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Unit NotesICASAS301A Run standard diagnostic tests

Topic 2

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Page 2 of 31ICASAS301A Run standard diagnostic tests

Table of ContentsTable of Contents 3Getting Started 6Using these notes 6

Determine and carry out preventative maintenance 7Before you start 7

What is maintenance? 7Types of maintenance 7

Preventative maintenance 7

Reactive maintenance 8

Maintenance of software 8

Preventative maintenance 8Protecting critical hardware 9

Facility protection9

Redundancy 9

Protection from environmental conditions 10

Temperature 10

Humidity 10

Dirt and dust 10

Cigarette smoke 10

Electromagnetic interference 10

Protection of data — backup 11

Server backup options 11

Workstation backup 11

Types of backup 11

Protection of data from threats 12

Service packs, patches and operating system updates 12

Anti-malware software 12

Antivirus software 13

Firewalls 13

Keeping software updated 13

Checking integrity and performance 13

Determining your organisation’s maintenance requirements 13Organisational policies 14

External service level agreements 14


Fixed service versus per-call cover 14

Software warranties and maintenance agreements 15

Equipment documentation 15

Procedures for internal clients 15

Preventative maintenance tasks 16Safety first 16

Common hardware maintenance tasks 16Cleaning 16

Whole system maintenance 17

Hard disk maintenance 17

Printers 17

Tape backup systems18

Low maintenance devices 18

Scheduling maintenance 19Developing a preventative maintenance schedule 19

Cost effectiveness 19

Minimise downtime 19

Practicality 19

Meet business needs 20

When should tasks be scheduled? 20

How often should tasks be scheduled? 20

What should be recorded? 20

Reporting problems 21

Summary 21Check your progress - Questions 22

Activity 1: Identify cost effectiveness of maintenance tasks 22

Activity 2: Determine the maintenance time for a device 23

Activity 3: Investigate Windows Backup 23

Activity 4: Investigate software maintenance tools 23

Activity 5: Check your computer’s vulnerability 24

Check your progress - Answers 25Activity 1: Identify cost effectiveness of maintenance tasks 25

Activity 2: Determine the maintenance time for a device 26

Activity 3: Investigate Windows Backup 26

Activity 4: Investigate software maintenance tools 26

Research 26Preventative maintenance and diagnostic testing 26


Tech Republic 26

Windows IT Library 26

PCGuide 27

Diagnostic utilities 27

Download.com 27

Information on security and threats 27

Microsoft Support Centre 27

Computer active 27

a-squared27

Windows update 27

Online dictionaries 27

Terms 28Check your understanding - Questions 29Check your understanding - Answers 30


Getting StartedThese unit notes have been developed to provide a learning pathway to competence in ICASAS301A Run standard diagnostic tests. The notes contain all the skills and knowledge learning required to achieve competence.

Using these notesIcons and symbols are used throughout this guide to provide quick visual references. They indicate the following:

Icon Meaning Icon Meaning

ACTIVITY: An activity is listed to be completed

ACTIVITY: A Learning activity requiring some physical action

WWW: A web link is listed REFLECTION: A point is to be considered and thought about more deeply

IMPORTANT: A pivotal point is detailed

SEARCH: A particular item / book etc needs to be found and applied


Determine and carry out preventative maintenanceAn essential function of any IT department is to maintain its organisation’s IT infrastructure. This will include both critical and non-critical systems and cover both hardware and software requirements. This Learning Pack examines possible equipment and maintenance procedures and specific maintenance requirements of different equipment. We’ll also look at the types of preventative maintenance schedules you may be required to produce, to help avoid problems before they occur.

After completing this topic you will be able to: Explain the importance of following a regular maintenance schedule. Examine and review specified equipment and maintenance procedures, in order

to determine those procedures that can be handled internally. Determine the maintenance tasks and follow procedures that should be carried

out on specific equipment, as indicated by the equipment manufacturer and organisational guidelines.

Organise and undertake regular scheduled maintenance including, but not limited to, removal of dust and grease build up and replacing consumables and other components when required.

Inform appropriate persons when problems are identified by preventative maintenance.

Before you startYou should already be familiar with a range of IT hardware items, peripherals and consumables, and be able to access and use a variety of Help resources to solve problems.

What is maintenance?When we talk about maintenance, our aims are to:

preserve our IT systems in optimal condition

fix problems that occur

upgrade the existing systems to minimise future risks to the business.

This will require maintenance of hardware, software and data.

