February 2005

Getting Help

By Teresa Lightle- Technology Coordinator                            Printable Version (pdf)

Technology help is just a phone call away and the Technology Services Department at Butte County Office of Education is working hard to provide users with a high quality of customer service. In this attempt we are asking users to help by being ready to provide the help desk staff with some very important information when you call.

It is recommended to be close to the equipment you are calling about, i.e. computer, printer. This way if additional information is necessary the help desk personnel can assist in gathering it with you. If the caller does not have immediate access to the equipment it could cause delays in getting the issues fixed.

Be prepared to provide the helpdesk with the following information:

1. Who is calling and who is having the problem?
2. What is the exact location of the equipment which is having the trouble?
3. What exactly is the computer doing and not doing?
   Example:  I am unable to print, the print dialogue box comes up, but it does not print.
4. When does this problem occur?
   Example:  It only happens in MS Word.
5. Is the problem occurring to more than just one person?
   This will help us determine if it is a workstation issue or a possible server issue.
6. What version of Operating System are you running on this computer?
   Example:  Windows 98, Windows XP - if you do not know which operating system you are running, you can find out by clicking on the Start button, running up the left side of the menu will be the Windows version you are currently running.

Another way to check the version is to click on the Start button on the task bar.

Click on the Run...option
Key winver in the textbox and click OK.
This will bring up a dialogue box which will tell you the version.

7. Did you receive any error message?
   The best thing to do in this case is to either write down the error message, word for word, or use the print screen command and paste the error message into a word document or directly into an email to send to the Help Desk.

To learn how to capture an error message on your screen, please refer to January 2005 Tech Tips on using the Print Screen command - http://www.bcoe.org/admin/training/techtips/jan_05.htm

8. What steps have you already taken to try and solve this issue?
   Example:  Have you restarted the equipment having problems?
9. Is there a work around?
   Example:  Is there another printer the user can use to print?

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For Questions or Comments about this newsletter please contact: tlightle@bcoe.org

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