COMMON NETWORK ERROR AND SOLUTION

INFORMATION SHEET 4.4-2

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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, STUDENT(S) MUST be able to:

Know the different types of common error.

know of each diagnostic apps according to its specification.

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 Slow Connection

Cause: The most obvious problem with Wi-Fi

speeds slowing down is being too far from the
router. The further you are from the router,
the more unreliable the connection and its
throughput will become.

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 Fix: To fix this, just get a little closer. If the
router is located in a different room, try
going into the room where the router is
located and see if that fixes the issue. If
this is a consistent issue, try to position
your router higher (up on a shelf), away
from other devices, which can interfere
with it, and in a central location in your
home.

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 1.Move your router. Wi-Fi is radio waves, meaning your
router broadcasts in all directions from a central
location. If your router is in a far corner of your
house, you’re covering a great deal of the outside
world and not enough of your home. The closer you
can put your router to the center of your coverage
area, the better reception will be throughout your
house.

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 2. Adjust your antennas, if possible, and see
what helps. If your house is tall, alternating
between fully vertical and fully horizontal
positions can help reach in multiple
directions.

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 3. Other routers might be interfering with
yours. If you live in an apartment building, or
any area with a lot of people nearby, changing
your router’s channel can help. Free software
like NetSpot on Mac and Windows and Wi-Fi
Analyzer for Android can show you every
wireless network nearby, and what channel
they’re using. If your router overlaps with
nearby networks in particular rooms,
considering switching to a less-congested
channel.
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 4. If none of this helps, your home might be too
much for one router to handle. Consider
purchasing a wireless repeater, or setting up an
old router to serve as a repeater or second access
point, to extend the range a little bit.

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 Cause: Another cause for slowdowns is a lack of
bandwidth. If everyone is home and using their
computers, phones and televisions for data-hungry
applications, your typically speedy Internet is being
spread thin and shared across multiple devices.

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 Fix: Disconnect any devices that you aren't actively
using. If multiple people are trying to stream videos from,
say, YouTube and Netflix, while someone else is trying to
game online, you can try connecting one or more of the
devices directly to the router using a Cat-5 ethernet cable
to free up some of the wireless bandwidth. But the
problem may be that you just don't have fast enough
Internet speeds to support everything at once.

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 Cause: Interference can be a real issue,
especially in crowded areas. When most people
first get their Internet set up, they leave
settings unchanged, which means default
wireless frequency channels -- like 1, 6 and 11
-- become very crowded.

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 Fix: Fortunately, many newer model routers are
capable of automatically selecting the least
crowded frequencies upon rebooting. Perform a
power cycle on your router or, log in to the admin
panel and manually select a different channel.

Additionally, if you have a dual-band router, try

enabling both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. keep the 5GHz
channel open for your most important connections.

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 Cause: During peak hours, Internet speeds can slow
for everyone, especially in crowded, urban areas.

Fix: All you can really do when this is the case, if

possible, is try to schedule your usage outside peak
hours to get the best speeds.

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 Cause: Wireless technology has changed quite a bit over
the last 10 years. New wireless standards have been put in
place, speeds are faster than ever, and fiber is being
offered in more areas and devices you never thought
would require an Internet connection need Wi-Fi --
televisions, speakers, refrigerator, printers, lights and
more. The problem could easily be an outdated router.
Fix: If you think the limitation lies with your router, it
may be time to start saving up for a new one. Upgrading
your router every two years or so is good practice and can
help you avoid certain issues altogether.

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 NO INTERNET CONNECTION

Cause: Periodically, something glitches and the

router or modem (or combination) just stop
communicating. There isn't always an explanation. It
just happens.
Fix: The best place to start is pulling the plug.
Disconnect the modem and router from power and
wait at least 30 seconds before restoring power to
both.

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 Cause: For me, one of the most common problems
that occurs with my Internet is the connection
dropping completely -- not due to a hardware issue
on my end, but rather a massive service outage.
Fix: Not much you can do here. You can go to the
nearest coffee shop or get on the phone with your
Internet service provider (ISP) and let them know
you're affected. Sadly, this usually won't do much to
speed up the recovery time, but it can help the ISP
know more about which areas are affected by an
outage.
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 COMMON HARDWARE PROBLEMS AND SOLUTION

Blank monitors
Blank monitors are among the most common computer
problems. Most people who have computers will have dealt
with non-working blank monitor at least once. The first thing
to do is to check the supply cord and power systems.
Sometimes, the video cable may be loosened. In this case,
push the video cable into place again. If you can access
another monitor, connect it to the CPU and see if it works. If it
does, the problem is in the monitor or its wire.

Sometimes the monitor may display strange colors. Make sure

that all the pins are properly secured on the CPU.

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 Hard drive is dead
A dead hard drive is a major hardware problem
because it usually involves considerable expenses.
The only possible thing you can do is to try and
recover as much data as you can from the hard
drive. There are specialized software available that
can do this. Alternatively, you can also take it to a
hard drive recovery expert.

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 Error when booting
Errors on boot usually happen during reboots. Some
error messages will be self-explanatory but others may
be technical. Make sure that all the wires that lead to the
computer are properly pushed in. Sometimes, floppy
disks and external hard drives can also cause error
problems. Remove them and try to reboot.