Types of maintenanceMaintenance falls into two broad categories:

preventative (or routine maintenance), and

reactive (or non-routine).

Preventative maintenanceFor example, you periodically have your car serviced, which involves changing the engine oil, air filter, spark plugs and so on. If you don’t do this, chances are at some later time your car’s performance will suffer, and you may even be stranded at a great inconvenience to you! This is preventative maintenance, and the situation is really quite similar with IT equipment. We


need to carry out preventative maintenance on a periodic basis to prevent problems occurring in the future that may interrupt business continuity.

A simple example of IT preventative maintenance is changing the drum in a laser printer.

Reactive maintenance

Reactive maintenance refers to actions taken to fix problems after they have occurred. To continue with the car example, when you get a flat tyre and have to replace it, this is a simple example of reactive maintenance. You can probably think of many IT examples. Replacing a broken cable is one.

Apart from preventative and reactive maintenance, there is another type of maintenance that deals with upgrading the organisation’s infrastructure to minimise the level of risk to business continuity.

Maintenance of software

It’s not only the hardware in an organisation that needs to be maintained — software maintenance is also required. An organisation that has custom-built software needs programmers to maintain it. This will include:

preventative maintenance to detect and correct code that may cause future errors (eg to validate input data)

adaptive maintenance to adapt the software in line with changes to business requirements (eg to make it run on an Intranet)

perfective maintenance to simply improve the performance of the software

reactive maintenance to fix software bugs.

But apart from custom-built software, organisations need to maintain other software. There may be patches, version updates, driver updates, etc to be installed. Upgrading packaged software across an organisation to standardise software versions is a good way of helping to reduce the level of support and maintenance required.

Maintenance of a hard disk is really a form of software/data maintenance. A variety of tools are available for ‘cleaning up’ a disk, removing unwanted programs and data, backing up data and so on. Protecting the system from viruses and malware is also part of this sort of maintenance.

Preventative maintenance

Specific devices require different preventative maintenance procedures. However, there are a few broad areas that can be considered which require preventative maintenance practices. These include:

Protection of equipment due to changes in electrical supply: Surges and ‘brownouts’ cause major damage to computer devices. Un-interruptible power supplies (UPS), power conditioners and surge protection devices are all valuable preventative maintenance tools for any computerised device.


Protection from environmental conditions: Humidity, temperature variation and dust are major causes of computer device failures. Actions taken to limit these factors in the workplace are valuable preventative maintenance tasks.

Protection of data using backups: It is vital that backups of both user data and system configurations are done regularly.

Protection of data from threats: Data needs to be protected from viruses, malware, hackers and so on, through the use of both hardware and software security measures.

Keeping software updated through service packs, patches and driver upgrades

Checking integrity and performance by using diagnostic tools: Routine running of any in-built diagnostics and/or checking for display of maintenance messages generated by the device.

Next we’ll look in more detail at some strategies for dealing with these.

Protecting critical hardwareFacility protection

Strategies must be in place to protect IT equipment from water damage, fire, contamination, power failure and theft. Some of these strategies include:

the implementation of early warning systems to detect water leaks, fire and air-borne contaminants

devices to continue power supply should there be a power failure such as a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) as well as on-site power generation

security access to computer facilities such as swipe cards or entry of a security number

recording serial numbers, asset numbers, location and allocation details of workstations.

Redundancy

If part of a network is interrupted, critical business processes need to be stored as soon as possible. One way of doing this is by implementing and maintaining full or partially redundant systems.

This means having an identical hardware infrastructure that can be activated should the main hardware infrastructure fail. Redundant systems can range from the duplication of entire networks to the duplication of cabling runs. Where entire networks are duplicated, system backup facilities are not required. However, full network redundancy is extremely expensive and, as such, not a commonly used option.

Partial redundancy is a common option for critical IT hardware.

An organisation’s disaster recovery plan will include such procedures for recovering network systems.


Protection from environmental conditionsTemperature

The tolerance of computer components for extremes in temperature is limited — subjecting them to temperatures outside this range is likely to reduce their life. The room environment as well as cooling and ventilation systems are, therefore, important in maintaining computer equipment in optimum operational condition.

Humidity

Computers are also sensitive to humidity and should be kept dry. Protective measures would include keeping them away from windows, and avoiding food and drinks spills. Ventilation systems also help prevent problems with humidity.

