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This is one of the many articles that you can enjoy as a subscriber of Smart Computing Magazine. This article gives you the ins and outs of contacting technical support.
An old joke involves a preacher on his knees in the midst of a torrential downpour. Soon a man who is fleeing the area in a car approaches the preacher. “Hop in,” the man says. “No thanks,” the preacher replies, “God will save me.” So the man drives away.
As the water rises around him, the preacher is approached again, this time by a man in a boat. “Climb aboard,” the sailor says. “No thanks,” the preacher replies, “God will save me.” The sailor shrugs and steers his boat toward higher ground.
The rains continue and the waves become higher. A man in a helicopter spots the preacher in the water and drops a ladder to him. “Grab hold!” the pilot yells through the noise of the storm. Once again, the preacher replies, “No thanks. God will save me.”
Well, eventually the flood drowns the preacher, and he finds himself standing in front of God. “Why didn’t you save me from the flood?” the man angrily asks God. “I tried,” God says. “I sent a car, a boat, and a helicopter. What else did you want?”
In the quest for technical support, many of us make the mistake of behaving like the preacher in this joke. We beseech software developers and hardware manufacturers for assistance but refuse to take advantage of the countless self-help resources they put at our disposal. The fact is that computer users of the 21st century have no shortage of available support options. All we have to do is reach out and take advantage of them.
Users Manual & Help Menu
Reputable companies have made a practice of bundling basic help-yourself technical information with the products they sell. Hardware issues, for instance, are typically addressed in the Troubleshooting or FAQs (frequently asked questions) section of a product’s users manual.
As for software, help is usually as close as the F1 key. Pressing F1 is the fastest way to access an active program’s integrated support resources. Alternately, you can access the support resources through the Help menu on the program’s toolbar. Either way, the resources typically consist of informative articles describing the program’s various features and step-by-step guides outlining the methods for resolving common problems.
Windows Help And Support
Each Windows version comes bundled with its own collection of support resources. To access these resources, open the Start menu and click Help (in Windows 98/Me) or Help And Support (in Windows XP). The resulting dialog box provides access to an assortment of intuitive guides that can help you fix problems, perform basic OS (operating system) functions, run maintenance utilities, and access troubleshooters.
Each troubleshooter is an on-screen interview of probing questions, multiple-choice answers, and corresponding instructions that help you diagnose and resolve problems. Examples include the Display Troubleshooter, the Print Troubleshooter, and the Startup And Shutdown Troubleshooter.
To view a list of troubleshooters in Win98, open the Contents tab of the Windows Help dialog box and click the Troubleshooting and Windows 98 Troubleshooters links. No similar list exists in WinMe/XP. Microsoft chose to organize the support resources, including troubleshooters, by topic when it designed WinMe/XP.
To access the Modem Troubleshooter in WinXP, for instance, open the Help And Support Center, click the Fixing A Problem link, and open the Networking Problems category. Acquaint yourself with Windows Help And Support (in WinMe) or the Help And Support Center (in WinXP) so that you know where to find relevant troubleshooters when you need them.
Microsoft Help And Support
The third place you should look for assistance when confronting a PC problem is the Microsoft Help And Support site. This site contains a vast array of self-help support materials for every program in Microsoft’s current product catalog. Read FAQs, join a Microsoft support newsgroup, and contact customer service (for help with nontechnical issues). The site also presents Microsoft’s latest downloads and updates. These post-release add-ons deliver fixes for security breaches, bugs, and compatibility conflicts. As such, they are crucial to maintaining a high level of performance in your Microsoft applications, including Windows.
Windows troubleshooters, such as Windows XP's Networking Troubleshooter, help you diagnose and resolve common problems by leading you through a simple question-and-answer process.
The most important component of the Microsoft Help And Support site is the Knowledge Base, a searchable database of support articles, each of which corresponds to a Microsoft product or family of products. You can define your search by several criteria, and Knowledge Base presents a list of articles that pertain to the subject in question.
For best results, take the time to read an article completely before launching into the prescribed fix. Many of the solutions involve advanced troubleshooting techniques (such as command-line programming) that you may not feel comfortable performing. Don’t try a solution if you fear that you won’t be able to properly complete it. Otherwise, you risk creating even more problems for your system.
Developer Or Manufacturer Sites
Not every PC problem is Microsoft’s fault, so when you encounter one that involves a program or device from another company, you’ll have to look elsewhere. A growing number of hardware manufacturers and software developers, including Corel, Dell, Sony, and Symantec, have created their own Knowledge Base-like online support structures to help users find solutions to problems caused by their products.
When browsing a manufacturer’s site or a developer’s site for assistance, look for a link or button labeled Support. This has become the universal pointer to self-help materials. Once inside the Support area, you’ll often find a host of driver and update downloads, FAQs, reference materials (including users manuals and installation guides), hints and tips, and solutions to common problems. Always download and install the latest product updates before undertaking a manual fix.
Third-Party Support Sites
A final resource for technical assistance is a third-party support site, such as Experts Exchange, Computing Net and our very own SmartComputing.com Q&A Boards These sites provide an open forum where you can post your technical quandaries. If you’re lucky, other users who have encountered similar problems will share their detailed solutions with you (but it may take several days to get a response). Many sites catalog these online discussions in a searchable database so future visitors can benefit from the information.
The success of a third-party support site depends on two things: the quality of the questions and the quality of the responses. The best queries are detailed and thorough. Be exact when describing the contents of an error message, for instance, and bundle each question with relevant background information, including technical specifications and a description of recent changes to the system configuration. The best responses, of course, are those that are correct. You can increase the odds of getting a correct response by sticking with a reputable site that attracts a bevy of experienced computer users. You also may want to submit your question to multiple sites so that you can check the proposed solutions for discrepancies.
In any case, proceed with caution when implementing the instructions you receive from a third-party site. Ask for clarification if you are confused by a suggested solution, and always back up your data before making any changes.
Make It On Your Own
You may feel a bit awkward the first time you use our support options to resolve a technical issue on your own. That’s expected. Self-help support options take us out of our comfort zone and require us to claim responsibility for fixing our PC’s problems. But once you get the hang of answering your own questions, you’ll find that the do-it-yourself method is faster, more convenient, and more reliable than navigating an automated calling system, waiting on hold, and describing your problem to a technician who may or may not give you the runaround.
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