Showing posts with label diagnostics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diagnostics. Show all posts

Monday, December 23, 2024

Improvised Diagnostics using the "OODA Loop"

Improvised Diagnostics: The "OODA Loop"

The OODA loop is a decision-making model that helps people respond to crises and make better decisions

OODA Stands For:

  • Observe: Use all five senses to gather information about the situation
  • Orient: Analyze the information to determine response options
  • Decide: Choose the best response based on what is known
  • Act: Carry out the action plan and evaluate the approach


The OODA loop was developed by U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd and is often used in military campaigns, commercial operations, and learning processes. It can be applied to a wide range of incidents, including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and data breaches.

The OODA loop encourages critical thinking and decision-making skills. It's a closed system that flows sequentially from one section to the next. The loop continues as the situation evolves, and new decisions and actions may need to be made.


The OODA loop can be an effective model for in-field IT diagnostics by structuring and improving the decision-making process when troubleshooting and resolving IT issues. Here's how each phase can be applied in this context:


1. Observe

  • Gather Data: Use diagnostic tools and methods (logs, monitoring software, physical inspections) to collect information about the system's current state.
    • Check error messages, symptoms, hardware indicators (e.g., lights or beeps), and user feedback.
  • Context Awareness: Note the environment, potential user interactions, or recent changes (e.g., updates, new software, or hardware installations).
  • Sense Issues: Use your IT knowledge to identify anomalies or irregularities (e.g., high CPU usage, unusual network traffic).

2. Orient

  • Analyze Information: Process the collected data to identify patterns or root causes of the issue. For example:
    • Compare symptoms against known problems or documentation.
    • Use tools like task managers, network analyzers, or event logs to narrow down potential causes.
  • Prioritize Problems: Determine the severity and impact of the issue on operations to decide what to address first.
  • Contextual Factors: Consider the specific system configuration, software environment, and user requirements.

3. Decide

  • Develop Response Options: Brainstorm potential solutions to resolve the issue.
    • Example: If a system isn’t booting, consider whether to reseat hardware, run a system recovery, or test for power issues.
  • Evaluate Solutions: Choose the best approach based on efficiency, resource availability, and risk assessment.
    • Example: Decide whether to apply a temporary fix to restore functionality or take the system offline for a permanent solution.

4. Act

  • Implement the Solution: Execute the chosen fix while minimizing disruption (if possible).
    • Example: Replace a faulty component, reboot the system, update drivers, or patch software vulnerabilities.
  • Evaluate Results: Verify if the action resolves the issue, and if not, loop back to Observe to reanalyze the situation.
    • Example: Test the system’s performance or monitor for recurring issues.

Continuous Looping

  • IT systems and networks are dynamic, so issues may evolve. Reapply the OODA loop as new problems arise during or after the initial fix.

Examples in Practice

Imagine you are a technician troubleshooting a server that has unexpectedly gone offline:

  1. Observe: Check server logs, hardware lights, and user reports to identify the symptoms of the issue (e.g., power failure or overheating).
  2. Orient: Analyze whether the issue is hardware-related (e.g., power supply failure) or software-related (e.g., misconfigured updates). Consider the server's workload and criticality.
  3. Decide: Choose to test the power supply and reseat connections as the first step, delaying non-critical updates.
  4. Act: Perform the chosen actions, monitor the server's response, and verify system stability.

This structured approach helps streamline diagnostics, ensure critical thinking, and adapt to evolving situations, which is essential for in-field IT diagnostics.


Pacific NW Computers

Friday, October 14, 2022

Recommended PC Apps, Programs, Tools & Utilities! *UPDATED*

A basic list of software tools, and utilities that we use and recommend!
We will update this list as much as possible! 

