Thinking Like A Techie – The Diagnostic Path - Page 9
DISCUSSION: The best choice in the previous list is to make sure ALL of the USB ports are either working or not working. Most computers have more than one USB block, which is an internal hardware connection between the USB ports on the outside of the computer and the motherboard. There is usually a separate block for the front USB ports, so you can sometimes find that the front USB ports are working when the back ones are not, and vice versa.
The final stage of our worked out scenario follows...
The final stage of our worked out scenario follows...
You sit down at the computer, grab the mouse and move it around, but nothing happens. You notice that the computer's power light is on. The monitor's power light is also on, but the monitor is dark. You check for hibernation of the computer by tapping the spacebar a couple times. The monitor slowly lights up and you can see your login screen. Moving the mouse still causes nothing to happen.
You think that the likely Point of Failure points to the mouse. Noting that the mouse has a wire to connect it to the computer, you turn it over and see that the laser light is not visible. Your next step is to consider the mouse’s cable as the likely Point of Failure, so you look and see that the mouse cable is indeed plugged into a USB port on the back of the computer tower. The mouse light still doesn’t show, and there is no movement on the display.
Again, looking for the simplest way to check, you decide to unplug the cable and replug it into the laptop sitting nearby. The mouse pointer moves around quite nicely on the laptop. You conclude that the mouse itself is not the problem, and doesn’t need to be replaced, so you consider what else could be wrong on the computer itself.
You note then that the next likely Point of Failure now is where the mouse cable comes into the computer, i.e. the USB port. This computer has five USB ports on the back of the computer and two on the front. So, first you plug the mouse into all the USB ports on the computer. You find that when the mouse is plugged into the ports on the front of the tower, it works fine, but that it doesn’t work in any of the ports in back.
As a result, your mouse now can do what it’s supposed to do (if you keep it plugged into one of the computer's front USB ports). Because this is not your computer to work on, you send a tech support request to the school’s IT department notifying them that you’ve discovered that this computer has non-working USB ports in the back of the computer, but that the ones in front are working fine.
It will be up to them to determine what to do with the computer. You have done all you can. Congratulations!
You think that the likely Point of Failure points to the mouse. Noting that the mouse has a wire to connect it to the computer, you turn it over and see that the laser light is not visible. Your next step is to consider the mouse’s cable as the likely Point of Failure, so you look and see that the mouse cable is indeed plugged into a USB port on the back of the computer tower. The mouse light still doesn’t show, and there is no movement on the display.
Again, looking for the simplest way to check, you decide to unplug the cable and replug it into the laptop sitting nearby. The mouse pointer moves around quite nicely on the laptop. You conclude that the mouse itself is not the problem, and doesn’t need to be replaced, so you consider what else could be wrong on the computer itself.
You note then that the next likely Point of Failure now is where the mouse cable comes into the computer, i.e. the USB port. This computer has five USB ports on the back of the computer and two on the front. So, first you plug the mouse into all the USB ports on the computer. You find that when the mouse is plugged into the ports on the front of the tower, it works fine, but that it doesn’t work in any of the ports in back.
As a result, your mouse now can do what it’s supposed to do (if you keep it plugged into one of the computer's front USB ports). Because this is not your computer to work on, you send a tech support request to the school’s IT department notifying them that you’ve discovered that this computer has non-working USB ports in the back of the computer, but that the ones in front are working fine.
It will be up to them to determine what to do with the computer. You have done all you can. Congratulations!