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 Starting problems
If you are unable to start your computer, the best
thing to do then is to restart the system and
choose an existing configuration like Safe Mode or
Last known Stable Configuration. The Safe Mode is
the best option to choose because it will give the
computer a chance to analyze the problem as well
as adjust to new settings.

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 Shutdown problems
It can happen that the computer shuts down
suddenly or it takes a long time to shut down. If
you are facing these situations, it is best to look
into the problem deeply. There may be a serious
and bigger problem involved than just the
computer shutting down.

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 Freezing computer
It has been seen that excess heat can cause the computer to
freeze and even lock up. The internal temperature of the
computer is controlled by a fan. This fan is prone to
accumulating dust and will not cool the system properly when
it does. Removing this dust can work wonders. In fact, this is
one of the first things you must do before you decide to buy a
new heat sink or a fan. If the system still hangs, cut the load
on the hard drive and the CPU. You can do this by stopping
applications you don’t need (go to the task manager to find
out which are the applications).

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 COMMON NETWORK AND SOLUTION

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 Wireless Network Shows Signal but won't Connect 

Wireless networking is a terrific way to make sure that your

employees are able to move freely while maintaining access
to all their business files. However, some notebooks and
computers occasionally show a strong signal from the
wireless router but still don't connect. If you encounter this
problem, try putting the computer right next to the wireless
router and see if it connects then. If it does, then that
suggests a problem with the system hardware. A network
card occasionally receives a strong signal but doesn't
transmit as effectively. Updating the network card's drivers
might solve this problem, but it is also possible that you
may need to replace the hardware entirely should this
occur. 
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 Network Outages and Inaccessible Files 

If you experience a high number of network outages at

unpredictable times or you find your employees unable to
access files they are supposed to have access to, you might
be experiencing a NetBIOS conflict. This problem tends to
be most common on older systems, particularly when they
use Windows NT, but the issue exists in other Windows
systems as well. If you have recently upgraded to a new
service pack or received another large system update, you
are more at risk of this happening than previously. You can
bypass this problem by disabling WINS/NetBT name
resolution unless it is required by a specific program. You
could also rename a computer or domain to resolve possible
naming issues. 
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 IP Conflicts 

By default, Windows ensures that only one IP address per

device has place on the network at once. However,
sometimes two devices wind up getting assigned the same
address. In this case, the network might wind up blocking
one of the devices, which prevents access to protected files
and can cause network lag not only for the conflicting
devices but for all connected machines. You can avoid this
problem by reconfiguring your DHCP setup to ensure that
static IP addresses are excluded from the pool. This will
reconfigure IP addresses appropriately, which will resolve
the conflict and in return will lead to all machines on the
network getting the proper access that they are supposed
to get. 
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 Slow Application Response 

A common issue business networks encounter is a slow

reaction time for applications, especially shortly after a
computer starts up or connects to a network. This is
usually a sign of high bandwidth use. You should perform
a time study of your employees to make sure they aren't
viewing too many videos via streaming or downloading
large files. Enforcing proper network use may be a good
way of keeping your bandwidth use in hand. If your
employees are already using the network properly, you
might not have the amount of bandwidth you need to
operate your business. In this case, you should look into
upgrading your network to properly fit your expanding
business needs. 
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 Poor VoIP Quality 

Stutters, delays, and other problems with VoIP can hamper a

network's productivity and hurt telecommunications efforts.
The most common issue with business VoIP is a network
stutter. This can be resolved by installing jitter buffers, which
cache VoIP packets and allow them to be accessed during the
communication in order to ensure a smooth stream. Jitter
buffers can be customized to fit the needs of your network
and are rather easy and inexpensive to install. Another
option you can use to prevent this issue is a new playback
codec with a packet loss concealment feature. Packet loss is
the other major cause of stuttering audio and video, and
making sure your codecs and drivers are up to date helps a
lot. 
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 SOFTWARE RELATED PROBLEM

Computer Keeps Restarting

This could just be the result of a series of Windows Updates,
which require several reboots sometimes. Take a look and see
if the restart process mentions “Updating Windows”, if so –
just have some patience, it’s worth it.
Now, another cause might be mechanical – Is your computer
making odd noises? Is it unusually hot? If your computer is
not brand new, you might need to clean the dust that
accumulated inside the box. To do that – follow our computer
cleanup guide. If the problem persists after cleaning the
computer, run a virus scan and a malware scan.
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Getting Popups All the Time
If you’re not browsing the internet, yet are still
getting popup ads, it’s most likely a form of
malware called “Adware”. These are sneaky
programs that can be tricky to get rid of. As in #3,
run a virus scan and a malware scan, and search
online for “(advertiser name) adware removal” –
you should be able to find a solution.

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 My Search Page Looks Weird
There’s a type of malware called “Browser Hijackers”,
which take over your browser and direct you to sites
they want you to see, for which they usually get paid.
These nasty pieces of software also steal your private
information, such as searches, personal details, and
even credit-card number. Follow the instructions in #4,
but if all else fails, go to a specialist.

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 Constant “Security” Warnings While Browsing
While this may be one of the most annoying
problems, it’s also incredibly easy to fix. Check that
your computer’s clock shows the correct time and
date. If it doesn’t, right-click on the clock and select
“Change date and time settings” to correct

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