Nothing ever goes wrong with a personal computer (PC), right? After the nervous laughter subsides, we recognize the need for guides to troubleshooting the inevitable problems that we know will arise. In this book, Mike Halsey, a Microsoft MVP (most valuable professional), provides a well-thought-out guide to areas where problems can arise with Microsoft’s latest operating system (OS), Windows 10, and what to do about them. But the material goes beyond what the title states. It provides tools and tips for configuring Windows 10 to help make things work efficiently and avoid situations that could cause problems. For example, Halsey advocates moving user data folders off the same drive or disk partition as the operating system (OS), so that if the OS must be restored from a system image, the user’s data will not be affected. He further advocates the use of Windows 10’s file history feature for backing up user data, again with the history stored on a different drive from the source data.
We find quite a lot of detail here, too much to cover in depth in this review. Suffice it to say that the coverage is comprehensive for PC systems for individual use, with tips for business use involving multiple units. There are some references to tablets, but no coverage of Windows phones. The discussion begins with setting the system up for robustness so that when troubleshooting is needed, the troubleshooter can look at--and in many cases quickly solve--hardware or software issues. This includes being prepared, such as by having regular data backup procedures, and having bootable recovery media, a universal serial bus (USB) drive or DVD disk that can try to start a computer that will not boot from its internal media. Halsey gently emphasizes the importance of recovery media repeatedly throughout the book.
The topics discussed include configuring Windows; hardware components such as disks, memory, the power supply, and so on, and how to troubleshoot them; repairing software components such as device drivers and built-in apps such as Edge and Internet Explorer; how the computer starts and what to do if it won’t run; dealing with network problems; the various forms of backup and restore; recovering from viruses and other malware; the Windows registry and file system; and more. For business support, Halsey goes into managing distributed systems as well as managing bring your own device (BYOD) environments. Also of high value are discussions of Microsoft and third-party diagnostic tools, of special note the very valuable Sysinternals tool suite, and how-to advice on researching difficult problems.
As one might expect, the material is technical in nature, but not to the point of excluding knowledgeable end users. Halsey writes in a lighthearted style that makes for easy reading, providing clear instructions accompanied by illustrations that should quickly let the reader know if he is following the instructions correctly. Halsey nicely avoids loading the text with jargon and acronyms. Much of the material, such as procedural suggestions, is relevant to other versions of Windows, and to troubleshooting PCs in general. This book should be in the reference library of anyone who must maintain one or more Windows 10 systems.
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