What is Troubleshooting: Definition and 327 Discussions

Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes on a machine or a system. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem in order to solve it, and make the product or process operational again. Troubleshooting is needed to identify the symptoms. Determining the most likely cause is a process of elimination—eliminating potential causes of a problem. Finally, troubleshooting requires confirmation that the solution restores the product or process to its working state.
In general, troubleshooting is the identification or diagnosis of "trouble" in the management flow of a system caused by a failure of some kind. The problem is initially described as symptoms of malfunction, and troubleshooting is the process of determining and remedying the causes of these symptoms.
A system can be described in terms of its expected, desired or intended behavior (usually, for artificial systems, its purpose). Events or inputs to the system are expected to generate specific results or outputs. (For example, selecting the "print" option from various computer applications is intended to result in a hardcopy emerging from some specific device). Any unexpected or undesirable behavior is a symptom. Troubleshooting is the process of isolating the specific cause or causes of the symptom. Frequently the symptom is a failure of the product or process to produce any results. (Nothing was printed, for example). Corrective action can then be taken to prevent further failures of a similar kind.
The methods of forensic engineering are useful in tracing problems in products or processes, and a wide range of analytical techniques are available to determine the cause or causes of specific failures. Corrective action can then be taken to prevent further failure of a similar kind. Preventive action is possible using failure mode and effects (FMEA) and fault tree analysis (FTA) before full-scale production, and these methods can also be used for failure analysis.

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  1. R

    Troubleshooting Multisim Simulation of 4017 Chip

    I am attempting to simulate the 4017 chip in multisim but I am not getting the expected result. I doubt that multisim is incorrectly simulating the chip, so I think that I am probably just hooking it up incorrectly. http://www.doctronics.co.uk/4017.htm"...
  2. wolram

    Troubleshooting Dell Inspiron 6400 Vista Lockups

    I have a Dell inspiron 6400 running vista, on a lot of sites it will lock up, ctr, alt , del doe's nothing, and it will not power down, the only way i clear this is by taking the batteries out, i do this and she starts up no problem. I have run virus checks but none have been found, could...
  3. K

    Troubleshooting f(E)q(-E) + f(-E)q(E) - Page 63, 64 equations 7.6, 7.7, 7.8

    We have f(E)q(-E) + f(-E)q(E) now change to x(E)=q(E) + f(E)/ (term) and get -(f(E)f(-E))/(term) I plugged the changed variable in, but didn't get the result, any hints how to proceed? I got that from page 63, 64 equations 7.6, 7.7, 7.8 from this text...
  4. Math Jeans

    LaTeX Troubleshooting a Weird LaTex Bug

    I'm getting this weird LaTex bug that is really messing with my posts. Sometimes when I use the tex tags, I get this weird problem that no matter what I put inside them, the post will always display the a certain equation inside of the tags. For example: I am trying to edit my signature...
  5. N

    Troubleshooting Bibliography Issues in PDF Output

    Hey all, My bibliography is not showing up in the PDF output, and I'm not sure why.. The bib file is in the same directory as the the main tex file. I am using the command: \documentclass[a4paper,twoside,11pt]{book} \usepackage{calc} \usepackage{setspace} \usepackage{graphicx}...
  6. W

    Water Rocket Project: Troubleshooting Answers & Explanations

    1. Homework Statement Hi, guys. I did a project but questions are killing me right now. I was going all the tutorials but I really have no idea. What we did was water rocket project. Here are the data Ttotal - avg. 9.96 sec. Avg. Apogee - 2.94 sec. 2. Homework Equations 3...
  7. H

    Troubleshooting TI-83 Plus Driver Errors

    I have a TI 83 Plus, and i wanted to put some programs on my calculator. But the problem is, every time i install my TI connect software and Graph Link, and connect my calculator, it says that the driver not found. no matter what i do, it always says that driver not found. I go in the TI connect...
  8. R

    Troubleshooting Turbine Flowmeter Calibration

    Hi, I'm having a lot of trouble trying to set up a process for calibrating turbine flowmeters for use in fuel rigs. Basically, I have a calibrated "master" flowmeter in series with the uncalibrated turbine flowmeter. I need a process that will give me the line of best fit across the...
  9. 0

    Troubleshooting "cout was not declared in scope" with XCode

    std:: was not used in my previous experiences with programming in C/C++ but in xcode,it requires you to put 'std::' in front of both cout and cin. i get an error that reads 'cout' was not declared in scope. I am sure it is something very trivial but in insights would be appreciated.
  10. S

