How to Troubleshoot Problems with Existing Hardware

If a hardware feature that previously worked suddenly fails, follow these troubleshooting steps:

1. If Windows will not start.
2. Use Reliability Monitor to determine how long the problem has been occurring and what related symptoms might be occurring. For more information, see the section titled "How to Use Reliability Monitor" later in this tutorial. Then use Event Viewer to find any related events that might provide useful information for diagnosing the problem. For information about using Event Viewer, see the section titled "How to Use Event Viewer" later in this tutorial.
3. Install any updates available from Windows Update.
4. Roll back any recently updated drivers, even if they are for other devices. Driver problems might cause incompatibilities with different devices. For more information, see the section titled "How to Roll Back Drivers" later in this tutorial.
5. Download and install updated software and drivers for your hardware. Hardware manufacturers often release updated software for hardware features after they release the hardware. You can typically download software updates from the manufacturer's Web site.
6. Remove and reinstall any newly installed hardware. For more information, see the sections titled "How to Diagnose Hardware Problems" and "How to Troubleshoot Driver Problems" later in this tutorial. For detailed information about troubleshooting USB devices, see the section titled "How to Troubleshoot USB Problems" later in this tutorial.
7. Install updated drivers for other hardware features, including BIOS and firmware updates for all hardware accessories and your computer. Updated drivers for other hardware features can sometimes solve incompatibility problems with hardware.
8. Troubleshoot disk problems by using ChkDsk to identify and possibly fix disk-related problems. Disk problem can corrupt drivers, which might cause hardware to stop functioning. For more information, see the section titled "How to Troubleshoot Disk Problems" later in this tutorial.
9. If possible, move hardware to different connectors on your computer. For example, move internal cards to different slots and connect USB devices to different USB ports. If this solves the problem, the original connector on your computer has failed or the device was not connected correctly.
10. Replace any cables used to connect the new hardware to your computer. If this solves the problem, the cable was faulty.
11. Connect problematic hardware to a different computer. If the hardware fails on multiple computers, you might have a hardware malfunction. Contact the hardware manufacturer for technical support.
12. Perform a system restore to attempt to return the computer to the latest state when it was functioning correctly. To use System Restore, see the section titled "How to Use System Restore" later in this tutorial.
13. Contact the hardware manufacturer for support. You might have a hardware or software failure, and the hardware manufacturer can assist with additional troubleshooting.