Windows Server 2012 : Managing and Troubleshooting Hardware (part 10) - Troubleshooting hardware

Troubleshooting hardware

Windows Server 2012 built-in hardware diagnostics can detect many types of problems with hardware devices. If a problem is detected, you might see a Problem Reporting balloon telling you there is a problem. Tapping or clicking this balloon opens Action Center. Action Center can also be accessed in Control Panel by tapping or clicking the System And Security link and then selecting Action Center. To open Action Center, tap or click the Action Center icon in the notification area of the taskbar and then select Open Action Center.

Using Action Center for hardware troubleshooting

Action Center might have a solution for the hardware problem the computer is experiencing. If so, you can apply the solution or get more information about the problem using the options provided. To check for solutions to known problems, click the Check For Solutions link on the Maintenance panel.

While you are working with Action Center, click the View Reliability History link to open Reliability Monitor, which allows you to review the computer’s reliability history. If hardware devices are causing reliability problems, the problem history will depict this. Select an item in the history to review its details. Additional options are available for saving the reliability history, viewing all problem reports, and checking for solutions to all known problems.

Events related to malfunctioning hardware often will be written to the system logs. You can quickly find events related to a specific device by following these steps:

1. Open Computer Management, and then select the Device Manager node.

2. Press and hold or right-click the device that you want to troubleshoot, and then select Properties.

3. If there’s a problem with a device, there’ll be an error status and a related error code on the General tab.

4. On the Events tab, you’ll see the most recent events related to the device, as shown in Figure 14. Select an event to view its details in the Information panel. Tap or click View All Events to open a custom view for the device in Event Viewer. The custom view will show all available events for the device, allowing you to review them for troubleshooting.

Figure 14. Review events to troubleshoot the device.

Whenever a device is installed incorrectly or has another problem, Device Manager displays a warning icon indicating that the device has a problem. If you double-tap or double-click the device, an error code displays on the General tab of the device’s Properties dialog box. As Table 1 shows, this error code can be helpful when trying to solve device problems as well. Most of the correction actions assume that you selected the General tab from the device’s Properties dialog box.

Table 1. Common device errors and techniques to resolve them

Error Message	Correction Action
This device is not configured correctly. (Code 1)	Obtain a compatible driver for the device and tap or click Update Driver on the Driver tab to start the Update Driver Software Wizard.
The driver for this device might be corrupted, or your system might be running low on memory or other resources. (Code 3)	Tap or click Update Driver on the Driver tab to run the Update Driver Software Wizard. You might see an “Out of Memory” message at startup because of this.
This device cannot start. (Code 10)	Tap or click Update Driver on the Driver tab to run the Update Driver Software Wizard. Don’t try to find a driver automatically. Instead, choose the manual install option, and select the device driver you want to use.
This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12)	Resources assigned to this device conflict with another device, or the BIOS is incorrectly configured. Check the BIOS, and check for resource conflicts on the Resources tab of the device’s Properties dialog box.
This device cannot work properly until you restart your computer. (Code 14)	Typically, the driver is installed correctly but will not be started until you restart the computer.
Windows cannot identify all the resources this device uses. (Code 16)	Check whether a signed driver is available for the device. If one is available and you already installed it, you might need to manage the resources for the device. Check the Resources tab of the device’s Properties dialog box.
This device is asking for an unknown resource type. (Code 17)	Reinstall or update the driver using a valid, signed driver.
Reinstall the drivers for this device. (Code 18)	After an upgrade, you might need to log on as an administrator to complete device installation. If this is not the case, tap or click Update Driver on the Driver tab to reinstall the driver.
Your registry might be corrupted. (Code 19)	Remove and reinstall the device. This should clear out incorrect or conflicting registry settings.
Windows is removing this device. (Code 21)	The system will remove the device. The registry might be corrupted. If the device continues to display this message, restart the computer.
This device is disabled. (Code 22)	This device has been disabled using Device Manager. To enable it, select Use This Device (Enable) under Device Usage on the General tab of the device’s Properties dialog box.
This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all its drivers installed. (Code 24)	This might indicate a bad device or bad hardware. This error code can also occur with legacy ISA devices; upgrade the driver to resolve the issue.
The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)	Obtain a compatible driver for the device and then tap or click Update Driver to start the Update Driver Software Wizard.
This device is disabled because the firmware of the device did not give it the required resources. (Code 29)	Check the device documentation on how to assign resources. You might need to upgrade the BIOS or enable the device in the system BIOS.
This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)	The device driver might be incompatible with Windows Server. Obtain a compatible driver for the device and tap or click Update Driver to start the Update Driver Software Wizard.
A driver for this device was not required and has been disabled. (Code 32)	A dependent service for this device has been set to Disabled. Check the event logs to determine which services should be enabled and started.
Windows cannot determine which resources are required for this device. (Code 33)	This might indicate a bad device or bad hardware. This error code can also occur with legacy ISA devices; upgrade the driver, refer to the device documentation on how to set resource usage, or do both.
Windows cannot determine the settings for this device. (Code 34)	The legacy device must be manually configured. Verify the device jumpers or BIOS settings, and then configure the device resource usage using the Resources tab of the device’s Properties dialog box.
Your computer’s system firmware does not include enough information to properly configure and use this device. (Code 35)	This error occurs on multiprocessor systems. Update the BIOS; check for a BIOS option to use MPS 1.1 or MPS 1.4. Usually, you want MPS 1.4.
This device is requesting a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) interrupt but is configured for an ISA interrupt (or vice versa). (Code 36)	ISA interrupts are nonshareable. If a device is in a PCI slot but the slot is configured in BIOS as “reserved for ISA,” the error might be displayed. Change the BIOS settings.
Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)	Run the Update Driver Software Wizard by tapping or clicking Update Driver on the Driver tab.
Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory. (Code 38)	A device driver in memory is causing a conflict. Restart the computer.
Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver might be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)	Check to ensure that the hardware device is properly installed and connected and that it has power. If it is properly installed and connected, look for an updated driver or reinstall the current driver.
Windows cannot access this hardware because its service key information in the registry is missing or recorded incorrectly. (Code 40)	The registry entry for the device driver is invalid. Reinstall the driver.
Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)	The device was stopped by the operating system. You might need to uninstall and then reinstall the device. The device might have problems with the no-execute processor feature. In this case, check for a new driver.
An application or service has shut down this hardware device. (Code 44)	The device was stopped by an application or service. Restart the computer. The device might have problems with the no-execute processor feature. In this case, check for a new driver.