    Troubleshooting: Array Values Stored as 0.10000001

    I am allocating a value of 0.1 to a position in an array and it seems to be storing itself as 0.10000001. The problem is that once all the values in the array have reached 0.1 the average should be 0.1 and the loop stops, but as it is being stored as 0.1000001 the average is > 0.1 and the loop...
  11. 4

    Troubleshooting Computer Power Supply Issues

    my power supply for the computer has just burnt resently for the second time in less than twom weeks i obviously have to buy anothr one but am a bit hesitant cause i can't figure out y they keep burning nd the fault is not with my plugs please help wer u can...!:biggrin:
  12. C

    Troubleshooting Labels on Boxplots in R

    I've been trying to get labels on boxplot() but I keep on getting syntax errors (mainly from me trying to hack my way through). Anyone know how to get labels to show up on any plot in R? *i was plotting 2 box plots together, so I don't know if that complicates anything
  13. M

    Solving for Current in a Coil: A Troubleshooting Guide

    Homework Statement A 21.8 cm diameter coil consists of 18 turns of circular copper wire 1.70 mm in diameter. A uniform magnetic field, perpendicular to the plane of the coil, changes at a rate of 8.15E-3 T/s. Determine the current in the loop. Homework Equations V=IR V=B/T * A * N...
  14. M

    LaTeX Troubleshooting Latex Errors on Forums

    Hi, I don't know if it's some mistake that I've been committing without realising it, but the Latex facility provided by this forum has given me no end of trouble. The following are two major problems I've faced: 1) Post preview generates a database error if there is too much latex in one...
  15. L

    Troubleshooting an xlC Compiler Error

    Here is the problem, I made up this program and compiled it with the Big CC compiler and it worked perfect, just the way I wanted it to work, however I have to switch compilers and get it to work on an xlC compiler which I am not familiar with, and of course the program compiles but does not...
  16. G

    Troubleshooting Derive 6 for a BV Problem

    i'm not sure if this is the right place but I'm trying to get my head around derive 6 and i have a couple of questions that don't seem to be coming out right... d^{2}y/dx^{2} + 8dy/dx + 16y = (4e^{-4x})(sinx+cosx)^{2} ; y(0)=y'(0)=0 so i inputed DSOLVE2_BV(8, 16, (4·^(-...
  17. T

    LaTeX Troubleshooting Latex Errors: Why Do Certain Latex Commands Always Have Errors?

    how come whenever I use latex...for some reason two of the latex have errors but the others always work when I preview...if I try deleting those two which have errors than some other two latex have errors then...why?any way to around the problem?
  18. D

    LaTeX Troubleshooting LaTeX Code: \frac{1}{q_{2}} = \frac{A q_{1} + B}{C q_{1} + D}

    I'm having some trouble with LaTex. Here is the LaTex code: \frac{1}{q_{2}} = \frac{A q_{1} + B}{C q_{1} + D} And it should produce this: \frac{1}{q_{2}} = \frac{A q_{1} + B}{C q_{1} + D} Here, it's produced just fine. But in TeXnicCenter, it produces this instead...
  19. DaveC426913

    Troubleshooting Paypal Credit Card Add Funds Issues

    It's been a year or two since I gave up, so I guess I'll subject myself again. Why am I unable to add funds to a Paypal account from a Credit card? It's like it has never occurred to them that anyone might want to do this. I am not about to attach my bank account information to anything...
  20. O

    Electric motor troubleshooting

    Hi, I have a 3HP motor running continuously. After about 5 years it has stopped, flicked breaker and it continued. That happened a few times. More recently, now 10 years, it stopped and wouldn't start. I tried a few things, but turning the motors shaft seemed to get it to work when power was...
  21. L

    Troubleshooting Digital Electronics: Why Don't My ICs Work?

