Had a conversation with a client's IT guy that got me thinking about my troubleshooting approach

I was swapping out a bad power supply on a Dell Optiplex last Wednesday, and the client's in-house IT guy was watching me work. He said something like, "You know, I've been fixing computers for 15 years and I still start with the obvious stuff first, not the fancy tools." It hit me different because I've been overcomplicating things lately, jumping straight to diagnostic software when a loose cable is the real issue half the time. Has anyone else caught themselves doing the same thing, like forgetting to check the simple stuff before pulling out the multimeter?

3 comments

3 Comments

cooper.phoenix11d ago

That IT guy changed how I think about troubleshooting

sam_murphy3911d ago

yeah but the thing is, most IT guys are just really good at breaking problems down into small steps. they don't just jump to the fix, they figure out what's actually happening first. it's like they ask "what changed?" or "what's the simplest thing to check?" instead of panicking and reinstalling everything.

christopher_wells410d ago

Funny enough, I do the same thing when a patient says their tooth hurts..."what changed?" is usually the first thing out of my mouth.