Diagnosing hardware Part 1

I've fixed more computers than I can count, or then I care to remember. I figure I should write an article on how I go about it, maybe some people will leave me alone and fix their own computer (hint, hint).

First lets start with the tools I typically use:

• Memory: Memtest86+ (Free)
• Hard Drive (Diagnostic): Drive Fitness Test (Free)
• Hard Drive (Data Deletion): Darik's Boot and Nuke aka DBAN (Free)
• Hard Drive (Data Restoration): Get Data Back (Pay For)
• Motherboard: Physically look at the capacitors
• Compressed Air/Air Compressor 
• CPU: Prime95 (Stress Test) (Free)
• Graphics Card: Prime95
• Image Software: Imgburn (Free)

There are many more tools available for each cause, plus some I use once in a great while for various things but this is the basics of what I use almost everytime.

Moving on. When you're diagnosing a problem you always want to check EVERYTHING even if you think it's fine. Sometimes double checking isn't a bad idea either. For instance when I run Memtest86+ I often let it run 2-3 passes just to make sure it didn't miss anything. This is especially true when you get new hardware, just to make sure it wasn't DOA (Dead on Arrival) so you can exchange it before the exchange policy is up. 

Protip: It's never a bad idea to apply new thermal paste to your heatsink/processor once a year. It's also a good idea to replace the OEM heatsink/fan with an Aftermarket.

Start with anything physically wrong. Open the box and look for dust, bulged capacitors, burn marks, unplugged cables, etc. I always blow the dust out of any box I work on, you'd be amazed how much quieter the fans get after they're clean and the box isn't over heating from dust anymore.

Next go after the basic hardware of both the memory and hard drive. Most hard drives don't simply die, usually the motor that spins the disk burns out or sectors go bad. Hard drives have what is known as S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) which continuously monitors your hard drive for failures. S.M.A.R.T. is great in the fact that it usually catches a failure in time enough to save the data before it becomes catastrophic. Drive Fitness Test starts with a S.M.A.R.T. test before testing the hard drive. As I stated above use Memtest86+ for 2-3 passes before you determine good or bad memory.

I'll continue a part 2 in the coming weeks with more detail on everything. Hopefully this helps someone. Feel free to ask any questions you might have, or note anything I might have left out.