IT Support Knowledge Base

What seems to be the problem?

Search the 12 runbooks by what the user is telling you.

Showing all 12 runbooks

All runbooks

Windows Won't Boot

The PC powers on but never reaches the sign-in screen, or loops on "Automatic Repair".

Windows

Slow PC

A computer that is slow to start, slow to open programs, or freezes during normal work.

Windows

Wi-Fi Not Connecting

A device can't join Wi-Fi, or joins but has no internet.

Network

Printer Offline

Windows says the printer is "Offline" or jobs are stuck in the queue.

Hardware

Password Reset and Account Lockout

A user forgot their password, their password expired, or their account is locked after failed sign-ins.

Accounts

Phone Won't Sync Email

Email on an iPhone or Android phone has stopped updating, won't send, or keeps asking for a password.

Accounts

Outlook and Microsoft 365 Sign-in Issues

A user can't sign in to Outlook, Teams, Word/Excel or the Microsoft 365 web portal, or is stuck in a sign-in loop.

Accounts

Basic Linux Commands for Support

The small set of Linux commands a help desk technician uses to look around a system, check health and find problems safely.

Linux

Disk Space Low

The system drive is almost full, causing slowness, failed updates or "not enough space" errors.

Windows

Malware Cleanup Basics

First-response steps when a computer may be infected: pop-ups, unknown programs, browser hijacks or antivirus alerts.

Security

Backups: Setup and Restore Basics

How to set up simple, reliable backups for a PC or Linux machine, and how to test that they can be restored.

General

Writing Ticket Notes and Escalating

How to write clear ticket notes, set priority, and hand a ticket to someone else without making them start over.

General

How to use this

  1. Search first. Type what the user is describing, like printer offline or locked out. The search reads the whole text of every runbook, not only the titles.
  2. Narrow it down if you want to. The topic links under the search box (Windows, Network, Accounts and so on) trim the list. Click one again, or pick All, to go back.
  3. Open a runbook and read down the page. Symptoms tell you if you are in the right place. Before you start lists the quick questions. Then work through Steps in order, simplest first.
  4. Know when to stop. The shaded Escalate when box lists the signs that it is time to hand the ticket on. If any one of them matches, stop and escalate.
  5. Copy the ticket note. The last section has a note template. Press Copy, paste it into your ticketing system, and fill in the blanks.
Words you will see
Runbook
A written set of steps for one kind of problem, so you do not have to work it out from scratch each time.
First-line support
The first person a user talks to. Fixes the common problems and passes the rest on.
Escalate
Hand a ticket to someone with more access or experience, with notes so they do not have to start over.
Scope
How many people or devices are affected. One laptop and the whole office are very different problems.
Ticket note
A short written record of what was reported, what you tried and what happened.

Why I built this

I'm a computer science student in Toronto and I'm looking for junior IT support and help desk roles. When I started practising troubleshooting, I noticed I knew a lot of individual fixes but not a calm order to try them in, or when to stop and hand a problem on.

So I wrote these twelve runbooks to put that in order for myself, and I built this site so they are easy to search and read. They come from public vendor documentation and common help desk practice. They are not copied from a workplace and they are not real tickets.

They are still a work in progress. If a step looks wrong or something is missing, I would like to know.