HP TouchSmart dx9000 Operating manual

Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide

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Table of Contents iii
Table of Contents
Maintenance............................................................................................1
Creating Data Backup Discs ....................................................................................1
Creating System Recovery Discs ...............................................................................1
Removing Unused Programs.....................................................................................1
Running the Disk Cleanup Program...........................................................................2
Running Disk Cleanup manually ..........................................................................2
Scheduling Disk Cleanup to run automatically .......................................................2
Running the Disk Defragmenter Program....................................................................3
Checking for Hard Disk Drive Errors .........................................................................4
Understanding Hard Disk Drive Space ......................................................................4
Recommended Maintenance Schedule ......................................................................5
Troubleshooting Computer Problems ........................................................7
Audio ...................................................................................................................8
CD and DVD Drives................................................................................................9
Video..................................................................................................................11
Display (Monitor)..................................................................................................11
Hard Disk Drive....................................................................................................12
Hardware Installation............................................................................................12
Internet Access .....................................................................................................14
Keyboard and Mouse ...........................................................................................16
Power .................................................................................................................17
Performance ........................................................................................................18
Miscellaneous ......................................................................................................20
Repairing Software Problems ................................................................21
Software Repair Overview.....................................................................................21
Restarting Your Computer ......................................................................................22
Turning Off Your Computer....................................................................................22
Updating Drivers ..................................................................................................22
Microsoft System Restore .......................................................................................23
Software Program and Hardware Driver Reinstallation ..............................................24

iv Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide
System Recovery ..................................................................................................25
Creating Recovery Discs........................................................................................25
Choosing Recovery Disc Media.........................................................................26
System Recovery Options ......................................................................................26
Running System Recovery from the Hard Disk Drive .............................................26
Starting System Recovery from the Windows Vista Start menu ...............................27
Starting System Recovery from system startup ......................................................27

Maintenance 1
Maintenance
This section includes information about tasks you can perform to help ensure the trouble-
free operation of your computer, and to ease the recovery of important information on
your computer should problems arise in the future.
Creating Data Backup Discs
You can use the CD or DVD burning software included on your computer to create backup
discs of important information including personal files, e-mail messages, and Web site
bookmarks.
When writing data to a backup disc, you should use software that includes write
verification functionality. This verification feature compares the data on your hard disk
drive with the data copied to the disc to ensure it is an exact copy. Depending on your disc
burning software, you may need to manually enable this feature.
Creating System Recovery Discs
This is a one-time step that you should perform while your computer is working properly. If
you later encounter problems with your computer, you can restore it to its original factory
settings using the System Recovery discs that you create.
Before creating recovery discs, read “System Recovery” on page 25, and then create the
discs as described in “Creating Recovery Discs” on page 25.
Removing Unused Programs
1Click the Windows Start Button®, and then click Control Panel.
2Click Uninstall a program. The Programs and Features window opens.
3Select the program you want to remove, and click Uninstall.
4Follow the onscreen instructions.
NOTE: Some programs have their own uninstall features. If you cannot uninstall a
program from the Control Panel, refer to the program documentation or Help.

2Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide
Running the Disk Cleanup Program
The Disk Cleanup program frees up space on your hard disk drive by removing temporary
and unused files (including Temporary Internet Files and files in the Recycle Bin). You can
run Disk Cleanup manually, or you can set it up to run automatically.
Running Disk Cleanup manually
1Click the Windows Start Button, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools,
and then click Disk Cleanup.
Disk Cleanup searches for files to delete and calculates how much disk space can be
saved.
2Choose the files to delete by placing a check mark in the check box next to the file
types listed.
3Click OK, and then click Delete Files to finish deleting the selected files.
Scheduling Disk Cleanup to run automatically
1Click the Windows Start Button, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools,
and then click Task Scheduler.
2Click Action, and then click Create Basic Task.
3Type a name for the task and an optional description, and then click Next.
4Select the reoccurrence, and click Next.
5Select the time to run Disk Cleanup and click Next. Disk Cleanup may take a long
time, so select a time when the computer is on but not in use.
6Select Start a program and click Next.
7Under Program/Script, click Browse.
8Type cleanmgr.exe and click Open.
9Review the summary of the schedule you have set. When done, click Finish.
Disk Cleanup runs at the time you have set.

