Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top

2023 | Book

Introducing Troubleshooting in Windows 11 Read chapter Read first chapter

Troubleshooting and Supporting Windows 11

Creating Robust, Reliable, Sustainable, and Secure Systems

Author: Mike Halsey

Publisher: Apress

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Login to get access
insite
SEARCH

About this book

Diagnose, troubleshoot and repair any type of problems on your PC from startup and file access to cloud services and the issues caused by hybrid-work. This book contains everything you need to know to keep PC systems running optimally, and to repair problems quickly and efficiently.

This book provides a deep dive into the Windows OS, detailing what everything is, and how it works. You will learn about the in-built, additional, and third-party tools and utilities you can use to create reliable, robust and secure PC systems.

Further, you will learn how to configure Windows 11 so as to avoid problems occurring, and how to support every type of end user, working from home, or in any part of the world, speaking any language, and taking into account other factors such as ability or personal barriers.

You will discover the support tools and support ecosystem you can use to create and manage effective support tracking and remote access. You will discover how to get detailed events and reliability information, and how to manage update channels. You will deep dive into Windows 11 operating system and folder structure and learn app and software troubleshooting, process and service troubleshooting, network and internet troubleshooting and hardware and peripherals troubleshooting.

Finally, you will learn more advanced troubleshooting techniques like security and encryption troubleshooting and using PowerShell scripting to repair problems. Further, you will also learn how to manually remove malware and ransomware, registry troubleshooting and startup and repair troubleshooting. By the end, you will know how to troubleshoot complex problems and diagnose hardware problems in a PC. You will be able to troubleshoot and repair any type of problem on a Windows 11 PC.

What Will You Learn

How to support home and hybrid-workers using their own PCsUsing scripting and PowerShell to troubleshoot and repair systemsManaging networking and internet access to minimize downtimeManaging installation and troubleshoot for updates and patches

Who Is This Book For

IT Pros and system administrators who have to maintain small or large networks of connected PCs locally at their organization, or with hybrid workers.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter

Troubleshooting Fundamentals

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introducing Troubleshooting in Windows 11
Abstract
We’re living in interesting times when it comes to working in IT and providing support for end users in the business space. Having now emerged from the global pandemic of 2020 (if only there was a phrase we could have used to describe seeing it coming), many if not most companies and organizations have workforces that, to a certain extent anyway, have rather enjoyed working from home.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 2. Tools and Utilities Used Throughout This Book
Abstract
The tools and utilities that you will need and use are scattered around Windows 11, and some of the most useful are pretty well hidden such as the System File Checker and the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool, both of which we’ll look at in depth in Chapter 9, and the Problem Steps Recorder which we’ll demonstrate in Chapter 6.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 3. Building a Robust and Secure PC Ecosystem
Abstract
You may have heard the term “prevention is better than cure,” which is mostly attributed to the Dutch philosopher Erasmus around the year 1500. Over the years, the phrase has been widely adopted by healthcare but also has significance when it comes to Windows 11 troubleshooting… hear me out on this one.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 4. Configuring Windows 11
Abstract
A hugely important part of configuring a PC so as to make it as bombproof as possible is in the initial setup and making sure that your user accounts and overall configuration are managed in such a way so as to help avoid problems occurring later on.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 5. Training Local and Remote PC Users
Abstract
When you are troubleshooting and repairing a Windows PC, or any other type of electronics and computing device, it’s not the computer you’re supporting, it’s the end user, a person. Now we’ll skip lightly over the fact that in some cases it will have been that person who caused or contributed to the problem in the first place. It’s not their job to be perfect, that’s yours.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 6. Windows 11’s Support Tools
Abstract
In Chapter 8, we are going to start looking in depth at the various utilities and tools within Windows 11 for diagnosing, troubleshooting, and repairing specific problems and problem areas, and there is indeed a lot to show! Having spent a little time discussing the end user however, I wanted to show you the support tools available in Windows 11, as there are more than you might think.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 7. The Methodology of Supporting Users
Abstract
Who do you work for and what do you do? It’s all too common to think of ourselves when working in IT support as working for the big company, Fujitsu Siemens was my first big support role, and just working for them. I would argue the reality is quite different. I would say that we actually work for the end users, and our role is to make them all look good.
Mike Halsey

