Occasionally problems with technology happen. They just do. We all know that.
But never fear. Remember that computers don’t have feelings, animosity, or agenda. It will win any battles of stress, nerves, or frustration. So, take a deep breath and try to troubleshoot the problem.
Wait, what? An IT company is encouraging people to troubleshoot on their own? Yep. Honestly, there are a number of issues that you can likely handle quicker on your own than the time it takes to get your IT guy/gal on the phone.
To help with troubleshooting, we have listed some common issues and their solutions. If these steps don’t work, or if you’re experiencing a more complicated issue, you can still reach out to your IT Support team and let them know that you need their help.
Troubleshooting Common IT Issues
My Computer Keeps Crashing. What Do I Do?
Annoying.
There can be many reasons why your computer has crashed. First, give it a couple of minutes to see if it fixes itself. If not, open your task manager, see what program is not responding, and close it. If that doesn’t work, restart the device, and try again.
Help! I Can’t Print
Is your printer connected to your Wi-Fi? Are all the cables plugged in firmly? Is there sufficient paper and ink? If you’ve checked these and it’s still not working, try restarting your router.
How Can I Retrieve A Deleted Email From Outlook?
If you’ve already checked your deleted folder and can’t find the email, click on ‘Recover deleted items’. This will open a new window and display recently permanently deleted emails. Find the email in question and click ‘Recover’.
I Know I Just Saved a Document, But I Don’t Know Where It Went!
This is more common than you think. You click ‘save’ and when you try and reopen your file, it’s not in the folder you thought you’d saved it to. Don’t worry, simply open up a folder, click on ‘recents’ and your document should be there. Look at the file information and it will show you where you’ve saved it.
I’ve Just Closed A Document Without Saving It. Help!
If you have auto-recover options enabled in Office 365, all is not lost. Search for Word backup files by clicking ‘open’, ‘computer’ and then browsing the folder where the file was last saved.
My Computer Isn’t Recognizing My USB Device
Let’s try a couple of things. First, try it in a different USB port. Does that help? If it’s still not working, try a different USB device in the ports. If that works, it looks like your USB device is broken. If it doesn’t work, you need IT support.
Why Am I Having Trouble Logging In?
This one is common and very frustrating. You can be entering what you know is the right password and still no joy. Grr. Make sure you don’t accidentally have caps lock on. If that doesn’t work, you’ll probably need to go for a password reset.
My Mouse Has Stopped Moving, What Do I Do?
If your mouse freezes, or the cursor disappears, it can be really tricky to do anything. This is where keyboard shortcuts come to the rescue. Press “ALT” and “F4” together to open the shutdown menu, then restart your device. When it reboots, things should be working correctly.
If you are using a wireless mouse, try replacing the batteries. The fix might just be a simple as that.
My Screen Has Turned Blue And Won’t Do Anything …
Ah, the blue screen of death. Looks like you just need to reboot your device. Hold down your power button for 5 – 10 seconds and it should turn off. Power it back up and things should be back to normal. If you have any prompts to install updates, do it as soon as you’re back up and running.
My Wifi Is Working, But My Computer Keeps Disconnecting
It’s possible that your PC’s network card isn’t receiving full power. Go to Advanced Settings in Power Options. Click “Wireless Adapter Settings”, and “Expand Power Saving Mode”. Set this to maximum power, and you should see some improvement.
If you are still having issues, or if you encounter something more major, contact your IT Support team. Let them know, in detail, what the issue is and how you have tried to solve it on your own. This will help give the IT Support team a baseline of the problem at hand and potentially skip the solutions that you have already tried.
Good Luck!
