INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING COMPUTER SYSTEM (ICCS)
(Conduct Testing and Documentation)
• Lesson 1 – Conduct Testing and Documentation After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Test devices/ systems and/or installation to determine whether it conforms to requirements.
2. Conduct stress test to ensure reliability of equipment in accordance with manufacturer’s
instructions and system requirements
Conduct Test and Documentation
TESTING INSTALLED EQUIPMENT / DEVICES (COMPONENTS)
As a computer technician, you may need a decent understanding of the health and safety regulations from
ahead of time in your career, in order that you understand the great practices demanded by law.
Specifically, you need to:
✓ report any accidents
✓ take charge of your own health and safety when moving heavy components
✓ not cause any electrical hazards
✓ ensure that workstations meet safety requirements.
You need to stick to health and safety regulations as they're going to help to protect you and others
and can avoid any unnecessary proceeding for reckless and unsafe working practices. If you identify any
health and safety problems, you ought to tell your line manager or the health and safety representative
immediately.
Diagnostic tools are used to test and diagnose equipment.
Diagnostic tools include the following:
Digital multimeter is a device that can take many types of measurements. It tests the
integrity of circuits and the quality of electricity in computer components. A digital
multimeter displays the information on an LCD or LED.
A loopback adapter, also called a loopback plug, tests the basic
functionality of computer ports. The adapter is specific to the port
that you want to test.
A toner probe is a two-part tool. The toner part is connected to a cable at one
end using specific adapters, such as an RJ-45, coaxial, or metal clips. The toner
generates a tone that travels the length of the cable. The probe part traces the
cable. When the probe is in near proximity to the cable to which the toner is
attached, the tone can be heard through a speaker in the probe.
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Software Tools
Like hardware tools, there are a variety of software tools that can be used to help technicians pinpoint
and troubleshoot problems. Many of these tools are free and several come with the Windows operating
system.
Disk Management Tools
Software tools help diagnose computer and network problems and determine which computer
device is not functioning correctly. A technician must be able to use a range of software tools to diagnose
problems, maintain hardware, and protect the data stored on a computer.
You must be able to identify which software to use in different situations. Disk management tools
help detect and correct disk errors, prepare a disk for data storage, and remove unwanted files.
Format: Prepares a hard drive to store information.
ScanDisk or CHKDSK: Checks the integrity of files and folders on a hard drive by scanning the file system.
These tools might also check the disk surface for physical errors.
Defragmentation: Optimizes space on a hard drive to allow faster access to programs and data.
Disk Cleanup: Clears space on a hard drive by searching for files that can be safely deleted.
System File Checker (SFC): A command-line tool that scans the operating system critical files and replaces
files that are corrupted.
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Testing Computer System
The best way to find out what's wrong is to take a proactive approach: Check under your PC's hood
with the following mostly free diagnostic tools and see if anything is amiss--before disaster strikes.
Three Major Components of Computer System:
• Hardware- physical parts or components of a computer.
• Software- instructions that tell a computer what to do. Software comprises the entire set of
programs, procedures, and routines associated with the operation of a computer system,
• Firmware- permanent software programmed into a read-only memory.
Test Your Hardware
Checking your computer hardware and its peripherals
1. Computer Monitor and its peripherals
How to run a Monitor Self-Test.
1. Power off both your computer and the monitor.
2. Disconnect the signal cable from the back of the computer.
3. Power on the monitor.
Note:
Depending on your monitor, while in the Self-Test mode, the monitor's LED power indicator remains on,
and the Check Signal Cable figure moves around on the screen.
If your monitor alternate between 2 boxes Analog and Digital that is normal, as some monitors supports
both Digital and analog signal.
Test Results:
a) If you see any of the above check cable signals, that mean the problem is not related to your
monitor, please check your graphics card.
b) If you see the first figure with one of the colors missing, that means your monitor requires service.
c) If you are unable to see any of the figures. But the light of the monitor is on, it means your monitor
requires service.
2. Keyboard and Mouse
How to Test a Laptop Keyboard
You don't need to check if the keys work to test your computer keyboard. If you open a word
processor and type a few lines, you don't really learn anything. Even if all the keys are working properly,
there may be an unclear problem with the keyboard device driver. To successfully test your computer
keyboard, you must test it with the Hardware Management Utility in Microsoft Windows Device Manager.
Step 1 Click "Start."
Step 2 Click "Control Panel."
Step 3 Click "System."
Step 4 Click "Open Device Manager."
Step 5 Right-click on the list of computer keyboards. Select the Scan for hardware changes option from the
menu. Device Manager now tests your computer's keyboard. If you see an "Error" icon next to the list,
there is something wrong with your computer keyboard. For more information on the error details, right-
click on the device entry again and select Properties.
3. Check the RAM
RAM, or random-access memory, is one of the most important hardware components of a computer.
It's the small hardware that experts really recommend upgrading to improve the performance of your
computer. You can see how much RAM memory you have in the System Properties section of Control
Panel, but the test is a bit complicated.
Memory problems can lead to blue screens of death (BSOD) and even prevent your computer from
booting. If you want to test memory, you can use Memtest86 +, but the test itself is not that simple. The
test works automatically at boot time and takes more than 30 minutes to complete, so you need to create
a bootable USB stick, or a bootable CD loaded with software to run. If you really want to test the memory
of your computer or the computer you are buying, just read the instructions on the Memtest86 + website.
