Knowledge base
Troubleshooting guides
Every walkthrough here is written from real repair tickets. Search by symptom, or filter by the part of the system that is misbehaving.
24 guides
Windows PC won't power on
No lights, no fan, nothing on screen. Work through power, cabling and the front-panel reset before assuming the machine is dead.
Wi-Fi connected but there's no internet
'Connected, no internet' with pages that time out. Narrow it to the device, the router or the provider before changing settings.
Windows laptop is painfully slow
Minutes to reach the desktop, freezes with a few apps open, disk pinned at 100%. Work through the causes in order of likelihood.
Browser keeps opening pop-ups and redirects
Ads in new tabs, search results that go somewhere else, and a homepage you never set. Usually a rogue extension or notification permission.
Recovering accidentally deleted files
Deleted, overwritten or vanished files. The first ten minutes decide whether recovery is easy or impossible.
Cleaning malware off a computer safely
Hijacked browser, unwanted programs, ransomware warnings. What to isolate, what to remove, and when a clean install is the only answer.
Laptop is overheating or the fan never stops
Hot case, constant fan and sudden shutdowns. Almost always airflow, dust or a background process — in that order.
Can't sign in to your email account
Password rejected, account locked, or a verification code that never arrives. Work through it in the right order to avoid a longer lockout.
Laptop battery won't charge
The charger is connected but the battery stays flat, sticks at a percentage, or the machine only runs on mains power.
Printer won't print or shows offline
Offline printer, stuck queue or blank pages. Separate the printer from the computer first, then fix the side that is broken.
Fixing a Windows blue screen (BSOD)
Blue screen with a stop code, or a restart loop. The stop code is the only clue that survives the restart — capture it first.
Mac is running slow
Spinning beach ball, loud fan at idle and apps that take seconds to respond. Usually storage, login items or a runaway process.
External monitor is not detected
A second screen that stays blank. Test input, cable and port in that order — one of the three is almost always the answer.
Back up your computer before a repair
The ten-minute job that makes every repair safer. What to copy, where to put it, and what to write down before handing the machine over.
Outlook won't sync or send mail
Separate the account from the program: if webmail works, Outlook is the fault. If webmail is broken too, the account or the provider is.
Printer prints blank pages or streaks
Blank pages and streaks are cartridge and drum problems nine times out of ten — not a broken printer, and not something to fix by printing harder.
Laptop screen is cracked or has a dead area
A cracked panel, a line of dead pixels or a bright patch is physical damage. The data is safe, the display is not — and the machine should not be pressed back into service.
Bluetooth mouse, keyboard or headphones won't pair
Bluetooth pairing fails for boring reasons — an old pairing still remembered by both ends, a flat battery, or USB 3 interference from the port next door.
USB drive or external disk not recognised
A drive that is silent in Explorer is often fine — the port, the cable or the drive letter is the problem. A drive that clicks is a different matter.
Can't connect to Wi-Fi at all
When the network is not even listed, the fault is between the laptop and the router — usually the adapter, the password or the band, not the internet.
Computer takes minutes to start up
A machine that used to boot in seconds and now takes minutes is almost always loading too much at sign-in, or doing it from a failing or nearly full drive.
Windows Update keeps failing
An update that fails, rolls back or loops at the same percentage is usually a blocked service, a corrupt cache or too little free space — not a broken PC.
Mac won't finish starting up
A Mac stuck on the Apple logo, the progress bar or a folder with a question mark is usually a startup disk problem — and often a drive that is failing rather than macOS itself.
Ransomware or a locked computer
A ransom note, renamed files or a machine that will not open anything is an emergency measured in minutes — and every connected drive is in range.