STEM · Full roadmap · ~100 min read · 33 steps
🖥️IT Support Level 2: Desktop Support (Aotearoa NZ)
Fix hardware, boot failures, and Windows problems an NZ help desk hands you
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Unit 1
Start here
Course overview
Where L2 sits and what L1 hands you
L2 owns the hands-on fixes L1 cannot do remotely
Reading POST and beep codes
The machine tells you what failed before Windows loads
Diagnosing failing RAM
Bad memory looks like random instability
Drives: spotting a dying disk
SMART data and noises warn you before total failure
Unit 2
Power supplies and overheating
No power and random shutdowns are different problems
Replacing components safely
Anti-static, power down, and document every swap
Laptop specifics and NZ warranty reality
Laptops trade serviceability for size, and NZ warranties shape your options
The boot process, step by step
Power to login is a fixed chain you can trace
Troubleshooting a no-boot machine
Work the chain from the bottom up
Unit 3
Safe Mode and recovery tools
Boot Windows stripped down to isolate the culprit
Task Manager, Services, and MSConfig
Control what runs and find what is hogging the machine
Device Manager and drivers
Drivers are the translator between Windows and hardware
Event Viewer: reading the logs
Windows already wrote down what went wrong
The command line and PowerShell for techs
A handful of commands solves a large share of tickets
Unit 4
NTFS versus share permissions
Two permission layers, and the most restrictive wins
User profiles and the corrupt profile fix
A profile holds the user's settings, and it can break
Registry basics and the cautions
The registry is the master settings database, and edits are not undoable
Disk Management
See, partition, and fix volumes without the command line
Active Directory and Entra ID tasks from the desk
The deskside view of account administration
Unit 5
Group Policy from the client side
Central rules pushed to machines, and how to see them
Imaging and deployment
Build one machine, stamp it onto many
Software deployment and patch management
Installing and updating apps across many machines, on purpose
Printers and the print spooler
Most print problems are the spooler, the driver, or the queue
Client network troubleshooting
DHCP, static IP, DNS, VPN, and proxy at the user's desk
Unit 6
Malware removal, the thorough version
L1 runs a scan; L2 follows a remediation process
Data migration and backup/restore
Moving a user's data without losing any of it
Outlook and Exchange profile fixes
Most "email is broken" tickets are the profile, the OST, or connectivity
Performance tuning
Find the bottleneck before you change anything
Privacy, secure wiping, and NZ e-waste disposal
A retired machine still holds someone's personal information until you make sure it does not
Unit 7
Common mistakes that bite L2 techs
The errors that turn a fix into a disaster
Documentation, te reo courtesy, and escalating to L3
Write the fix down, treat the user well, and hand off cleanly when it goes up
Where to go next
Where to go next