--- title: Help, my computer is not working! 11 IT-pro steps to make it work again description: Try these 11 IT-pro steps before you call your nearest and dearest and yell down the phone 'Help! My computer is not working!' --- [Game-changing productivity, management and HR insights](https://www.turbinehq.com/blog) # [Help, my computer is not working! 11 IT-pro steps to make it work again](https://www.turbinehq.com/blog/my-computer-is-not-working) Written by [Grace O'Brien](https://www.turbinehq.com/blog/author/grace-obrien) | 05-Jan-2018 08:00:00 IT geeks are just like you, with the exception that they can fix computer problems. They aren’t born with this knowledge, however; it’s not coded in their genes. Instead, IT pros use a simple 11-step programme that *anyone* can refer to when their computer is not working. And it solves *nearly* all problems. If you're sitting in despair and shouting 'my computer is not working!', don't worry. Follow these eleven steps to get your machine up and running again: ## 1. Is it plugged in? This works surprisingly often. Things get disconnected and new things don’t get plugged in properly. Same goes for Wi-Fi and projectors. ## 2. Did you reboot? Most of the time when the internet doesn’t work, the router needs rebooting. And most of the time when something goes wrong on a computer, rebooting is an essential first step. ## 3. RTFM Read the, ahem, manual! Geeks don’t like to admit it but we sometimes read manuals to find out how to do things. But ssshh, don’t tell anyone! ## 4. Keep a log But if none of the obvious things work, you're going to need to do some diagnostics. I find it very helpful to keep a log of what I tried and what worked or didn’t work. ## 5. Make the problem repeatable If you can repeat the problem consistently, it’s much easier to fix it. You can try something and see if it helps or not. ## 6. Form a hypothesis  Start with a theory of what’s going wrong – ‘the upgrade didn’t install properly’ or ‘the password is wrong’ or whatever. ## 7. Google it Type in a description of the problem, ‘windows upgrade failed’ or ‘change my password in XYZ application’. Look for sites that look plausible, such as vendor support sites. ## 8. Have an escape route Sometimes, Googling a problem produces lots of different possible explanations and you may need to try several different solutions, so always give yourself a way back. The log will help and if you’re doing serious computer surgery, it’s a good idea to have a backup. ## 9. Test it Apply the solution you discovered and see if it fixes the problem. If it does, then you’re done. Hurray. If not, go back to step 6. ## 10. Repeat steps 6-9 three times ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again but then give up. Don’t be a bloody fool about it.’ ## 11. Get proper help If you can’t solve it in a reasonable time, get more help. Call company tech support, or a vendor, or a friend. (Not me!)  ## If, after all that, your computer is not working... Refer to Step 11 and call for help. There's no shame in it, and if you've documented the problem and kept a log of your attempts to fix it, an IT pro, like our friends at [Chalkline](https://www.chalkline.tech), should be able to solve your problem. [View full post](https://www.turbinehq.com/blog/my-computer-is-not-working) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Grace O'Brien" }, "dateModified" : "2024-09-24T08:59:33.694Z", "datePublished" : "2018-01-05T08:00:00Z", "headline" : "Help, my computer is not working! 11 IT-pro steps to make it work again", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 929, "url" : "https://www.turbinehq.com/hubfs/AdobeStock_91438014-1-1.jpeg", "width" : 1399 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.turbinehq.com/blog/my-computer-is-not-working", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60.0, "url" : "https://www.turbinehq.com/hubfs/Branding/Turbine_Logo_-_dark2x.png", "width" : 228.2243 }, "name" : "Turbine Blog" } } ```