⬡ Raven Academy by Dark Raven Labs
A method that works anywhere, on almost anything

How to fix IT problems, step by step

No two issues look the same, but the professionals who fix them — anywhere in the world — use the same underlying method. Learn the universal process once, then apply it across 17 categories covering the tech problems people actually hit in daily working life, from a stuck printer to a failed production deploy.

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Network Hardware Software & OS Email & Communication Printers & Peripherals VPN & Remote Access Accounts & Permissions Performance Video & Meetings Browser Mobile Devices Security Incident Cloud & SaaS Data & Backups Databases APIs & Integrations Deployment & CI/CD

The universal 6-step method

Used by IT pros worldwide

Identify the problem

Get specific before you touch anything. What exactly is failing, for whom, since when, and what changed right before it started? Ask the person affected, check recent updates, deployments, or configuration changes, and reproduce the issue yourself if you can.

Establish a theory of probable cause

List the most likely explanations, starting with the simplest and most common. Is it isolated to one device or widespread? Internal or external? A known issue with a recent change, or something new? Don't guess at the exotic cause before ruling out the obvious one.

Test the theory

Confirm your leading theory before acting on it. If confirmed, move to planning a fix. If not, form a new theory or escalate to someone with deeper access or expertise — don't keep guessing indefinitely.

Plan the fix, then act

Outline the fix and its side effects before running it, especially in production or on someone else's device. Back up what you can. If the fix is risky, do it in a maintenance window or get sign-off first.

Verify full functionality

Confirm the original problem is actually resolved, not just quieter. Check related systems too — fixes sometimes solve one symptom while breaking something adjacent. Where possible, add monitoring so you'll know immediately if it regresses.

Document what happened

Write down the symptom, the cause, and the fix in plain language. Future-you (or a teammate) will hit this again. This step is the one people skip most often, and the one that saves the most time later.

Workplace & everyday IT issues

What most people run into day to day
NetworkMedium impact

Internet or connectivity is down

  1. Check if it's just you — test another device on the same network.
  2. Restart the router and modem (unplug both for 30 seconds).
  3. Check for a known outage with your ISP or hosting provider's status page.
  4. Run a traceroute to see exactly where the connection breaks.
  5. Check DNS — try a site by IP address to rule out DNS failure.
HardwareMedium impact

A device won't start or behaves erratically

  1. Note any error codes, beep patterns, or lights — they're the fastest lead.
  2. Check power first: cable, outlet, battery, power supply.
  3. Reseat removable components (RAM, drives, cables) if you're comfortable opening the case.
  4. Boot into safe mode or a recovery environment to isolate software vs. hardware.
  5. Run the manufacturer's built-in hardware diagnostic if one exists.
Software & OSLow impact

An application or OS is misbehaving

  1. Restart the application, then the device — it resolves more than it should.
  2. Check for a pending update or a recent one that coincides with the issue.
  3. Check logs (Event Viewer, Console, or the app's own log file) for the actual error.
  4. Try a clean or guest user profile to rule out corrupted local settings.
  5. Uninstall and reinstall as a last resort, after backing up user data.
Email & CommunicationLow impact

Email isn't sending, arriving, or syncing

  1. Confirm it's not a full outage — check webmail directly if the desktop or mobile client is failing.
  2. Check your outbox or drafts for stuck messages, and confirm attachments aren't over the size limit.
  3. Verify DNS records (MX, SPF, DKIM) haven't changed if an entire domain stopped receiving mail.
  4. Check spam and junk folders, plus any filtering rules that may be silently routing messages.
  5. re-authenticate the account if it uses OAuth or an app password — expired tokens fail silently.
Printers & PeripheralsLow impact

A printer or peripheral won't respond

  1. Confirm the device has power and is actually connected — reseat USB, or confirm it shares the network for wireless.
  2. Clear the print queue; a single stuck job blocks everything behind it.
  3. Update or reinstall the driver — an OS update commonly breaks old print drivers.
  4. Print a test page from the device's own menu to rule out the computer entirely.
  5. For network printers, confirm its IP hasn't changed if assigned by DHCP.
VPN & Remote AccessMedium impact

VPN won't connect or remote access fails

  1. Confirm your local internet connection works before blaming the VPN.
  2. Check whether the VPN provider or your company's gateway has a known outage.
  3. Try switching servers or protocols (e.g. UDP to TCP) if it's a commercial VPN.
  4. Check for a clock or time-sync issue — some certificate handshakes fail if system time has drifted.
  5. Reauthenticate or renew the client certificate or token if access was recently revoked.
Accounts & PermissionsMedium impact

Locked out, or access is missing

  1. Confirm the username or email is correct, and rule out caps lock before assuming a real lockout.
  2. Use the official password reset flow — never a link someone else sent you.
  3. Check if MFA is the actual blocker (lost device, expired backup codes), not the password itself.
  4. Confirm the account hasn't been disabled, expired, or dropped from a group that grants access.
  5. Ask an admin whether a recent permissions or role change removed access unintentionally.
PerformanceLow impact

