So you are a SharePoint Admin or Developer at some firm, somewhere, and you have an issue that you’re facing. Here are some simple rules to make finding the root causem for the issue, occur at a faster pace>
Number one: Login to the server and open the ULS Viewer, the Windows OS Application Log, and possibly the IIS logs, depending on your situation.
Number two: start a ULS trace based on the ULS feed. Note: sometimes it helps to tune logging up to VerboseEx if the regular stream doesn’t give you any proverbial SharePoint fish in your troubleshooting net.
Number three: Reproduce the issue, both from the server, if possible, and from a client. Also, if possible
Number four: Look for unexpected, high, and critical events in the ULS log. The critical events will more than likely also be listed in the application log, and or system log, in the windows OS, and you should filter those logs, by the error categories, (e.g. warning, error, critical)
Number five: GTS (Google that shit) the issue.
Number six: Don’t believe everything you read online, just because someone else says they faced, the seemingly same, issue does not mean that those steps are going to work. Or, and even worse, those steps might not be safe. So, use your judgement, and just like the babelfish in “the Hitchiker’s guid to the Galaxy” allowed people to be able to speak any language, you need to consider what the logs are saying and become comfortable with making educated guesses.
Number seven: Have a lab where you can repro the issue, if possible, before doing so in a “live-fire-exercise” on your customer’s production server.
Happy SharePointing you BAMF!!