Dirt and dust

Computers should be kept in a clean environment. Dust build-up around fans and on electrical components becomes a problem because it tends to prevent heat dissipation, and interferes with the fan’s cooling function. Regular cleaning is, therefore, important. If the equipment is kept in an industrial environment, additional measures must be put in place to protect it — use of air cleaners is one useful strategy.

Cigarette smoke

The particles from cigarette smoke have the same effect as dust — they build up on the surface of equipment, causing the same sorts of problems.

Electromagnetic interference

All electronic devices are capable of producing electromagnetic interference that can cause data to be lost, problems with picture quality on monitors, and other problems.


Protection of data — backupAll organisations need strategies in place to:

backup critical data, and

ensure that data backup is being undertaken according to organisational policies.

This will involve both server backup and workstation backup.

Server backup options

Backup option Benefits Limitations

Backup to tape using backup/restore software such as Windows: the tape backups from the server can be sent to an off-site backup storage facility for restoration if backup files on-site are destroyed.

Simple; software readily available in Windows

Additional risks in transportation and storage; time to restore in the event of loss of data, ie time to data, can be too long and very costly

Backup server data to a remote tape unit via a WAN

Time to data much shorter; risks reduced due to less manual handling

Can be expensive

Backup data to a remote mirrored disk via a WAN

Time to data instantaneous; risks lowered further

Costs are high

Workstation backup

Workstations in an organisation are often standardised with respect to operating system and common applications. An ‘image’ or ‘build’ is created, making it much easier to restore the workstation to a re-usable state. There is usually an IT policy that specifies a ‘Standard Operating Environment’ for workplace PCs. Uncommon, or specific, applications are usually installed separately after the standard image is loaded.

However, users tend to customise their PCs with shortcuts, background images and screensavers, taskbar options, mouse speed and a variety of other options. Also, though it may be against company policy, there may be company data lurking on a user’s PC. Therefore, before any changes are made to a workstation PC, the hard disk should be backed up.

As mentioned, staff in a client/server organisation are generally encouraged not to store data on their own hard drives. However, where an organisation’s data is stored on a workstation hard drive, there must be some procedure in place for regularly backing it up.

Types of backup

An organisation will have policies that relate to:

the frequency of backups (daily, weekly, monthly)


the time of day backups are done

how long backups are kept

where backups should be stored.

Also, there are different types of backup. You may not need to back up all files every time you back up. Different options include:

backup of selected directories

incremental backup – backup of only files that have been created or changed since the last full or incremental backup

differential backup – backup of files that have been created or changed since the last full backup.

Backup scheduling is an important part of any preventative maintenance plan. Windows provides a backup and restore tool, and this type of software is also provided by third parties.

Protection of data from threatsBecause of the widespread interconnectivity of computers today, and the potential for intrusion, theft, damage, and so on, organisations need to have clear policies and procedures to be followed to minimise these threats. Central to this will be a number of preventative maintenance procedures, as outlined below.

Service packs, patches and operating system updates

It has become obvious in recent years that when operating systems are released, they are not finished products. Because they are so complex, even after a period of rigorous testing, security flaws are often discovered after distribution. Anti-virus and other security tools cannot protect the system from operating system holes.

For critical security holes, as soon as the flaw is discovered, the software manufacturer quickly develops and releases a patch, which is a small software update to eliminate the hole. A group of patches is sometimes released as a major update, or service pack.

Microsoft makes these updates available for free.

Anti-malware software

Malware has increased in significance over recent years. Included in this category are:

Trojans, which appear to be harmless programs, are actually designed to either do damage or carry out a range of malicious activities

Dialers, programs that change the number you use for a dial-up modem, causing increases in charges

Worms, generally spread as email attachments

Spyware, adware and browser hijackers collect information from your computer or change the Internet options in the browser.

Anti-malware software helps to prevent a computer from these attacks. However, installing it and forgetting about it provides insufficient protection. Regular updates need to be carried out.


Antivirus software

Viruses have been around for a long while, and have been overtaken somewhat by other types of threat. However, using antivirus software which is regularly updated is still an important preventative maintenance measure for computer systems.

Firewalls

There are two types of firewalls — hardware and software firewalls. Hardware firewalls offer the best protection against intrusion, but they are expensive for small companies. Desktop or a software firewall is useful, but malicious software may find ways to bypass it.

Keeping software updatedToday’s IT equipment is complex, and so is the software that supports it. Often a device is purchased with a projected life of several years, but in the mean time, other equipment and operating systems that it is used with are updated. Sometimes this means that a perfectly good piece of equipment no longer works, or works unsatisfactorily.

