The IT Handbook
  1. 1Pick your pathSkirmish or Campaign
  2. 2Choose your classRoadmaps
  3. 3Learn your first spellsCheat sheetsYou are here
  4. 4Train at campHome lab
  5. 5Face the trialInterviews
  6. 6Join the guildThe Friday newsletter

← All cheat sheets

Method

A simple troubleshooting routine

Level 1 means the first line of support. These habits matter more than any single command.

  1. **Reproduce it.** Can you make the problem happen again?
  2. **Ask what changed.** Think of updates, installs, new hardware and policy changes.
  3. **Check the logs** before you guess.
  4. **Restart the smallest thing first.** Try the service or the app before you restart the whole machine.
  5. **Document what you tried.** Escalation notes are a big part of Level 1 work.