    I'm not really new to Digital Electronics, but this is confusing the crap out of me. My school's started a DE class and at the moment we're getting all our equipment worked out and stuff, but for some reason NONE of our IC's work. We're using a 9-volt batter with a 7805 regulator for 5 volts...
  22. M

    MATLAB Troubleshooting nlinfit: Using Sinc^2 Function in MATLAB

    I'm trying to use the nlinfit that MATLAB has to fit a sinc^2 function, but it keeps telling me that my coefficients have the wrong inputs. Here's basically what I am doing. %driver.m y = [intensity points]; %I actually have a bunch of intensity points, but I don't want to list them x =...
  23. A

    Troubleshooting C++ Code for Data Processing in Several Files

    Hi everybody. I'm relatively new to C++ and am having an issue. What I need to do is take in several files and then do some data processing in each of them separately. I've tried to do this several ways and nothing has worked so far. Below is my last attempt. Basically, each file is...
  24. A

    Help Needed: Troubleshooting a Stream Insect Motion Problem

    I've been having difficulty with this problem and can't seem to find where to start. Any help would really be appreciated. A water insect maintains an average position on the surface of a stream by darting upstream (against the current) then drifting downstream (with the current) to its...
  25. S

    Understanding Wave Concept: Troubleshooting a Time Gap

    I have got a trouble with wave concept suppose wave is passing through a medium ( let it ,just started) suppose there are four points in the medium (particles) A,B,C,D as soon as A is disturbed even by an infinitesimally small distance , B experiences a forces (forces act...
  26. Z

    Troubleshooting Data Input & Output Issues

    1. INPUT DATA (porta) A3 A2 A1 A0 L1 0 0 0 0x01 0 0 0 0 1 L2 0 0 0 0x03 0 0 0 1 1 L3 0 0 0 0x07 0 0 1 1 1 offM 0 0 0 0x0f 0 1 1 1 1 Output data(portb)B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 L1 0xf9 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 L2 0xa4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 L3 0xb2 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0...
  27. Greg Bernhardt

    Why Won't My Magic Bullet Blender Turn On?

    So I bought the magic bullet blender last xmas and loved it. Used it for several months and then one day it just stopped working. The blender base that you press down on just didn't respond anymore. So I thought it died. I bought a new base on ebay and that didn't work either, so I thought...
  28. G

    Troubleshooting Opamp Saturation in Orcad Pspice 9.2

    Hello Everyone, I am trying to model a circuit using Orcad Pspice 9.2 I am trying to solve the time when the opamp saturates with maximum voltage operation of 10v and -10v. I am applying different voltages to the circuit, when I do the transient analysis, i am not getting the right time. For...
  29. L

    Troubleshooting JFET Circuit in Multisim

    I was just reading about JFETs. I decided to try a circuit in multisim. Connected a N-channel jfet(2N4222), the source is connected to ground and the drain is connected to +12V. The gate is not connected. But there is a drain resistor(1K) connected between gate and ground to drain any gate...
  30. C

    Calculators Troubleshooting HP50G Syntax Errors for MSOLV

    I recently purchased an HP50G as I caught my TI-89 giving me incorrect results when solving simultaneous equations. However I can't get the 50G to do anything but tell me invalid syntax. I am using MSOLV as follows: MSOLV('[x/60+x/15+(x-y)/5-15=0][y/2+(y-x)/5+5=0][x,y] This is the syntax...
  31. malawi_glenn

    C/C++ Troubleshooting Error in .cc File: Missing '/' or '\

    I have this in my .cc file: #ifndef __FASTJET_FASTJET_BASE_HH__ #define __FASTJET_FASTJET_BASE_HH__ // define this for easier readability (and obfuscation?) in // a range of places #define FASTJET_BEGIN_NAMESPACE namespace fastjet{ #define FASTJET_END_NAMESPACE} #endif //...
  32. E

    Troubleshooting Kepler's Third Law with Halley's Comet

    Homework Statement When I plug in all of the parameters for Halley's comet (from Wikipedia) into Kepler's third law a get a semimajor axis of 38.56 AU when it should be about 17? Can someone else try it and see if I am crazy?Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution
  33. A

    Troubleshooting: Mini CD Not Working on My Computer

    I have a mini CD that works on other computers but it isn't working on mine. What do you think is the problem/ i have a Samsung DVD combo drive
  34. J

    Fortran Troubleshooting a Fortran 77 Program with OpenMP

    I'm trying to get a fortran 77 program to run faster on a computer with a dual-core processer, so I'm trying to learn how OpenMP works. Unfortunately, I can't get the "hello world" file on the wikipedia page to compile. (Here's the code: PROGRAM HELLO INTEGER ID, NTHRDS...
  35. F

    Troubleshooting My DIY Hovercraft Build

    :confused: hi there, I am building a hovercraft in my garage, so far it has gone perfect... until i get to the thrust part! for some reason i can't get the darn thing to move! for lift i have a kawasaki back pack blower pushing air down into an air mattress with holes punched in it and it...
  36. A

