DC 2011 PROBLEM SOLVING CHAPTER ONE

DISCOVERING COMPUTERS 2011 PROBLEM SOLVING CHAPTER ONE

Problem Solving @ Home

       1-      Incorrect Grade Report:  Your grade report came in the mail today. On the grade report, your grade point average (GPA) is not what you expect. After computing it manually, you discover that the GPA on your grade report is incorrect.

What might be causing the error?

¾     Incorrect formula used to calculate grades. 

¾     One or more of your grades is higher or lower than you expect.

      2-    Suspicious Charges:  Your credit card company called to inform you that your account has a suspicious charge. Upon further investigation, you realize that the charge does not belong to you. What will you do?

¾     Contact the credit card company and dispute the charge, and ask whether it is necessary to file   a police report.

      3-      Shared printer Error:  At the beginning of the semester, your roommate configured your computer so that it could print on the printer in his bedroom. He left for vacation three days ago, and you recently have noticed that you are unable to print to his printer from your computer. Each time you attempt to print, you receive an error message starting that the printer is unavailable. What might be wrong?

¾     Your roommate’s computer may be turned off or is offline.

¾     He might have disabled sharing while he was away.

¾     There is a printer or network error.

      4-      Software installation Trouble:   You have purchased a new video game for your home computer and attempt to install it. Upon inserting the installation disc, however, nothing appears to happen on your computer. What is your next step?

¾     Make sure that the optical disc is inserted properly, and inspect it for damage. If necessary, call the software vendor for support.

      5-      Problematic Player:  After charging your portable media player overnight, you turn it on only to find that it is reporting a low battery. Seconds later, it shuts off automatically. What might be wrong?

¾     Circuit breaker might have tripped for that outlet.

¾     Battery in portable media player is bad and does not accept a charge.

      6-      Inaccessible Media:  You insert an optical disc with digital photos from your most recent family vacation, and discover that your computer will not read the optical disc. What might be wrong?

¾     Disc might not have been finalized.

¾     Disc format is not compatible with your operating system.

      7-      Bank Account Postings:  While reviewing your checking account balance online, you notice that debit card purchases have not posted on your account for the past several days. Because you use online banking to balance your account, you become concerned your unknown account balance. What steps will you take to correct this situation?

¾     Contact the bank and/or the merchant to investigate why the charge has not yet posted.

      8-      GPS Error:  You are driving to your friend’s house and are using your GPS receiver for directions. While approaching your destination, you realize that the GPS receiver instructed you to turn the wrong way on your friend’s street. How could this have happened?

¾     Maps may be outdated or are incorrect.

      9-      Shopping For Software:  You are shopping for software that will assist with your home landscape design. The package for the program you would like to purchase states that it was designed for the most recent version of Windows, but an older version is installed on your computer. How can you determine whether the program will run on your computer?

¾     Before purchasing the software, look online for articles discussing whether the software will work, or ask a sales associate. Be aware of the stores software return policy before purchasing it if you are unsure of compatibility.

Problem Solving @ Work

      1-       Insufficient Disk Space:  Recently, you purchased a USB flash drive that you plan to use to store work-related files. When you attempt to store a file on the USB flash drive, the computer displays an error message indicating that the file will not fit. How could a brand new USB flash drive not have enough room to store the first file you attempted to store on it?

¾     File might be too large for the drive.

¾     Drive might be bad.

¾     Drive might be write protected.

      2-      Computer Replacement:  The technical support department at your company has informed you that you will be receiving a new computer within the next week. Before they will replace your computer, they told you to back up anything that is important. What types of files do you feel are important to back up?

¾     Back up all documents that you have created, as well as e-mail messages if they are not stored on the server. Programs will be reinstalled on your new computer using the original installation media.

      3-      Power Outage:  The power in your office has been out for the last two hours and has just come back on. When you attempt to start your computer by pressing the power button, nothing happens. What is your next step before calling technical support?

¾     Check the surge protector to see if you need to reset it.

¾     Check all power cables for proper connection.

4-      Incorrect Login Credentials:  Upon returning to the office from a well-deserved two-week vacation, you turn on your computer. Upon entering your user name and password, an error message appears stating that your password is incorrect. What are your next steps?

¾     You might have forgotten your password, or technical support might have temporarily disabled your account for security purposes. Contact technical support for a password reset.

      5-      Software Installation:  You are attempting to install a program on your office computer. After inserting the installation disc and specifying that you would like to begin the installation, your computer appears to begin installing the software. Halfway through the installation process, an error message appears stating that you must have administrative privileges to perform the installation. Why were you immediately upon beginning the installation? What are your next steps?

¾     The installation might not have attempted to write to a protected area of the hard disk until the middle of the installation. Contact technical support for assistance with installing the program.

      6-      Dead Battery:  While traveling for business, you realize that you forgot to bring the battery charger for your notebook computer. Knowing that you need to use the notebook computer to give a presentation tomorrow, what will you do to make sure that you have enough battery power?

¾     Do not use the computer unless absolutely necessary. Reduce the brightness of the display and turn off Bluetooth and other wireless networking capabilities to preserve the battery.

      7-      Discarding Old Computer Equipment:  Your company has just given you a new computer to replace your current, outdated computer. Because of the negative environmental impact of throwing the computer away, your supervisor has asked you to suggest options for its disposal. How will you respond?

Look into options for computer recycling in your area, or ask around to see if anyone can use the old computer.

