CompTIA Troubleshooting Steps

Troubleshooting is an essential skill for a person considering going into the IT field. Here are the steps that CompTIA recommends and come up during the CompTIA A+ Exam.

Step One: Identify the issue: Normally the easiest step is to get a call, email, or message from the client, or there would be a log entry of the problem. However, you will need to dig further to identify the root cause of the problem. This can be done in many ways; the most common would be asking the client about the issue to narrow down the topic.

Step Two: Establish a theory on possible issues: After collecting all the information, you would devise ways to fix the problem. This could be done using company documentation of previous matters or googling it. The best advice is to start with the simple and then go to the complex; making a simple problem complex is easy.

Step Three: Test the theory to determine the issue. This step tests the hypothesis that came up in step two to see if it is correct. If unsuitable, you would return to the previous actions in two stages to develop a new theory.

Step Four: Establish a plan of action to resolve the issue and implement the solution. If you find the root issue, now you plan how to fix the problem. A project might be needed because extra steps might impact the company's operation, from needing to create backups, changing management procedures, or approval from upper management to make changes.

Step Five: Verify if the system works and see if preventive measures can be applied. Make sure to check if the system is fully operational. This is to see if the issue was resolved and to ensure that no other matters might pop up. If applicable, take preventive measures to ensure the problem does not occur again.

Step Six: Documentation: Keeping a record of the issue, actions taken, and outcomes is essential. The reason for documentation is to help save time and money, as the problem might reoccur again. Also, if another person does not go through the troubleshooting, they know what is going on and do not create more issues.

A key takeaway is simple asking three basic questions, that have became a meme for help desk

Is it a plug-in?

Is it on?

Did you restart it?

Resource:

Garn, D. M. (2021, December 6). Use a Troubleshooting Methodology for More Efficient IT Support . Retrieved from CompTIA Blog : https://www.comptia.org/blog/troubleshooting-methodology