Tools and Utilities:

  • Hirens All-In-On PE/USB Boot Disk - Great bootable utility with TONS of diagnostic software; password recovery, data recovery, disk & boot loader repairs, various diagnostics, and MORE!
    http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/
  • BleachBit When your computer is getting full, BleachBit quickly frees disk space. When your information is only your business, BleachBit guards your privacy. With BleachBit you can free cache, delete cookies, clear Internet history, shred temporary files, delete logs, and discard junk you didn't know was there!
    https://www.bleachbit.org/
  • GParted - GParted is a free partition manager that enables you to resize, copy, and move partitions without data loss. Some repair capabilities as well.
    http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php
  • Memtest86 - MemTest86 is a free, thorough, stand-alone memory test for x86 architecture computers.
    http://www.memtest86.com/
  • Offline NT Password & Registry Editor - This is a utility to reset the password of any user that has a valid local account on your Windows System.
    http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/
  • HFSExplorer - HFSExplorer is an application that can read Mac-formatted hard disks and disk images. It can read the file systems HFS (Mac OS Standard), HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) and HFSX (Mac OS Extended with case-sensitive file names), including most .dmg disk images created on a Mac, including zlib / bzip2 compressed images and AES-128 encrypted images
    http://www.catacombae.org/hfsx.html 
  • DiskInternals Linux Reader - Access files and folders on Ext, UFS, HFS, ReiserFS, or APFS file systems from in Windows.
    https://www.diskinternals.com/linux-reader/
  • Ext2explore - Ext2Read is an explorer like utility to explore ext2/ext3/ext4 files. It now supports LVM2 and EXT4 extents. It can be used to view and copy files and folders. 
    https://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2read/
  • IsoBuster - IsoBuster is actually a CD/DVD and BD/HD DVD data recovery software that can interpret, open, and extract various CD/DVD/Blu-ray disk image files, including DMG.
    http://www.isobuster.com/download.php
  • WinDirStat - WinDirStat is a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for various versions of Microsoft Windows.
    https://windirstat.net/
  • CutePDF Writer - CutePDF Writer is the free version of commercial PDF creation software. CutePDF Writer installs itself as a "printer subsystem". This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents - with just a push of a button! ALL FOR FREE!
    http://www.cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/writer.asp
  • Sumatra PDF Viewer - Sumatra PDF is a slim, free, open-source PDF reader for Windows. Sumatra has a very minimalistic design and is nowhere NEAR the security risk that Adobe Reader can be. Simplicity has a higher priority than a lot of features with Sumatra. It's small, secure, and starts up very fast.
    http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/download-free-pdf-viewer.html
  • Piriform Recuva - Accidentally deleted an important file? Lost something important when your computer crashed? No problem! Recuva recovers files deleted from your Windows computer, Recycle Bin, digital camera card, or MP3 player. And it's free!
    http://www.piriform.com/recuva
  • RStudio Data Recovery (Paid For) - Empowered by the new unique data recovery technologies, R-STUDIO is the most comprehensive data recovery solution for recovery files from NTFS, NTFS5, ReFS, FAT12/16/32, exFAT, HFS/HFS+ and APFS (Macintosh), XFS, Little and Big Endian variants of UFS1/UFS2 (FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD/Solaris) and Ext2/Ext3/Ext4 FS (Linux) partitions. It also uses raw file recovery (scan for known file types) for heavily damaged or unknown file systems.
    https://www.r-studio.com/
  • CloneZilla - Clonezilla is a partition and disk imaging/cloning program similar to True Image® or Norton Ghost®.
    https://clonezilla.org/
  • Macrium Reflect -  Are you looking for free backup, free cloning, or free disk imaging software? Macrium's Reflect Free is one of the best no-cost solutions on the market.
    https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
  • Microsoft Windows OS Media Creation Tool(s) - You can use installation media (a USB flash drive or DVD) to install a new copy of Windows, perform a clean installation, or reinstall Windows.
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-installation-media-for-windows-99a58364-8c02-206f-aa6f-40c3b507420d

Security Software:

What is a rootkit!? A rootkit is a program or a program kit that hides the presence of malware (or itself) in a system. A rootkit for a Windows systems is a program that penetrates into the system and intercepts the system functions; Windows API. It can effectively hide its presence by intercepting and modifying low-level API functions. Moreover it can hide the presence of particular processes, folders, files and registry keys. Some rootkits install their own drivers and services in the system and they also remain “invisible".  

Software Sites:

  • Ninite.com - Great "update-all-at-once" site that lets you install/update multiple programs without dealing with individual installers, prompts, etc. One download, one install; as many programs as you like!


Let me know of any issues with links!

Pacific Northwest Computers
www.pnwcomputers.com
www.linktr.ee/pnwcomputers
360.624.7379