Yeah that’s what most people use. Always check your wires before touching them! Even if you think they are off, that they don’t work, or that you hit the right breaker, double check! I can’t tell you the number of times something was hit but not marked appropriately, or where you know there’s 2 circuits but have a 3rd hiding behind a ball of wire. But it will only tell you if the line has power to it, not that it has a complete circuit. You can still have the outlet “hot” without it functioning if the neutral isn’t attached somewhere.
This is still, most likely, a gfci that needs reset.
Your gfci outlets will have a visible reset and check/test button on the outside of the outlet. They are typically rectangular. Most likely you will find them in bathrooms, kitchens, garages, porches, and basements. They could take out the rest of the outlets and lights on its circuit if it is run in series after the gfci. This is normal. But you may have to check multiple gfci’s and hit test and reset on each one.
If the house had a not so professional job of running your wiring, it may not be intuitive which gfci has that circuit. You may even find that the outlet is under a sink or in a cabinet where it’s difficult to find.
Gfci outlets also are more prone to malfunctioning more than regular ones. If you know the gfci has the rest of the circuit following it, but the gfci still is functional, you may need to replace the gfci outlet.
Now if it’s not the gfci (there’s the slight chance that you have a bad breaker too) you need to find where there is a short in a line. This would be a black or white wire that is not connected to the next side of the wire. (Black should be the one that is “hot” and the white is the neutral that completes the circuit) This could be at the outlet or in a wire nut nut behind an outlet, behind a switch, or in a junction box. It would not be a good thing if you still can’t figure it out at this point.
This would be a break in a wire at some point that is inaccessible. Maybe it’s buried behind a light fixture. Maybe there’s a hidden junction behind the drywall. Maybe you nicked a wire with a nail or screw hanging a picture. You need to find that spot and reconnect. I would probably call in a pro at this point.
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