So new software for these devices (drivers) is developed and released. Keeping abreast of these various driver updates is also important in preventing problems before they arise.

Checking integrity and performanceComputer operating systems are generally provided with an array of diagnostic tools that can be used to check whether there are either hardware or software problems with the machine, or whether steps can be taken to improve its performance.

For example, Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup are tools available in Windows operating systems. A whole range of other utilities is also available from other software manufacturers. Visit a website like download.com (http://www.download.com) and browse the range of software available.

Determining your organisation’s maintenance requirementsWe have so far discussed some broad areas of preventative maintenance. From the point of view of an IT Support person, how do you determine exactly what maintenance should be done, and how often it should be done? What information should you refer to?

To start with, your organisation will have specific procedures that deal with maintenance and how it is scheduled. These procedures will be either as a result of, or in conjunction, with the following:

Organisational policies, for example, a particular procedure may be in place because of your organisation’s policy on the management of risk.

Equipment, in particular specialised equipment, is covered by warranties and maintenance contracts. These will often involve an agreed level of support for the equipment, also called a service level agreement (SLA).

Both equipment and software are provided with documentation regarding their handling and maintenance requirements.


http://www.download.com/

Support is also often provided by phone or website, and may even involve the provision of training.

If you work in IT Support within your own organisation, the service you provide to your internal clients will also be governed by a service level agreement.

Organisational policiesThe maintenance procedures in an organisation will be determined by a number of factors, including:

how critical the IT components and/or software are

cost constraints

the risk to business continuity

pre-existing commitments

expectations of service by the organisation’s business units.

External service level agreementsMaintenance agreements are a way of ensuring that the business is supported to an agreed level at a known cost.

As a result, the business may enter into an agreement with an IT support organisation. All critical hardware components and software should be covered by either a warranty or maintenance agreement. There are a number of things to consider:

1 New purchases. A warranty agreement comes automatically with the purchase of hardware components and software. You usually have the option of extending the warranty when you purchase the item.

2 Extension of warranty. You can enter into a maintenance agreement when the initial warranty expires rather than extending the warranty.

3 Type of cover. A maintenance agreement is an agreement negotiated between the organisation and the supplier to maintain the hardware or software. Maintenance agreements can be on a fixed service basis, eg 24 hours a day, 7 days per week (24/7); 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (8/5); 12 hours a day, 5 days a week (12/5) or on a per-call basis.

Fixed service versus per-call cover

The benefit of the fixed service type of maintenance agreement is that you receive a dedicated and, typically, faster response. Depending on the terms of the agreement, your maintenance costs are also likely to be covered.

A per-call basis means you receive maintenance services from the supplier as required. The problem with this type of agreement is that you have to wait until a technician is available and you are charged for labour and parts. A benefit is this cost can often be less expensive than a maintenance contract.


Software warranties and maintenance agreements

Software should also be covered by a warranty or maintenance agreement. Software warranty only lasts for a short period of time, so a maintenance agreement for critical software should be in place. If customised software has been developed in-house, a maintenance agreement will not be necessary because it will be maintained internally.

A software maintenance agreement may include, for example, a free or discounted upgrade of packaged software.

Equipment documentationEach item of IT equipment should be accompanied by documentation. This may be provided in hard copy, as a manual, on CD, or on a support website. If original documentation provided as hard copy is missing, it can usually also be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website. IT Support staff need to be able to read and interpret all such technical documentation.

Documentation for a system should outline the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance procedures for the unit. The procedures should state:

how often maintenance procedures should be done

any equipment/material/consumables that are required

the actual steps to complete the maintenance task, including all relevant safety precautions for the task.

The system’s documentation should also identify any components of a system that should not have any preventative maintenance applied to it for safety reasons. Generally speaking, hardware manufacturers will include instructions for:

cleaning

care

consumables — handling, installing and disposing

making adjustments

troubleshooting.

Apart from documentation, the supplier’s website will supply software patches and driver updates as they become available.

Procedures for internal clientsSince your external suppliers and internal clients involve different service level agreements, procedures for handling them are usually different, but one may depend on the other. Some of these procedures detail:

the way service requests are reported

how fast you can respond to requests — how fast you respond to an internal client will depend on the agreed response time with an external supplier. For example, let’s say a workstation monitor needs replacing. If your external supplier says it will be done within two days, then you can’t do it any faster for your client!


how requests are escalated — an external supplier will have specific, agreed escalation procedures, and these may be different from your own internal ones.