Troubleshooting Windows 11

Frontmatter
Chapter 8. Events and Reliability Troubleshooting
Abstract
When you want to diagnose a problem or an issue in Windows, there’s good news, as there’s almost nothing that happens on a PC without being logged and recorded. No, I’m not talking about the National Security Agency (NSA) or the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) spying on your online activities as if I’m honest I doubt the Chinese government is really that concerned about how many cat videos you search for on YouTube or the cookery tutorials you subscribe to on TikTok (let’s see how well this book ages with the TikTok reference; Ed).
Mike Halsey
Chapter 9. Integrity and Updating Troubleshooting
Abstract
How many times had you had or heard of a Windows Update causing problems on a PC, from instabilities to causing the system to completely fail to boot? To be honest, if I had a dollar for each time I’d heard this, I’d be enjoying a fair few more nights in fancy restaurants than I currently do.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 10. User Account and File Troubleshooting
Abstract
There are two things that are always a certainty with PCs. The first is that they’ll be used by a person (or people), and the second is that these people will be working on files and documents in order to get stuff done. You can just imagine then the chaos that can befall the land when one of these important services is unavailable.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 11. Windows 11 File and Folder Structure in Depth
Abstract
I’ve just done a count of how many files I have on the C: drive of my PC where Windows 11 is installed. It’s not a small number being 689,246 files in 139.196 folders, taking up a not insignificant 1.06TB of my 2TB SSD. This isn’t including my documents and files either, which I always store on a separate SSD and which consume 638GB on their own.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 12. Apps and Software Troubleshooting
Abstract
Software is probably one of the most complex and convoluted aspects of a modern PC as there’s just so much variety now supported. You can run a DOS script from 1981, a 32-bit application from Windows 95, a 64-bit program that was written a week ago, or a Windows Store app that was introduced with Windows 8. Now it’s even more complex with the addition of Android apps installed from the Amazon Appstore. If we add the ability to run programs and scripts designed for GNU/Linux and the BASH command line, then things get more complex still.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 13. Processes and Services Troubleshooting
Abstract
At the end of Chapter 12, I teased you that we hadn’t even got started on managing and troubleshooting Windows applications, processes, and services. This is because maintaining compatibility for older (legacy) programs and software and managing the Microsoft Store and third-party store apps is just a small part of what’s on offer.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 14. Network and Internet Troubleshooting
Abstract
So far in this book, we’ve covered how to troubleshoot problems with the core Windows OS and Windows Updates. We’ve looked at how problems with user accounts and file and document access can be diagnosed and repaired. We’ve also looked at how legacy software can be supported, and troublesome apps and programs can be restored or removed.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 15. Hardware and Peripherals Troubleshooting
Abstract
I have some Bluetooth headphones; they were pretty expensive too being high-end Bowers and Wilkins affairs costing almost $400 each (I actually own two of these), and that price was got in a sale. The sound quality from them is astonishing, but as I also purchase 24-bit audio versions of all my favorite albums (digitally pure and uncompressed, unlike 16-bit CD quality), I’d be a bit dim to then try and use cheap headphones to listen to them.
Mike Halsey

Advanced Troubleshooting Techniques

Frontmatter
Chapter 16. IT Systems and the Wider World
Abstract
If you look at the world of PC use and work today compared to just a few short years ago, it’s very clear that everything has changed. Indeed, the whole dynamic of the workplace is different, with employees of major corporations now effectively setting policy for attendance, wages, and more. All of this came out of the pandemic of course. Before 2020, businesses around the world had been telling people they had to work from the office because that was just the only way to do things and that nobody would get anything done if they didn’t.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 17. Security and Encryption Troubleshooting
Abstract
Security and privacy are a strange thing these days. On the one hand, they’re absolutely paramount for the consumer, with social media, advertising, and other corporations wanting to know more and more about us to sell us appropriate advertising. On the other hand, much of that advertising is pretty well targeted, and some would argue that it’s so unbearably difficult to keep anything private anymore, especially as many of us put it out on social media willingly, that we’re on a hiding to nothing.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 18. Virus and Malware Troubleshooting
Abstract
Long gone are the days when getting a virus on your PC was annoying. As the world has become more connected, and as we’re doing more financial and official activities on our PCs, smartphones, and tablets, the risk has increased greatly. When we then factor in home and hybrid workers, and people using their own home PCs for workplace purposes, connecting to cloud services in which sensitive customer data is stored… you take my point.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 19. Registry Troubleshooting
Abstract
The Registry is what has always set Windows apart from other operating systems; in fact, it’s only Windows that does things the Registry way. Whereas Unix-based operating systems such as Linux, Android, and Mac OS use a series of folders such as /etc that contain configuration files for the operating system and installed applications, the Windows Registry consists of a series of binary database files.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 20. Startup and Repair Troubleshooting
Abstract
Nothing is more annoying than a PC that won’t start to the desktop, but this is a fate that can sometimes befall a PC. The common solution is to reinstall Windows from scratch or to reimage the PC. I always argue these aren’t good solutions. If you reimage the PC from an image created using software from a company such as Symantec or Acronis, which have always been popular among IT Pros for the creation of image backups, then you will have to update every installed application that requires it, reinstall any new applications that have been installed since the image snapshot was taken, and then run Windows Update for possibly a long period to get the operating system up to date.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 21. Researching and Troubleshooting Difficult Problems
Abstract
Sometimes, you hit a problem on a PC that you know fully well doesn’t require a reinstall or reimaging, but is so frustrating and knotty that it drives you nuts. It happens regularly, and you end up searching online trying to find the answer only to find either that there’s no answer, but that a ton of other people have experienced the same problem, or that there’s no mention of it at all, at least not that you can find.
Mike Halsey
Chapter 22. Installing and Restoring Windows 11
Abstract
It’s becoming increasingly rare that anybody installs a copy of Windows these days. The largest number of installs will be corporations upgrading their desktop machines from Windows 10, but even that’s not a clean install, it’s an upgrade. IT departments reimaging a PC after a problem isn’t a clean installation either, it’s restoring a backup image. For consumers and the rest of society, Windows 11 will come preinstalled on a new PC or laptop, and those moving from Windows 10 to Windows 11 will perform an in-place upgrade that’s rolled out through Windows Update, so that’s not a clean installation either.
Mike Halsey
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Troubleshooting and Supporting Windows 11
Author
Mike Halsey
Copyright Year
2023
Publisher
Apress
Electronic ISBN
978-1-4842-8728-6
Print ISBN
978-1-4842-8727-9
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8728-6

Premium Partner

    Image Credits