Windows 10

Diagnosing and Resolving Problems with Troubleshooters

Windows 10 tracks failed installation, unresponsive conditions, and other problems. Should an installation fail or an application become unresponsive, the built-in diagnostics creates notifications and problem reports and either provides a ready solution or allows you to check for a solution. Many other automated responses to problems are handled with troubleshooters.

The standard troubleshooters include:

  • Hardware And Devices troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems preventing the computer from properly using a device.
  • Homegroup troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems preventing the computer from sharing files in a homegroup.
  • Incoming Connections troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems preventing the computer from being connected to.
  • Internet Connections troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems preventing the computer from connecting to the Internet or an intranet.
  • Network Adapter troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems related to Ethernet, wireless, and other network adapters.
  • Playing Audio troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems preventing the computer from playing sound.
  • Power troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems that affect power management, sleep, hibernation, or resume.
  • Printer troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems preventing the computer from using a printer.
  • Program Compatibility troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems preventing a program from running on the computer.
  • Recording Audio troubleshooter:
    Detects and resolves problems preventing the computer from recording sound.
  • System Maintenance troubleshooter:
    Performs routine maintenance if you don't.

If Windows PowerShell is installed, related services are running, and troubleshooting is enabled, the troubleshooters can automatically detect and diagnose many common problems. If you suspect a problem that hasn't been detected, you can start a troubleshooter manually by following these steps:

  1. If you are working with the Security And Maintenance page in Control Panel, scroll down, and then click the Troubleshooting link. Alternatively, type Troubleshooting in the Search box and press Enter.
  2. Links on the Troubleshooting page provide access to troubleshooters according to tasks you might want to perform. For example, you could click Run Programs Made For Previous Versions Of Windows to start the Program Compatibility troubleshooter.
  3. If you don't see an appropriate task, click View All in the left pane to display a list of all available troubleshooters by name, and then click the troubleshooter you want to start.

When you are working with the Troubleshooting page, note the View All, View History, and Change Settings options in the left pane. Selecting View All shows all available troubleshooters, listed alphabetically by name, description, location, category, and publisher. When a troubleshooter is listed as Local, the troubleshooter is available on your computer. When a troubleshooter is listed as Online, the troubleshooter is available online and will be downloaded and run each time you use it.

While you are working with the Troubleshooting page, don't overlook the View History option. The troubleshooting history shows you the troubleshooters run under your user account and when they were run. Click Include Troubleshooters That Were Run As An Administrator to view troubleshooters run with administrator privileges. More importantly, if you click an entry in the history, you can view and print a detailed troubleshooting report. The report shows the issues found and the fixes Windows tried, which can be as helpful as the troubleshooters themselves.

The Change Settings option on the Troubleshooting page is also useful, because it allows you to manage how troubleshooters are used. By default, Windows checks for routine maintenance issues and alerts you when a troubleshooter can help fix a problem. Windows also allows you and other users to browse for available troubleshooters online and begins troubleshooting immediately when you start a troubleshooter.

Problems with hardware devices can be particularly difficult to resolve. If you suspect that a device isn't working properly, you can use Device Manager to verify whether the device is working properly. Start Device Manager by typing Device Manager in the Search box, and then pressing Enter; then examine the status of your computer's devices.

A device that is malfunctioning will have an error or warning icon. To view information about the error, right-click the device and then select Properties. For malfunctioning devices, the device properties will show an error status code and a suggested resolution for the code.

You can resolve many hardware device problems by reinstalling or updating the device driver. In Device Manager, right-click the device you want to work with, and then select Properties. On the Driver tab, click the Update Driver button and follow the prompts to reinstall or update the driver as appropriate.

You can also uninstall a driver and let Windows 10 reinstall the current version of the driver files from the driver store. In Device Manager, right-click the device, and then select Uninstall on the Driver tab. Click OK to confirm. If reinstalling the device driver doesn't work, check to make sure the device is properly inserted and connected. You may need to disconnect and reconnect the device (while ensuring that the computer is powered down and unplugged as appropriate and necessary).

If you are still unable to get the device to work properly, check the device manufacturer's website for alternative versions of the device driver. You may find that an older version of a device driver is more stable than the latest version.

Examining Resource Usage in Detail

Resource Monitor should be one of your tools of choice for performance tuning. You use Resource Monitor to track resource usage on the computer. The information provided is similar to Task Manager but more detailed.

You can open Resource Monitor by typing Resource Monitor in the Search box, and then pressing Enter. Resource Monitor provides resources usage statistics for four categories:

  • CPU:
    Shows the current CPU utilization and the maximum CPU frequency (as related to processor idling). If you expand the CPU entry (by clicking the options button), you'll see a list of currently running executables by name, process ID (PID), description, status, number of threads used, current CPU utilization, and average CPU utilization.
  • Disk:
    Shows the number of kilobytes per second being read from or written to disk and the highest percentage of usage. If you expand the Disk entry (by clicking the options button), you'll see a list of currently running executables that are performing or have performed I/O operations by name, process ID (PID), file being read or written, average number of bytes being read per second, average number of bytes being written per second, total number of bytes being read and written per second, I/O priority, and the associated disk response time.
  • Network:
    Shows the current network bandwidth utilization in kilobytes and the percentage of total bandwidth utilization. If you expand the Network entry (by clicking the options button), you'll see a list of currently running executables that are transferring or have transferred data on the network by name, process ID (PID), computer or IP address being contacted, average number of bytes being sent per second, average number of bytes received per second, and total bytes sent or received per second.
  • Memory:
    Shows the current memory utilization and the number of hard faults occurring per second. If you expand the Memory entry (by clicking the options button), you'll see a list of currently running executables by name, process ID (PID), hard faults per second, commit memory in KB, working set memory in KB, shareable memory in KB, and private (nonshareable) memory in KB.

The Overview tab displays a general overview of all resource data for each of the four areas tracked. Expand the panels to see more details, or select the individual tabs to take a closer look at specific usage.

One of the most useful features of Resource Monitor is the usage filter. On the Overview tab, you can filter by any combination of processes running on the computer simply by selecting the related check boxes on the CPU panel.

After you've filtered the usage activity, the graphs highlight resource usage specific to the processes you've selected. As disk usage, network usage, and memory usage data are similarly filtered, you can see exactly what the selected processes are doing on your computer.

You can apply filters on the CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network tabs as well. The filters are global and affect what you see on all other tabs. Because of this, don't forget to remove filters you've applied if you want to examine other processes or view overall usage data again. To do this, simply clear the process check boxes that apply the filters.

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