Preventative maintenance tasksHaving discussed the organisational factors and reference documents that help to determine an organisation’s maintenance procedures, we’ll now concentrate on those tasks that would be included in most preventative maintenance programs.

Don’t forget that highly specialised equipment will need specialised maintenance procedures and may require independent technical qualifications and personnel to maintain it. As you are now aware, this will involve an external maintenance agreement.

Safety firstRemember that ALL preventative maintenance must be carried out within the regulations associated with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2000 and relevant government licensing frameworks. Your own safety is far more important than the preventative maintenance of any device.

Common hardware maintenance tasksWhile it is beyond this topic to identify all types of maintenance across the range of devices available in the IT workplace, the following devices and preventative maintenance tasks are included here as common tasks.

CleaningThe following table gives suggestions for cleaning the parts of a computer.

Device Type of maintenance Resources

Keyboard Keyboard covers; regular ‘dusting’ with compressed air

Original system documentation will recommend cleaning material instructions

Mouse Cleaning mouse ball and rollers; replacing ball mice with optical mice will solve most problems

Original system documentation will recommend cleaning materials

Monitor Wiping of screen — be careful of the cleaning products used as some may damage the screen. Consult the manufacturer’s instructions for the monitor.

Original documentation will recommend cleaning materials

CD/DVD drives

Cleaning drives with CD/DVD cleaning kit CD/DVD cleaning kit documentation

Floppy disk drives

Cleaning drives with FDD cleaning kit FDD cleaning kit documentation


Whole system maintenanceMaintenance of a computer system will also involve:

checking system event logs regularly

viewing POST results

routine checking using system monitoring utilities that track system temperatures, voltages and fan speeds

checking for dust accumulation, particularly around fans and vents

updating drivers for printers, modems, soundcards, video cards and so on, as needed

updating operating system and application software with the latest service packs; eg later versions of Windows allow updates to be automatically downloaded and installed, but this can be disabled

updating anti-virus software and virus definitions.

Hard disk maintenanceSoftware for carrying out hard disk maintenance is provided by the operating system utilities, as well as by third party software. Typical maintenance will include:

removal of unwanted files — this can include old files, temporary files, downloaded files, corrupt files, Internet cookies, and browser history

removal (uninstalling) of unwanted software

backup — this may be by means of standard backup/restore software, or through imaging software such as Norton Ghost

cleaning up the registry

defragmenting files

creating system restore/boot disks

scanning for viruses, spyware, adware, malware, and so on

disk checking using standard diagnostic tests.

Many of these activities can be scheduled to occur automatically. We’ll discuss scheduling in the next section.

PrintersMost maintenance on printers relates to print quality and paper handling. Maintenance on printers may include the following.

Component Type of maintenance Resources

Laser printer drum

Cleaning/replacement. Some printer replacement cartridges include the drum, requiring less maintenance. Others may require a separate

Printer documentation


maintenance procedure for the drum. Consult the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ink print heads

Cleaning/replacement. Some printer replacement cartridges include the ink print heads, requiring less maintenance. Others may require a separate maintenance procedure. Some print heads also require alignment. Consult the manufacturer’s instructions.

Printer documentation, in-built printer cleaning utilities

Paper rollers and feed path

Purchasing quality paper, ensuring a dust free environment and regular cleaning. Consult the manufacturer’s instructions.

Printer documentation

Tape backup systemsTape backup systems are listed as a separate item here due to their importance in the IT workplace.


Tape drive Cleaning drive heads. This should be done regularly. Consult the manufacturer’s instructions.

Head cleaning kit and original tape drive documentation

Backup software

Regular viewing of backup logs for errors Backup software documentation

Tape media

Checking media for errors and tape age against the recommended tape life. Perform test restores to confirm reliability of media and backup process.

Backup software documentation and media specifications

Low maintenance devicesMany devices such as hubs/switches, scanners and USB devices are normally considered ‘maintenance free’. However, these units may benefit from the following types of maintenance.


Hub/switch Checking systems log and port statistics for large error counts

Original manufacturer’s documentation

Scanner Glass cleaning with recommended products; ensuring a dust free environment

Viewing POST diagnostics test results

Other devices

Viewing POST diagnostics test results; running regular tasks to ensure the device is functional

Viewing POST diagnostics test results


Scheduling maintenance Many organisations with a preventative maintenance program will have maintenance tasks organised on a schedule. The goal of a schedule is to ensure that regular maintenance occurs. Given the time pressures of working as an IT Support person, a schedule will assist you in organising your workload to ensure that the best possible service is provided to the client.

