Skip to main content
Getting the most out of this knowledge base is about more than finding the right article — it is about understanding how each guide is built so you can move through it efficiently, apply steps safely, and know exactly what to do when the documented path does not resolve your issue. This page explains how to navigate the site, how troubleshooting guides are structured, and how to interpret the visual callouts that signal important information along the way. The search bar is the fastest way to locate a guide. It is available at the top of every page and indexes article titles, headings, and body content. You do not need to know which section an article lives in — simply describe what you are experiencing.
Search by the exact error message, event log ID, or command output you are seeing for the most precise results. For example, searching 0x0000007E will surface relevant Windows stop-error guides directly, whereas searching Windows crash returns broader results.
Effective search strategies:
  • Error codes and messages — Paste the exact string from the error dialog or log output.
  • Symptoms — Describe observable behaviour, such as VPN drops after 10 minutes or printer offline after Windows update.
  • Technology + action — Combine the product with what you are trying to do, such as Outlook calendar sync or SSH permission denied.
  • Acronyms and full names — The index recognises both, so BSOD and Blue Screen of Death return the same results.

​
How Guides Are Structured

Every troubleshooting guide in this knowledge base follows the same four-stage structure. Understanding this pattern means you always know where you are in a guide and what comes next.
1

Symptoms

Each guide opens with a clear list of observable symptoms — the specific behaviours, error messages, or user-reported complaints that indicate you are in the right place. Read this section first to confirm the guide matches your situation before investing time in the diagnostic steps. If the symptoms do not match, return to search and refine your query.
2

Diagnostics

The diagnostics section helps you gather information and narrow down the root cause before attempting any fix. You will find commands to run, log files to inspect, and questions to answer. Completing this stage properly means you apply targeted fixes rather than working through an exhaustive list of possibilities. Never skip diagnostics — the information you collect here also becomes the evidence you need if the issue requires escalation.
3

Fixes

Fixes are presented in order from least invasive to most invasive. Start at the top and work down, testing after each step. Most issues are resolved within the first two or three fixes; the later steps are included for edge cases and more complex environments. Each fix includes an expected outcome so you know immediately whether it has worked.
4

Escalation

If you have worked through all the documented fixes without success, the escalation section tells you exactly what to do next: which team or vendor to contact, what information to include in your handover, and what priority level to assign. Escalating with a complete diagnostic log is always faster than escalating cold.

​
Reading Step-by-Step Guides

Steps in this knowledge base are numbered and self-contained. Each step tells you what to do, why you are doing it, and what result to expect. Keep the following in mind as you work through them:
  • Do not skip steps. Steps are ordered deliberately. A later step may depend on the system state created by an earlier one, and skipping ahead can produce misleading results or cause additional problems.
  • Read the full step before acting. Some steps include a conditional branch — for example, “If the output shows X, proceed to step 4; if it shows Y, proceed to step 7.” Reading ahead prevents backtracking.
  • One change per step. Each step asks you to make one change. Resist the urge to bundle multiple changes together, even when you feel confident. This discipline is what allows you to pinpoint the fix when the issue resolves.
  • Test before continuing. Every step that makes a change is followed by a verification instruction. Confirm the expected result before moving to the next step.
If a step instructs you to restart a service, reboot a device, or modify a configuration file, ensure you have communicated the expected impact to affected users before proceeding. Many guides include a brief Impact note at the start of disruptive steps.

​
Interpreting Callout Boxes

Guides use four types of callout to draw your attention to information that sits outside the main numbered flow.

Note

A Note provides supplementary context that is useful but not critical to completing the step. It might explain why a behaviour occurs, point to a related guide, or clarify a platform-specific difference.

Tip

A Tip offers a faster, easier, or more reliable way to accomplish a task. Tips are optional improvements — the main steps work without them, but following the tip may save you time.

Warning

A Warning signals an action that carries real risk — data loss, service outage, or security exposure. Read the full warning before proceeding and ensure you have taken any prerequisite precautions such as creating a backup.

Danger / Caution

Reserved for steps that are irreversible or that could cause significant harm if performed in the wrong context. Always verify you are working on the correct system or account before executing any step marked with this callout.
Never bypass a Warning callout to save time. These markers exist because the action has caused data loss or outages in real-world environments. If you are unsure whether a warning applies to your situation, escalate before proceeding.
When you encounter an unfamiliar problem, follow this workflow before diving into a specific guide. It will get you to the right article faster and give you the context you need to apply the steps correctly.
1

Characterise the symptom precisely

Note the exact error message or observable behaviour, when it first occurred, whether it affects one user or many, and what changed on the system recently (updates, new hardware, configuration changes). The more specific your description, the more targeted your search will be.
2

Search the knowledge base

Use the search bar with the strategies described above. Open the two or three most relevant results and check the Symptoms section of each to confirm which guide matches your situation.
3

Complete the Diagnostics section

Before attempting any fix, run through the full diagnostics section of the matching guide. Capture the outputs — paste them into your ticket or a local notes file. This takes an extra few minutes but dramatically improves fix accuracy and shortens escalation time if needed.
4

Apply fixes sequentially

Work through the Fixes section from top to bottom, one step at a time, testing after each change. Do not skip to a later fix because it looks more likely — the ordering is deliberate.
5

Escalate with evidence

If the guide does not resolve the issue, follow the Escalation instructions. Include your diagnostic outputs, a list of every fix you attempted and its result, and the timestamp of when the issue began. A well-documented escalation is resolved significantly faster than an undocumented one.
If you resolve an issue using a workaround that is not documented in the guide, or if you find that a documented fix no longer applies to a newer software version, please consider submitting an update. See the Contributing page for how to do this — your experience directly improves the knowledge base for the whole team.