A user's new computer is exhibiting issues after a couple hours of use. The screen freezes and typed characters do not appear for several seconds, if at all. The computer unexpectedly restarts while the user is reading an email. A technician runs diagnostics and verifies that no components show any errors. All hardware meets or exceeds recommendations.
Which of the following should the technician do next?
A. Check for swollen capacitors.
B. Replace the power supply with a higher wattage rating.
C. Increase the amount of RA
D. Change the CMOS battery.
Explanation:
Intermittent freezing followed by unexpected restarts after the system has been running for a while often points to a hardware stability problem that worsens with heat and time, rather than an immediate configuration or “not enough resources” issue. When diagnostics show no errors, the next CompTIA A+-style step is to look for physical signs of failing components. Swollen or leaking capacitors on the motherboard or in the power delivery area can cause unstable voltage regulation as the system warms up, leading to input lag, lockups, and spontaneous reboots even during light tasks like reading email. A visual inspection can quickly confirm this failure mode and is an appropriate next troubleshooting action when software and basic diagnostics are inconclusive.
Replacing the power supply with a higher wattage is not the best next step because the workload described is not high draw, and the symptom is not clearly tied to peak load; if a PSU is suspect, the usual step is testing with a known-good PSU of correct specs, not simply “higher wattage.” Increasing RAM is unnecessary because the system meets requirements and this would more commonly cause persistent slowness, not sudden restarts. A CMOS battery issue typically causes time resets or BIOS setting loss, not freezing and random reboots after hours.