If a maintenance schedule does not exist, consider designing one. A schedule should simply include:

1 each preventative maintenance task that should be completed

2 how often the task should be repeated

3 an estimate of the time required to complete the task.

These tasks can then be allocated time in your schedule at the required intervals.

Developing a preventative maintenance scheduleIn developing a preventative maintenance schedule, it is important that as an IT Support person you are aware of the main aims of preventative maintenance. They are:

to meet the needs of the business

to extend the working life of equipment

to reduce the amount of emergency downtime caused by faults that can be prevented

to be practical

to make the IT system more cost effective.

Cost effectiveness

It is important that any preventative maintenance be cost effective. It is possible to spend significant amounts of time cleaning and testing devices such as keyboards and mice to extend their life. However, the replacement cost of those devices, including the cost of having an inventory of such items on hand, may mean that it is cheaper to purchase new devices rather than extend the life of the existing devices.

Every maintenance issue must be examined from a cost point of view.

Minimise downtime

It is important that preventative maintenance focuses on items that may cause significant downtime and cost to the business if they were to fail. Such items may include hard disk drives (HDD) of servers. Should they fail, emergency downtime may occur at a significant cost to the business. As a result, such devices should be considered high priority in a maintenance schedule.


Practicality

Preventative maintenance must be practical within the working of a business. If the process of preventative maintenance causes a major interruption to the daily working of a business, the maintenance program will fail. Always try to consider the impact on the users of the computers when considering a preventative maintenance program.

Meet business needs

Any maintenance program must meet the needs of the business if it is going to be successful. While this should have been considered when an SLA was written, the maintenance work must be carried out within the organisation’s guidelines and requirements.

When should tasks be scheduled?Scheduled maintenance should obviously impact as little as possible on normal business operations, and should therefore be carried out at periods of low activity, such as during the night, at weekends or holiday periods. It is possible to carry out many tasks with very little client awareness or involvement.

If client involvement is required, they should be informed in advance of when they will be affected, for how long, and how it will impact them. You may need to give them instructions, such as logging out of their PC, leaving it on, rebooting, and so on.

There are some useful operating system or third-party tools which allow maintenance tasks to be automatically scheduled. This is the case with later versions of Windows.

How often should tasks be scheduled?To determine how frequently maintenance tasks should be done, you should first refer to the types of documentation mentioned earlier in this topic. The preventative maintenance strategies in place would also help determine the frequency of tasks. You should also bear in mind the principles listed above. However, if your organisation is small and you are in the process of developing your own schedule, you’ll need carry out research and then make these decisions yourself.

For example, how often should a hard disk be defragmented? You’ll find opinion divided on this one, as it depends on a number of different factors such as hard disk size, how much space is on the disk, and how much disk and file activity there is. Suggestions range from daily, to three monthly! If it can be scheduled to run automatically during a period of non-activity, a more frequent schedule can do no harm.

Similar decisions need to be made with respect to the scheduling of backups.

What should be recorded?Scheduling can be a formal process, where preventative maintenance is carefully scheduled for various business units within the organisation and formally documented and signed off. It can also be an informal process.

The following should be documented in a preventative maintenance schedule:

1 dates for maintenance to occur

2 business unit/floor/building/computer facilities where the maintenance will occur


3 the IT staff member responsible for completing the maintenance

4 dates for completion

5 notification that maintenance has been completed

6 comments or notes where problems are detected.

Reporting problemsYour preventative maintenance schedule will occasionally alert you to potential problems. When this happens, you should be aware of the appropriate person to inform. Your organisational guidelines and/or service level agreements should indicate who this is. It may be your supervisor, authorised business representative, external supplier, or client.

SummaryPreventative maintenance is an important component of many IT Support positions. A preventative maintenance program should be a common sense schedule that aims to provide the regular maintenance required for devices in an IT installation.


Check your progress - QuestionsActivity 1: Identify cost effectiveness of maintenance tasks

Identify the most cost-effective maintenance tasks that you could do as an IT Support person by doing the following activity:

Cost effectiveness

Maintenance tasks are listed in the table below. Each task has listed with it the amount of time taken to service it, how often that servicing should be done and the replacement cost of the item.

As an IT Support person (who would perform these maintenance tasks) you are costing the company $60.00 per hour.

List four of these preventative maintenance tasks under Schedule that you believe are the most cost effective.