Maintenance 3
Running the Disk Defragmenter Program
When Microsoft® Windows Vista™ stores files on your hard disk drive, it often divides
them into multiple pieces (or fragments) so they fit into available space on the drive. When
you attempt to open a fragmented file, it must be retrieved from more than one place, so
the process takes more time.
The Disk Defragmenter program groups the fragmented files together on your hard disk
drive to improve computer performance. This does not affect the location of files and
folders on your computer.
1Save your work and close all open programs.
2Press the Ctrl key, the Alt key, and the Delete key at the same time.
3Click Start Task Manager.
4On the Applications tab, select all the programs that are listed, and then click
End Task. Close the Task Manager.
5Click the Windows Start Button, choose All Programs, Accessories,System
Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.
6Click Defragment Now.
If Disk Defragmenter repeatedly starts, a hidden background program is still accessing the
hard disk drive. Restart the computer and run the Disk Defragmenter program again:
1Click the Windows Start Button, click the arrow next to the
Lock button, and then click Restart.
2After Windows Vista starts, use the previous procedure to run the
Disk Defragmenter program.
NOTE: The Disk Defragmenter program may take a long time to complete. You can run it
unattended overnight.

4Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide
Checking for Hard Disk Drive Errors
Perform the following procedure to check the integrity of the hard disk drive in Windows
Vista. Close all open programs before beginning the disk check.
1Click the Windows Start Button, and then click Computer.
2In the window that opens, right-click the hard disk drive that you want to check, and
click Properties.
3In the Properties window, click the Tools tab.
4Under Error-checking, click Check Now.
5If desired, click the check box next to Automatically fix file system errors and
Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
6Click Start. If prompted to restart, click Yes to restart the computer.
Understanding Hard Disk Drive Space
Hewlett-Packard and Compaq computers with the Windows Vista operating system
preinstalled may appear to have a hard disk drive smaller than what is stated in the
product specifications, in the documentation, or on the box. Hard disk drives are
described and advertised by manufacturers in terms of decimal (base 10) capacity.
Windows Vista and other programs, such as FDISK, use the binary (base 2) numbering
system.
In decimal notation, one megabyte (MB) is equal to 1,000,000 bytes, and one gigabyte
(GB) is equal to 1,000,000,000 bytes. In the binary numbering system, one megabyte is
equal to 1,048,576 bytes, and one gigabyte is equal to 1,073,741,824 bytes. Because
of the different measuring systems, you may see a difference between the size reported by
Windows Vista and the size advertised. The storage capacity of the hard disk drive is as
advertised.
Windows Vista reports smaller capacity in the Windows Explorer tool and in the Computer
window because it shows information about one partition on the hard disk drive at a time.
The first partition contains the System Recovery information.

Maintenance 5
Recommended Maintenance Schedule
Daily Weekly Monthly Quarterly (seasonally)
Manage e-mail
Delete e-mail from
unknown sources.
Do not open
untrusted
attachments.
Organize e-mail.
Protect against
viruses, adware,
and spyware
Update definition
files or schedule a
weekly automatic
update.
Run a full virus,
adware, and
spyware scan or
schedule a weekly
automatic scan.
Use Windows
Update
Check for updates or
schedule a monthly
automatic update.
(See the Getting
Started guide for
details.)
Set new passwords
(See the Getting Started
guide for details.)
Optimize
performance
Run Disk Cleanup.
(See “Running the
Disk Cleanup
Program” on
page 2.)
Run Disk
Defragmenter.
(See “Running the
Disk Defragmenter
Program” on
page 3.)
Check for disk
errors.
(See “Checking for
Hard Disk Drive
Errors” on page 4.)
Review the
Start menu
Set to open only
needed applications:
1Click the Windows
Start Button, All
Programs, then
click Windows
Defender.
2Click Tools.
3Click Software
Explorer.
4In the Category list,
select Startup
Programs.
5Select the program
that you want to
prevent from running
and click Disable.
Clean the computer,
monitor, keyboard,
and mouse
For detailed cleaning
instructions, go to:
http://
www.hp.com/
support
Select your country/
region and language,
search on your
computer model
number, and then
search on the keyword
cleaning.

6Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide
Clean up Web
browser files
Delete cookies.
Delete cache.
Delete history files.
Clean up the desktop
Delete or uninstall
unneeded icons
and applications.
(See “Removing
Unused Programs”
on page 1.)
Empty the
Recycle Bin
This, and other
cleanup tasks, can
be performed with
the Disk Cleanup
program.
(See “Running the
Disk Cleanup
Program” on
page 2.)
Maintain overall
condition
Check cleanliness.
Make sure
ventilation is
unobstructed.
Secure all
connections and
cabling.
Back up important
files to CD or DVD
(See “Creating Data
Backup Discs” on
page 1.)
Create a Restore
Point
(See “Microsoft System
Restore” on page 23.)
Recommended Maintenance Schedule (continued)
Daily Weekly Monthly Quarterly (seasonally)