Troubleshooting overview
Troubleshooting is the process of finding and eliminating the cause of a problem. Whenever you have a problem with HATS, the troubleshooting process begins as soon as you ask yourself what happened? A basic troubleshooting strategy at a high level involves:
Recording the symptoms of the problem
Depending on the type of problem you have, you might receive a message that indicates something is wrong. Always record the error message that you see. As simple as this sounds, error messages sometimes contain cryptic codes that might make more sense as you investigate your problem further. You might also receive multiple error messages that look similar but have subtle differences. By recording the details of each one, you can learn more about where your problem exists.
The HATS Messages book provides explanations and user actions for error messages. Refer to the HATS Messages book to access error code information.
Recreating the problem
Think back to what steps you took that led you to the problem. Try those steps again to see if you can easily determine a repeatable sequence of events to recreate the error. If you can identify a repeatable test case, you will have an easier time determining what solutions are necessary to correct the problem. Ask these questions of yourself when approaching any error involving HATS.
- How did you first notice the problem?
- Did you do anything different that made you notice the problem?
- Is the process that is causing the problem a new procedure, or has it worked successfully before?
- If this worked before what has changed? The change can refer to any type of change made to the system, ranging from adding new hardware or software, to configuration changes to existing software.
- What was the first symptom of the problem you witnessed?
- Were there other symptoms occurring around that point of time?
- Does the same problem occur elsewhere?
- Is only one machine experiencing the problem or are multiple machines experiencing the same problem?
- What messages are being generated that could indicate what the problem is?
Eliminating possible causes
Narrow the scope of your problem by eliminating components that are not causing the problem. By using a process of elimination, you can simplify your problem and avoid wasting time in areas that are not culprits. Consult the information in this product and other available resources to help you with your elimination process.
- Has anyone else experienced this problem? See the topic on Searching for information.
- Is there a fix you can download? See the topic on Getting fixes.