Schedule Maintenance task: Time taken:

(How often)Repeat every:

Replacement cost of item protected:

Keyboard cleaning 15 minutes

Month $25

Mouse cleaning 10 minutes

Fortnight $15

File server system log 5 minutes Week $5000

Floppy disk drive cleaning

5 minutes Week $15

Tape drive cleaning 20 minutes

Fortnight $4000

Backup software media error log

5 minutes Each backup $10

Monitor cleaning 5 minutes Week $500

Installing surge protection on computers

5 minutes Once $1000 to $5000


Activity 2: Determine the maintenance time for a device

Identify a printer you have access to and check the original documentation of the device — for the recommended periodic maintenance procedures. If the original documentation is not available, use the manufacture’s website to access a copy of this documentation.

List each preventative maintenance procedure, estimate the time taken to complete each task and identify how often the task should be repeated. Use this to calculate the maintenance time required for this device on a yearly basis.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 3: Investigate Windows Backup

If you are using a Windows computer, investigate the version of Windows Backup on your machine. It will usually be located as one of the system tools in the Accessories group. Try the following:

Learn about the software using the Help available, and browse the various sections. Try carrying out a variety of backup types. Create one or two backup files Move some unwanted files into a folder, back up the folder, then delete it. See whether

you can restore the folder from your backup.

Activity 4: Investigate software maintenance tools1. Locate any software maintenance tools available on the computer you are using. Look

for tools such as: a. Disk defragmenter b. Disk cleanup c. Virus scanning software d. Disk checking software.

2. Download software maintenance and diagnostic tools from the Internet, using a site such as Download.com at: http://www.download.com/

Investigate these tools using any instructions or Help available, and try them out on your computer.



Activity 5: Check your computer’s vulnerability

If using a Windows system:

1. Check your System Properties in the Control Panel. Look at the version of the operating system you are using, and any service pack that may be installed. Do you have the latest service pack? Do you know whether you have the latest service pack installed?

2. Depending on your version of Windows, also have a look at the ‘Automatic updates’ facility. Investigate it further using the Windows help or the online support site.

3. Use the free tool on the Symantec website to check your home computer’s vulnerability: visit http://security.symantec.com and follow the appropriate links.


http://www.symantec.com/securitycheck/

Check your progress - AnswersActivity 1: Identify cost effectiveness of maintenance tasks

While it is not possible with the information provided to complete a full cost benefit analysis, you should be able to identify the four most cost effective items to maintain (versus replacement). Many of the most labour intensive items (to maintain) have the lowest replacement cost and so are the least cost effective.

Schedule Maintenance task:

Time taken:

(How often)Repeat every:

Replacement cost of item protected:

File server system log

Keyboard cleaning

15 minutes Month $25

Tape drive cleaning

Mouse cleaning

10 minutes Fortnight $15


File server system log

5 minutes Week $5000


Floppy disk cleaning

5 minutes Week $15

Tape drive cleaning

20 minutes Fortnight $4000


5 minutes Each backup $10

Monitor Cleaning

5 minutes Week $500


5 minutes Once $1000 to $5000


Activity 2: Determine the maintenance time for a device

The purpose of this activity is to start you thinking about the ongoing time commitment to a device once it is installed in the workplace.

Activity 3: Investigate Windows Backup

You have probably been introduced to backup software before, but this activity should be a useful revision exercise for you. In particular, you need to make sure that you can restore files from a backup, otherwise there is very little point in doing it!

Activity 4: Investigate software maintenance tools

Use caution with any tools you download. Make sure you read instructions thoroughly, checking the requirements of the software. You don’t want to do the opposite of what you are trying to achieve by damaging your computer system!

ResearchFor resources that relate to your computer’s operating system you can:

search manufacturer’s and/or vendor’s websites find textbooks specialising in the configuration of your chosen operating system

(in libraries and at booksellers) access the original documentation that came with the system you are using.

For device-specific maintenance information:

access the original documentation that came with the device access the support sections of the manufacturer’s website. Note that many forms of device documentation may refer to preventative

maintenance as either ‘periodic maintenance’ or simply as ‘maintenance’.

Preventative maintenance and diagnostic testingBooks on A+ Certification are a useful source for information on these topics, and you’re likely to find plenty of information on the Web a well. Below are a few suggestions. Home page links are provided — you’ll have to use the site’s search tool to look for specific information on preventative (or preventive, as it’s often called maintenance.

