Troubleshooting Steps
Question
A technician is troubleshooting a Windows CAD workstation that is running slow.
The computer uses RAID 10 and has dual GPU cards.
The user states that the same application runs faster on an identical workstation.
Which of the following should the technician perform FIRST to troubleshoot the problem?
Answers
Explanations
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A. B. C. D.B.
The first step a technician should perform to troubleshoot a slow Windows CAD workstation with RAID 10 and dual GPU cards, which the user claims is faster on an identical workstation, is to check the performance of the system using monitoring tools.
RAID 10 is a combination of RAID 1 (mirroring) and RAID 0 (striping), and it provides a balance between fault tolerance and performance. Dual GPU cards can enhance graphics performance, but they can also cause issues if not configured correctly.
Before taking any drastic actions such as replacing hardware components, the technician should first check the performance of the system using monitoring tools such as the Windows Task Manager or Resource Monitor. This will allow the technician to identify any processes or services that may be consuming excessive system resources, such as CPU usage, RAM usage, or disk I/O.
Once the technician has identified any resource-intensive processes or services, they can take appropriate steps to address the issue. For example, they may need to terminate a process or service that is consuming too many system resources or upgrade the hardware components such as adding more RAM, replacing the graphics card, or upgrading the CPU.
Option A, replacing the write cache battery, may be necessary if there is an issue with the battery that is causing data corruption or loss. However, it is not the first step a technician should take when troubleshooting a slow workstation.
Option B, checking the event log for any cache issues, may provide useful information, but it should not be the first step. It is also worth noting that cache issues are unlikely to be the cause of a slow workstation.
Option C, clearing the RAID configuration file and restarting the PC, is not recommended as it could cause data loss and further issues. This option should only be considered as a last resort when all other troubleshooting steps have failed.
Option D, replacing the RAID controller write cache module, is also not recommended as the cache module is unlikely to be the cause of a slow workstation.
