Every computer user meets problems: no sound, no internet, a frozen screen. The difference between a beginner and a confident user is not that the confident one never has problems. It is that they know what to try. Finding and fixing a problem step by step is called troubleshooting. Today you become the Hub's fix-it team.
When a taxi stops working, a good fitter does not take the whole engine apart first. They ask what happened, check the easy things (is there fuel? is the battery loose?), and only then go deeper. Most computer problems also have easy causes: a loose cable, a switch turned off, a wrong setting. So we always check in the same order, from easiest to hardest.
| Problem | Check (in R-C-S-A order) | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| 🔇 No sound | R: close and reopen the video. C: headset or speaker plugged in firmly, in the green jack, switched on? S: muted? Volume at 0? Wrong output device? Is the video player itself muted? | Click the speaker icon on the taskbar: unmute and turn the volume up, then click > and choose the right device (Session 7). Check the player's own speaker button too. |
| 🌐 No internet | C: Ethernet cable clicked in at both ends? Router lights on? S: Wi-Fi off? Airplane mode on? Connected to the right network? Is the hotspot's data bundle finished? | Click the network icon (bottom right): turn Airplane mode off, turn Wi-Fi on and connect to the right network (Session 8). Still nothing? Try another website, then ask. |
| 🖨️ Printer offline or not printing | C: printer switched on, cable in, paper in the tray, no red light or jam? S: did you pick the right printer in the print dialog? | Load paper (never pull out jammed paper: tell an adult). Choose the correct printer. See waiting jobs in Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → the printer → Open print queue. |
| 🖥️ Wrong display or blank projector | C: projector or monitor on? Cable in at both ends? Projector set to the right input (HDMI or VGA)? S: wrong Windows + P mode? Brightness at 0? | Press Windows + P and choose Duplicate. Turn the brightness up in Settings → System → Display. |
Your turn: Akosua sees an aeroplane where the Wi-Fi icon should be. What is wrong, and what should she click?
| Problem | Check | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| ⌨️ Keyboard types the wrong things | S: everything in CAPITALS? (Caps Lock) S: number pad makes arrows, not numbers? (Num Lock) S: @ and " swapped, or a comes out when you press q? (wrong layout) | Press Caps Lock once (Session 2). Press Num Lock once. For the layout, look at the letters beside the clock (ENG UK, ENG US, FRA) and press Windows + Space to switch back. |
| 🖱️ Mouse pointer will not move | C: wireless: battery flat? switch underneath on? tiny USB receiver plugged in? Wired: cable firm? S: laptop touchpad switched off? | Change or charge the battery. Replug the receiver or cable in another USB port. Touchpad: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Touchpad → On (use the Tab and arrow keys if you have no mouse). |
| 🧊 App frozen ("Not responding") | R: wait 30 seconds. Then close it. | Ctrl + Shift + Esc → Task Manager → click the app → End task (Session 8). Reopen it. Whole PC frozen? Restart. |
| 📦 Drive full (red bar, "low disk space") | S: File Explorer → This PC: how much is free? What is big? | Empty the Recycle Bin. Move videos to a pen drive or the cloud (keep two copies!). Settings → System → Storage → Temporary files → Remove files. |
| 🔌 "It won't turn on" | C: power strip or UPS switched on? Cable firm at the back of the PC? Laptop charged? Is it the monitor that is off, not the PC? | Ask an adult to check the wall socket, power strip and UPS. Press the monitor's own power button. Charge a laptop for 15 minutes, then try again. |
When you reach step A, the helper cannot see inside your head. A clear description saves time and gets you fixed faster. Give the helper these four things:
Selasi tells the mentor: "Please, the computer is spoilt!" In fact, he opened YouTube, the video plays but he hears nothing, he checked the volume is up, and there is no error message. Rewrite his help request using the four parts:
| Part | Selasi's better request |
|---|---|
| 1. What I did | |
| 2. What I see | |
| 3. The error | |
| 4. What I tried |
What should Selasi check next, before he asks?
Open the Fix-It Workshop 3D lab on your session page. A computer has problems: no sound, no internet, a frozen app, a full drive and more. Follow the fix-it habit to find and fix each one, and write a clear help request for the one you cannot fix. Say the step out loud each time: "R… C… S…"
Your mentor has secretly put a fault on each computer. Move to each station, find the fault and fix it. Rules: use R-C-S-A in order, test after every step, never touch mains plugs, and put everything back the way it should be.
| PC | What was wrong (symptom) | Step (R/C/S/A) | What I did to fix it | Checked by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The trickiest fault was… and how I found it:
| What you see | Most likely cause (choose one) |
|---|---|
| 1. Every letter Naa types comes out as a CAPITAL. | |
| 2. The PC's light is on and you hear the fan, but the screen is black. | |
| 3. Kofi's wireless mouse worked yesterday; today the pointer will not move. |
Question 1: Write the four steps of the fix-it habit in order, with one example for each.
Question 2: You smell burning from behind a PC. What do you do, and what must you never do?
| Troubleshooting Competency | With Help | Almost Alone | All By Myself! |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. I can use the R-C-S-A fix-it habit in order. | |||
| 2. I can fix no sound, no internet and a frozen app. | |||
| 3. I can fix keyboard, mouse, display and printer problems. | |||
| 4. I can describe a problem clearly and stay safe. |
BIH JHS Tech Club · a Bozoma Innovation Hub programme · Your answers are saved only on this computer.