To find out why something does not work and to fix the problem in ways that may or may not sound stupid to the end user. Regardless of what is believed, troubleshooting does not include lessons given by the IT person to the end user in the history of computers and forcing him/her to detail every action he/she is taking. Troubleshooting a computer often requires determining whether the problem is due to malfunctioning hardware or buggy or out-of-date software or a stupid person refusing to admit his/her wrong doings.

Troubleshooting results in evidence leading to the cause of the problem, so if the end user is the cause of the problem the IT person reserves the right to shoot him/her to ensure that the problem does not occur again and does not spread out for the safety of other systems.

See proper definition, troubleshooting