DC 2011 PROBLEM SOLVING CHAPTER THREE

Discovering Computers 2011 Problem Solving Chapter Three

Problem Solving @ Home

      1-      Program Not Responding:  While working with a document, Microsoft Word suddenly fails to recognize when you click the mouse or type on the keyboard. The title bar also indicates that the program is not responding. What could be wrong?

      ¾     The program might be in the process of crashing.

      ¾     Your computer is out of memory (RAM).

      2-      Incorrect Calculations:  As a teacher’s assistant at a local high school, you keep track of students’ grades in Microsoft Excel. At semester’s end, you use a formula to calculate the final letter grade for each student. The final letter grades, however, do not calculate properly. What might be causing the error?

¾     The formula used to calculate the letter grades is incorrect.

      3-      Unable to Save:  You have been using Microsoft Access to maintain a database of your optical discs. Upon attempting to open the database, you receive a message on the screen stating that only a read-only copy of the database could be opened, which means that you are unable to save any changes. What is your next step?

¾     Make sure that the database is not already open.

¾     Restart your computer.

      4-      Smart Phone Not Synchronizing:  You regularly connect your smart phone to your computer to synchronize your e-mail messages, contacts, and calendar. The last few times you tried to connect the smart phone, the computer did not respond. Before placing a call to technical support, what steps can you take so that the computer will recognize your smart phone?

¾     Check the port to which you are connecting the smart phone to make sure that it is working.

¾     Check whether you need to install and/or update any drivers so that the computer will recognize the phone.

      5-      Unwanted Page:   A local charity in which you are active has asked you to design a one-page brochure. Each time you print the brochure, it prints the first page correctly, but a blank second page also comes out. What steps will you take to eliminate the blank second page?

¾     Use the Print dialog box to configure the program to only print the first page of the brochure.

      6-      Audio Not Playing:  You are attempting for the first time to transfer video from your video recorder directly to your computer. When you save the file on your computer and play it back, the video quality is acceptable, but there is no audio. What is the first step you will take to troubleshoot this problem?

¾     Make sure that the speakers are turned on.

¾     Check the video recorder to ensure that it also is recording audio.

¾     Make sure that you are using the recommended software program to play the video.

      7-      Unusual File Size:  You are using photo editing software to remove red eye from a photo. After successfully removing the red eye, you save the file and notice that the size of the file nearly has doubled. What might be causing this?

¾     The photo editing software might have needed additional space to store the file with the red eye reduction.

      8-      Program Crashing on Exit:  Each time you attempt to quit Microsoft Excel by clicking the Close button, the program does not quit, and the title bar indicates that it is not responding. When you click the Close button again, a dialog box is displayed that states Microsoft Excel has encountered a problem. What steps will you take to solve this problem?

¾     Reboot your computer to see if that corrects the problem.

¾     If the problem persists, reinstall Microsoft Excel or check the Internet for solutions for this specific problem.

Problem Solving @ Work

      1-      Missing Font:  A coworker has sent you a document that was created in Microsoft Word. She asks you to format the heading of the document with a specific font; however, the font name does not appear in your list of fonts. What steps will you take to retrieve the font?

¾     Search the Internet to obtain the font and follow the instructions to install it.

¾     Check with your coworker to see if a copy of the font is available for you to install.

      2-      Incorrect File Format:  You have been working from your home office creating your company’s annual report in Microsoft Word. Upon attempting to open the annual report on a computer at your company’s office, an error message is displayed stating that the file format cannot be recognized. What might have caused this?

¾     You are attempting to open the file on a computer that does not have Microsoft Word installed.

¾     The file is corrupt.

¾     You saved the file in a format that cannot be recognized by the computer you are using to open it.

      3-      Insufficient Permission:  When reviewing a document in your company’s document management system, you attempt to correct a typographical error for the next person who views the file. The document management system prohibits this action and informs you that you do not have the proper permission. What will you do to resolve this problem?

¾     The document might be protected. Contact the sender to obtain the necessary information to unlock the document and make any necessary changes.

      4-      Software Activation Required:  Your company has purchased a new notebook computer to allow you to work from home. After using the computer for about one month, Windows informs you that it must be activated to continue functioning. Why is this happening, and what are your next steps?

¾     The computer might not have been activated previously, or an invalid product key was entered previously. Contact technical support to resolve this problem.

      5-      Trial Version Expired:  New job responsibilities require that you use Adobe Photoshop to create a new company logo. Your boss has been unable to purchase the latest version of the software for you, and recommends that you download and install the trial version until she is able to purchase the software. The trial period now has expired and you are unable to use the program. How might you be able to continue using the software?

¾     Some trial software only can be installed once on each computer. You might have to install the software on a different computer to continue using it. Be sure to check the license agreement before doing this.

      6-      Web-Based Training Difficulties:  You have signed up for Web-based training that is designed to teach you how to use your company’s new accounting system. During your training, you notice that the Web-based training Web site is not keeping track of your progress. Consequently, you have to start from the beginning of the training program each time you log in to the Web site. What might be causing this?

¾     You might need to have cookies enabled to use this site. Check the technical requirements for the Web site to properly function and make necessary changes to your computer’s configuration.

      7-      Installation Media Required:  Each time you start Microsoft Excel and attempt to use one of its advanced features, a dialog box appears asking you to insert the installation disc. You are unable to locate the installation disc. What are your next steps so that you can use the advanced features of Microsoft Excel?

¾     If the program is licensed to you and you cannot locate the installation disc, contact Microsoft to determine your next steps. You may need to order a new copy of the installation media.