Tech Republic

This is comprehensive source of information on computer related technical issues: http://techrepublic.com

Windows IT Library

http://www.windowsitlibrary.com


http://www.windowsitlibrary.com/

http://techrepublic.com/

PCGuide

This site has a comprehensive section titled ‘System Care Guide’: http://www.pcguide.com/

Diagnostic utilitiesDownload.com

Browse this site for a range of preventative maintenance utility software — utilities, drivers, anti-spyware, and so on: http://www.download.com/

Information on security and threatsApart from the few suggestions made below, visit the home pages for popular virus protection software such as Symantec anti-virus, McAffee, Sophos, Vet and so on.

Microsoft Support Centre

Comprehensive support site for Microsoft products. Navigate to the Security Help section for guidance and support on security issues: http://www.support.microsoft.com/

Computer active

This site boasts ‘simple, clear advice’ on all aspects of computing. There is a section titled ‘A guide to Microsoft.com’ which is a guide to finding what you want on the Microsoft support websites: http://www.computeractive.co.uk/

a-squared

This is a useful source of information on security threats. It is a commercial software site, but does have some well written and concise information on security. Look for the topic: ‘Security-Guide – The Basics’: http://www.emsisoft.com/en/

Windows update

To install items from Windows Update, you must be logged on as an Administrator or a member of the Administrators group. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Online dictionariesIt is always useful to have a link to a good PC dictionary. For example:

http://www.webopedia.com http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia


http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia

http://www.webopedia.com/

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

http://www.emsisoft.com/en/

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/

http://www.support.microsoft.com/


http://www.pcguide.com/

Terms

Booting derives from the ‘Boot Strap Code’ that referred to a small piece of programming code built into computers that instructed the machine on what to do when turned on; booting now generally refers to the processes automatically attempted when power is provided to a computer

Conditioner, Power a device which reforms the quality of mains electrical power entering the building; it can be very useful in prolonging the life of electrical devices such as power supplies

Device any piece of hardware attached to a computer system; it normally has a corresponding piece of software called a driver

Driver a piece of software written to be a ‘go-between’ the operating system and the hardware device; normally has a revision number or date that allows you to find updated versions of the software

FDD normally refers to a 3.5 inch floppy disk drive found on most PC systems

HDD the hard disk drive of a computer system; normally based on the IDE interface, but may also be based on SCSI or USB interfaces

IDE Integrated Drive Electronics; this is the most common, but not the only, way of attaching a hard disk to your system; it is the default drive interface on most PC systems; other interfaces for drives include SATA, SCSI and USB

Motherboard the main system board of a computer; holds input/output interfaces, the CPU and the BIOS/CMOS system

POST Power On Self Test; an in-built diagnostic program that is run when a device is turned on; it will often report errors as flashing lights or beeps, depending upon the device; most computing devices have a POST procedure

RAM main system memory known as Random Access Memory

SLA Service Level Agreement; a contract between a client who requires a service and a service provider; in the IT industry, SLAs are a common occurrence as they define the obligations of the service provider and the value of that service to the client

Surge protector a device that is designed to protect a device from peaks of over-voltage; normally plugged into a power point and then the device is plugged into it; the surge protector is often damaged in the process of protecting the device from a power surge


UPS Un-interruptable Power Supply; a device used to provide short term power in the event of a blackout; the capacity of a UPS must be carefully matched to the power requirements of the systems attached to it

USB Universal Serial Bus; a common interface used for connecting a range of devices to the motherboard

Check your understanding - QuestionsDo you think you already have the knowledge covered in this topic? Try and answer the following questions to check your understanding.

Question 1

SLA stands for:

A. Synchronous language algorithmB. Service level agreement

C. Standard language acronym

D. Serial line authentication.

Question 2

A preventative maintenance program is used by a business to:

A. Extend the warranty on equipment purchased.B. Gain extra performance from a piece of equipment

C. Ensure that a piece of equipment meets their needs

D. Maximise the life of equipment in a cost effective manner

Question 3

Answer true or false for the following statement.

An un-interruptible power supply (UPS) does not form part of a preventative maintenance program.


Question 4

Answer true or false for the following statement.

The protecting environment that a computer works in should be part of a preventative maintenance program.


Check your understanding - AnswersQuestion 1

B: SLA stands for ‘service level agreement’.

Question 2

D: A preventative maintenance program is used by a business to maximise the life of equipment in a cost effective manner.

Question 3

False: This is a false statement. An un-interruptible power supply (UPS) does form part of a preventative maintenance program.

Question 4

True: This is a true statement. The protecting environment that a computer works in should be part of a preventative maintenance program.


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