What is the best way to prioritize hardware issues during troubleshooting?

When diagnosing hardware issues, its advisable we use a hardware diagnosis tool that will assist in scanning, testing and analyze your hardware and its components. in a case where you don't have the diagnosis tool, as an engineer , one can always listen to the beeps to determine some of the issues. What has assisted me mostly is always looking at the response of the hardware at every test , most of the issues are recuring hence giving me an easy time to giving a quick resolution . also as an engineer/ technician its always advisable to have a notebook next to you.

When diagnosing hardware issues, it's essential to prioritize based on the severity of symptoms and potential impact on functionality. Begin by thoroughly reviewing the symptoms of the malfunction you're encountering. Then, assess the available resources, including tools and time constraints. Consider the criticality of the hardware in question and the potential consequences of its failure. Be prepared to troubleshoot various scenarios, starting with the most likely causes and gradually exploring less common possibilities. Prioritize solutions that are feasible given the available resources and aim to minimize downtime while ensuring the issue is adequately resolved.

A key method I have found helpful when starting with the basics in hardware troubleshooting is systematically using a checklist for these initial checks. This method ensures no step is overlooked and can often reveal simple solutions before moving to more complex diagnostics. It encourages a disciplined approach, ensuring all basic connections and settings are verified first, which can save considerable time and effort. An example of this effectiveness was when I tackled a complex desk computer shutdown issue by methodically going through basic checks around the dashboard, connections to power box and similar areas, finding that a seemingly significant problem was just a loose connection. This saved me several hours.

As per my dictionary by using diagnostic tools that scan, test, and analyze your device and its components. These tools provide useful information such as performance metrics, error codes, system logs, or configuration details.

For troubleshooting power based issues, one should use caution especially when dealing with faulty power supplies. Even when unplugged, power supplies contain capacitors that can hold an electrical charge powerful enough to cause harm. One should NEVER open up a power supply unless they are trained to do so. When isolating power related issues, it is best to swap with a working power supply or use a power supply tester. Moving a bad power supply to a working computer can result in damaging a second computer. One should also use caution when dealing with any components inside a system by understanding the maintenance or repair manual and using precautions such as an anti-static or grounding bracelet.

When replacing components, I always like to take note of everything before performing the replacement. This includes things like where components are connected, tracking screws or brackets and the order components were removed. Some tools I have found very useful are, a magnetic mat that can be written on with a dry-erase marker, a precision screwdriver with good quality bits (it is not fun stripping a screw) and a notebook or a camera (sometimes taking pictures of settings that may need to be changed back or just the layout of how components are connected).