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Difficulty: Very hardTroubleshooting Methodology

A technician is troubleshooting a thermal label printer on a factory floor that suddenly began printing garbled text midway through a print run. The technician questioned the machine operator, noted that a system update was automatically installed on the host workstation overnight, and backed up the local configuration. After swapping the USB cable yielded no change, the technician connected the thermal printer to a known-good test laptop using native drivers. The printer completed multiple test prints perfectly from the test laptop, successfully confirming the theory that the primary workstation's local print driver was corrupted during the overnight update. According to the CompTIA 6-step troubleshooting methodology, which of the following actions should the technician take NEXT?

  1. Formulate a step-by-step resolution plan to clean-install the certified print driver on the workstation, then execute the installation.Answer
  2. B
    Run a full batch test job of 50 labels on the workstation and instruct the operator on how to clear spooler queues to prevent future freezes.
  3. C
    Replace the thermal printhead assembly under the assumption that its internal heating elements are failing under sustained load.
  4. D
    Log the root cause, driver version details, and resolution summary in the central ticketing system knowledge base.

Answer

Formulate a step-by-step resolution plan to clean-install the certified print driver on the workstation, then execute the installation.
The scenario describes a technician who has successfully completed Step 1 (identifying the problem), Step 2 (establishing a theory of cause), and Step 3 (testing the theory by connecting the printer to a known-good host system, which confirmed driver corruption). According to the standard CompTIA 6-step troubleshooting methodology, the immediate next step after confirming the cause is Step 4: Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution. Creating a plan to reinstall the clean driver on the host workstation and executing that installation is the exact match for Step 4.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the completed methodology steps in the scenario.
The technician completed Step 1 (identified problem, interviewed user, noted changes, backed up config), Step 2 (established theory of corrupted driver vs cable/hardware failure), and Step 3 (tested theory by connecting printer to a test laptop, which confirmed driver corruption on the host workstation).
Accurately pinpointing the current position within the CompTIA 6-step framework is required to identify the immediate next step.
2
Determine the next sequential phase in the CompTIA troubleshooting framework.
Following Step 3 (Test the theory to determine cause), the framework mandates Step 4: Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution.
Once a theory of cause is proven true, the technician must plan the repair and carry out the corrective action before proceeding to verification or documentation.
3
Select the option that matches Step 4.
Developing a plan to clean-install the workstation's driver and executing that plan directly maps to establishing a plan of action and implementing the solution.
Correctly applying the methodology requires choosing the action that aligns with planning and implementing the verified fix.

Key Concept

CompTIA 6-Step Troubleshooting Methodology Sequence
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Troubleshooting Methodology

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