4. Check for Hard Disk Drive or Solid-State Drive Health
The Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or Solid-State Drive (SSD) contains the operating system that is installed
on your computer and once it gets some problems, you whole machine may hang and freeze often or even
fail in the long run. It is therefore important to make your HDD/SSD in 100% health always.
Checking for HDD/SSD health is important especially if you are planning to purchase a used computer
since you don`t really know the current condition of the drive itself. You can find plenty of tools that can
be used to test the Hard Disk Drive or SolidState Drive in your computer and if you have an SSD installed,
you can use SSDLife to check your SolidState Drive`s health.
For HDDs, you need to use another tool called HD Sentinel. Designed for hard drives, this tool can
help you identify problems, diagnose problems, and fix hard drive problems before they get worse. To
download this software, please visit the official website of Hard Disk Sentinel.
5. Test CPU and GPU
The CPU and GPU are two very important hardware components on any computer and are involved
in data, commands, and all other major processing in between. Thanks to these two hardware
components, you can use Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, Excel and even open your favorite browser. You
need to make sure that these two hardware components are working properly, as they can also be used
to play games. You can use Furmark to test them.
If you're trying to test a low-end PC that doesn't have a dedicated GPU that supports high resolutions,
you should choose 1280 x 720. If you're testing a medium to high-end PC with a GPU / graphics card,
choose a resolution from 1280 x 720 to 1920 x 1080 Full HD graphics resolutions. If the screen flickers or
distorts during the test, it indicates a problem with the GPU.
To test your computer's CPU, simply open the CPU Burner and click the Start button to start the test.
If your computer hangs or freezes during the test, it means there is a hardware problem or there is not
enough cooling system for the CPU to work properly.
Test Hardware to Prevent Serious Problems
As you can see, there are ways to test your computer hardware both online and offline. Both help
ensure that your computer is in good condition. These tests also help determine if it's worth buying a
popular computer.
6. I/O port and devices
• Connection between the I/O port and the peripheral device
• A faulty cable between the I/O port and the peripheral device
• A faulty peripheral device
• Incorrect settings in the System Setup program
• Incorrect settings in the system's configuration files
• Faulty I/O port logic on the system board
7. Power supply Test
• USE CAUTION HERE (Though you’d only be shocked with a max of 24
volts) Plug the power supply into the wall.
• Find the big 24-ish pin connector that connects to the motherboard.
Connect the GREEN wire with the adjacent BLACK wire.
• The power supply’s fan should start up. If it doesn’t then it’s dead.
• If the fan starts up, then it could be the motherboard that’s dead. You
can use a multimeter to check if there is power output from the power
supply.
Testing Your Software
Check the different software installed in the computer.
1. Operating system
• Run live updates for your operating systems to get the latest patches and protection for your
OS.
• Run registry scanners to check the OS registry configuration
2. Application Software
• Check for live updates
3. Anti-virus software
• Run anti-virus program
• Check for virus signature updates
• Check for spyware updates
Firmware Testing
Firmware is a computer program that is embedded in a hardware device and enables control,
monitoring, and data processing of technical products and systems. The device included in the firmware
provides a low-level control program for the device. Examples of devices that include firmware include
embedded systems, computers, computer peripherals, and mobile phones.
Importance of Firmware testing is the certification of firmware system meets its requirements
with respect to functional correctness as well as performance, operational, and implementational
properties. Then to reduce the risk and improve the performance.
To test the firmware
Check for the correct configuration can accomplish this by configuring the BIOS in the computer.
Error Beep codes
When you first turn on or reset your PC, a special diagnostic test called POST (PowerOn SelfTest)
is performed to check all the components in your PC. The POST program sends a signal to each device that
initializes the self-test built into each device.
The POST test is a two-stage process:
1. First, it will check all the basic components including among other things the system clock, the
processor, RAM, the keyboard controller and the Video
2. After the video has been tested the BIOS will then indicate any errors encountered by displaying either
a numeric code or a text message on the screen.
If the device fails the first part of POST, the BIOS sends a series of beeps through the PC speaker
(internal) to notify the PC user of the problem. These beeps are coded to allow the user to diagnose the
faulty component. If the POST completes successfully, the PC will beep to notify the user that everything
is fine.
Brands of BIOS chip
1. AMI BIOS
2. AWARD BIOS
3. Dell BIOS
4. IBM BIOS
5. Phoenix BIOS
Each type of BIOS chip has its own error code
AMI BIOS beep codes
Below are the AMI BIOS beep codes. However, because of the wide variety of different computer
manufacturers with this BIOS, the beep codes may vary.
Award BIOS beep codes
Below are Award BIOS beep codes. However, because of the wide variety of different computer
manufacturers with this BIOS, the beep codes may vary.
If any other correctable hardware issues are found, the BIOS displays a message.
Dell beep codes
For other Dell beep codes, please refer to Dell's beep codes and PSA diagnostics chart page.
IBM BIOS beep codes
Below are general IBM BIOS beep codes. However, because of the wide variety of models shipping with
this BIOS, the beep codes may vary.
Phoenix BIOS beep codes
Below are the beep codes for Phoenix BIOS Q3.07 or 4.x.
What I Can Do
Direction: Enumerate the following steps on how to conduct test and documentation in computer
system. (1/2 sheet of paper)
1. Testing the power supply
2. Testing a Monitor
3. Keyboard and mouse
Assessment
A. Direction: Identify the BIOS beep codes of the following BIOS chips. Write your answers on a ½
sheet of paper.