    DVD Writer Troubleshooting: Finding the Cause of Burning Issues

    my dvd writer seems to have gone mad. i burned 5 sony dvd's first n they all were fine, then the next one got thrashed and then 2-3 dvd's got wasted. again few next dvd's were fine. all my dvd's were of sony. things continued. now i have about 10-12 fine working dvd's and same number of "REALLY...
  37. S

    Troubleshooting Flux Out of a Cube: Evaluating a Double Integral

    I am trying to work through some examples we have been given on flux out of a cube but am having difficulty in seeing how one one line of the answer becomes the next. The question is analysing the flux out of a cube by looking at each side individually and working out the surface integrals...
  38. J

    Troubleshooting my ULN2003A Chip Setup

    I recently purchased a few ULN2003A chips with the goal of eventually powering a stepper motor. So far I'm just testing out the chips, but I've run into a bit of a roadblock. I'm not quite sure how to use the chips. My setup is as follows: I have connected pin 8 (gnd) to gnd. I have supplied...
  39. N

    LaTeX Troubleshooting Latex/Gnuplot Issues

    I'm generating a graph in gnuplot, using the postscript enhanced terminal setting, and trying to use symbols in the axes labels, then import the ps file into a latex document. The trouble I'm having is that the symbols in the ps document, don't show up properly in the final document after the...
  40. P

    Troubleshooting Mouse Issues on a PC

    My friend's p/c is unoperatable, she gets a notice stating mouse not connected. How can we correct this, thank you.
  41. C

    Welcome to the Old Computer Troubleshooting Page

    Hey, I haven't worked on an old computer in ages and I'm not sure if anything was around before PATA... I'm asking this because I see no PATA ports. All the ports with the right "size" have one extra pin. Do I just have bad cables?
  42. B

    Troubleshooting Igniter for Fireworks

    igniter HELP! hi i don't no if I am doing this right but its my first post or whatever u call it ...anyways i need help making an igniter for fireworks. I saw a plane online i thought i could make farliy easily but I am confuses. Ok it said that if you have nichrome wire witch if u don't no is...
  43. T

    Troubleshooting a Dead Motherboard on My Desktop PC

    Well I though I would give it a shot posting here since no other computer or help forum seems to come up with any results. So here goes. About six months ago my motherboard on my desktop computer went dead suddenly. It was on one minute, I left it to eat dinner (no more than 15 min) I came...
  44. C

    Troubleshooting OpenGL+GLUT on OSX

    I'm having some trouble on OS X following a tutorial that wasn't really meant for this language-OS combination. I'm using Xcode and the GLUT+OpenGL frameworks to compile the following code. [it's supposed to open a window and display a white square and triangle on a black backdrop.]: #include...
  45. A

    Troubleshooting Monte Carlo Simulation Compiler Issues

    Hello, my colleague has a problem. He has a Monte Carlo simulation written in C. But his program gives different outputs in case he compile it using g++ or icc. He has nothing changed in his source. He is using standard random number generator drand() with initialization srand((unsigned) time...
  46. N

    Troubleshooting Chinese Character Display with Ajax

    When I using ajax to gather information from a webpage , it show ������� for the chinese character , but when i run the webpage separately it can show the right character. I use responseText to gather information and use innerHTML to show on the webpage.What is the problem ?Do i need to set...
  47. murshid_islam

    LaTeX Troubleshooting LaTeX Graphics in PF Blogs

    does LaTex work in the blogs in PF? it is not working in my blog? i tried the following: e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0 but it doesn't show on the blog. it says: "LaTex graphics is being generated. Reload this page in a moment." but it doesn't work even after i reload.
  48. Math Is Hard

    Comp Sci Troubleshooting a Test Program in Visual C++ 6

    I wrote a little test program to try to figure out some problems I am having in another program I'm working on. # include <iostream> # include <string> using namespace std; void ahoy(string nameEntered) { cout << "Ahoy, " << nameEntered << "!" << endl; } int main() { string...
  49. -Job-

    Troubleshooting a Dell Precision Machine After a Power Outage

    Great, i get home from work and find my fairly expensive dell precision machine, which i use as a web server, in some state. All three fans spinning very loudly at full power like a jet engine and the computer completely dead. When i restart the computer no characters are printed, the monitor...
  50. wolram

    Troubleshooting Malfunctioning Device

    I am sure it is not right, it seems able to go backwards far more than the other, and has less control, it has little pain until it goes backwards, the only outward sign of malfunction is that it is quite hot ? is this a doctor thing or wait and see thing?
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