their PC in the log listed below. This log is regularly checked by a Computer Support Officer (CSO) who attempts to resolve problems.

41. Support Log – Example 2 This log is based on a computer network that uses a Help Desk. The Help Desk is available for users to ring up and report problems that need attention. Each problem is allocated a reference number. The purpose of the maintenance log below is to provide a more detailed information of the resolution to a problem. The centralised recording of all the Help Desk resolutions may then form a Knowledgebase resource for future reference. The problem itself is not described here as it is recorded under the Help Desk system.

42. Support Log – Example 3 The log shown here relates to a specific process, in this case Backup Procedure. This log is modified each day by the backup operator who records the status of the previous night’s backup.

43. Support Log – Example 4 The log shown here relates to a single device such as a File server. This log is modified each day by the server administrator who regularly performs a variety of maintenance tasks, most of which are related to entries in the system log. SERVER PSF5 MAINTENANCE LOG Date: 25/4/04 Viewed the event log of the previous day. As noted before, there appears to be multiple login attempts to the administrator account. These attempts are listed as login failures in the Security section of the event log. Will recommend to team leader that we being a network traffic trace to determine the origin of these logs. There were also a 15 application errors in the event log for the new CAD package installed last week. Will refer this to application support team. Date: 26/4/04 Viewed the event log of the previous day. More failed attempts to log into administrator account. I am still awaiting a reply from the support team leader about a network trace. Time server errors were listed, but these relate to the ADSL link being unavailable for part of yesterday. Print queue PSF5-PR1 unexpectedly went offline twice yesterday. Date: 27/4/04 Have just finished installing network trace software to track the failed login attempts. More print queue errors on PSF5-PR1. I have emailed all printer users to let me know if they are having problem with print jobs not printing.

44. To check and maintain virus protection You will need a basic understanding of: • a computer virus • how a virus can affect a computer system • virus signature. As well as a knowledge of: • virus types • system sector • fileemail • macro • destructive software • logic bombs • trojans • worms • hoaxes.

45. Detection of viruses using anti-virus software • a full scan of the computer (local or network) • a scan in real-time as each file is accessed. Important to regularly updating virus protection • virus pattern files • virus scanning software.

46. Report identified viruses to an appropriate person Reporting: • verbal/written • formal/informal. Appropriate person/s including: • supervisor/team leader • information technology (IT) technical support staff • help desk operator • system administrator • network administrator • trainer • supplier.

47. Remove virus infections found by the scan using software tools • deactivate the virus • clean (remove) the virus • recover any lost/damaged data • prevent a recurrence • use of build software.