A device or app has become slow

  1. Check CPU, memory, and disk usage in Task Manager or Activity Monitor to find the actual cause.
  2. Close or update the specific application if one process is clearly responsible.
  3. Check available disk space — a nearly-full drive slows almost everything down.
  4. Run a malware scan if the slowdown is sudden and unexplained.
  5. Check for pending OS or driver updates, then restart — a full reboot clears more than expected.
Video & MeetingsLow impact

Camera, mic, or screen share isn't working

  1. Test camera and microphone in the app's own settings before joining, not mid-call.
  2. Check that no other app already has exclusive control of the camera or mic.
  3. Switch networks (Wi-Fi to wired, or a hotspot) if audio or video is choppy specifically for you.
  4. Update the conferencing app — outdated versions are a frequent cause of join failures.
  5. Keep a backup join method ready (phone dial-in, different device) for meetings that can't slip.
BrowserLow impact

A website or web app misbehaves

  1. Try a private or incognito window to rule out extensions and cached data.
  2. Clear cache and cookies for just that site before wiping everything.
  3. Disable extensions one by one if the issue only happens in your normal profile.
  4. Try a different browser to isolate whether it's the site or your browser specifically.
  5. Check the browser console (F12) for errors if you're troubleshooting a web app, not just browsing.
Mobile DevicesLow impact

A phone or tablet app is misbehaving

  1. Force-close and reopen the app before anything else.
  2. Check for a pending app or OS update — many mobile bugs are already fixed upstream.
  3. Toggle airplane mode on and off to reset radio connections for calls, data, or Bluetooth.
  4. Check available storage — many mobile app crashes trace back to a full device.
  5. Reinstall the app as a last resort, after confirming your data and account will sync back.
When to stop and escalate: if the issue affects safety, involves a confirmed security breach, touches financial or legal systems, or you've cycled through a theory twice without progress — hand it to someone with deeper access or specialized expertise. Escalating early is a sign of good judgment, not failure.

Infrastructure, security & engineering issues

For admins, security teams, and developers
Security IncidentCritical

You suspect a compromise

  1. Isolate the affected device from the network first — don't power it off if forensic evidence matters.
  2. Preserve evidence: logs, timestamps, and exactly what was observed and when.
  3. Rotate credentials for any accounts that may have been exposed.
  4. Check official advisories for related active threats or known indicators of compromise.
  5. Loop in your security team or an incident response provider before declaring it resolved.
Cloud & SaaSHigh impact

A cloud service or app is down

  1. Check the provider's public status page before assuming it's your configuration.
  2. Confirm it's not a permissions, billing, or expired-credential issue on your end.
  3. Check for recent changes to IAM roles, API keys, or deployment pipelines.
  4. Test the same request from a different network or region to rule out local blocking.
  5. If it's a genuine outage, subscribe to status updates rather than repeatedly retrying.
Data & BackupsCritical

Something important was lost or deleted

  1. Stop writing to the affected drive or system immediately — new data can overwrite what's recoverable.
  2. Check the obvious first: recycle bin, version history, cloud sync trash, recent backups.
  3. For drive failure, image the disk before attempting recovery, so the attempt itself causes no further damage.
  4. If backups exist, verify one actually restores correctly before trusting it as your fix.
  5. Afterward, set up automated backups so this category of problem stops being a scramble.
DatabasesHigh impact

A database is slow, locked, or unreachable

  1. Check whether it's connectivity (can't reach the DB) or a query problem (reaches it, but fails or is slow).
  2. Check active connections and locks — a hung transaction can block everything behind it.
  3. Look at slow query logs to find the specific query responsible before touching indexes or config.
  4. Confirm disk space and replication lag if this is a production, multi-node setup.
  5. Always test a fix — index change, query rewrite, config change — against a copy, never directly in production.
APIs & IntegrationsHigh impact

An API integration is failing

  1. Check the HTTP status code and response body first — most APIs tell you exactly what went wrong.
  2. Confirm authentication hasn't expired: API keys, OAuth tokens, IP allowlists.
  3. Check the provider's status page and changelog for breaking changes or deprecations.
  4. Reproduce the exact failing request in curl or Postman, outside your application code.
  5. Check rate limits — a sudden wave of failures is often throttling, not a real outage.
Deployment & CI/CDHigh impact

A build or deployment pipeline is failing

  1. Read the actual build or deploy log before assuming you already know the cause.
  2. Check what changed since the last successful deploy — dependencies, config, environment variables.
  3. Confirm the target environment has the same secrets and config the pipeline expects.
  4. Roll back to the last known-good build if the fix isn't obvious and the issue is live.
  5. Reproduce the failure locally or in a clean environment to rule out flaky infrastructure.

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