Help Desk Tech Support Alexandria VA

Depending on what sort of system you have, it may or may not include a warranty. If, for example, you bought your system through a school program or as a package deal from a manufacturer, it is likely that there is a warranty included as part of your purchase. If this is true, there are several types of service offered including on-site service, depot repair, and USPS-mailed parts.

Certain kinds of warranties include accidental damage coverage, which means if you spill your cafe latte on your laptop, the manufacturer is required to fix your system. If your system is the property of your employer or school, your company's information technology department should have access to warranty information and will be able to determine this without your having to do any work yourself.

If the computer is your own private property, it is helpful to maintain your own purchase records and any documentation included with the computer. Every computer has a unique ID embedded in it by the manufacturer. This can often be accessed during the initial boot screen if you press F2 (on a PC). Otherwise, there is a serial number or service tag number located on the system itself which is important to have whenever calling in an issue to your help desk.

Depending on the particular software, the help desk may or may not be able to help correct your problem. For example, if you install additional software on your computer that is not supported by your computer or your school, your tech department may not be able to help you correct the problem since it is not part of their policy.

If your employer or school owns the software that you’re having the issue with, it is most likely that their information technology department's duties include maintenance of your software in order to ensure that you are able to continue doing your job efficiently. If the software is integral to your job requirements and your help desk technician is having a hard time understanding the problem, try to give him as much information as possible. For example, taking a screen shot of your computer with PRNT SCRN or writing down any error codes will help facilitate the amelioration of your situation.

The more information you can give regarding the problem, the better. If you call in with “My computer won't work,” your technician will not know what the problem is. Remember to tell your technician when the problem occurred and what it is preventing you from doing. For example, if your email client is not working, determine whether this is an Internet (or intranet) problem by using an Internet browser to see if other programs can access the same network. The more information you can provide as to what the problem is not, the more able the technician is to help correct your problem.

From time to time, a router or computer needs to be updated. Part of this process involves updating or rolling back the firmware. Hardware is the physical part of the computer. Software is the part that you see on the screen. Firmware is the part that runs in the background, which you will usually not change directly. In the case of bad firmware on a router or BIOS, your technician will likely have to fix the computer in person.

Certain viruses embed themselves in firmware, which make them virtually impossible to remove by conventional methods and often require the firmware to be reinstalled or the BIOS to be flashed. Firmware issues are usually crippling and often difficult to diagnose. Again, the most important thing to remember is to give detailed information as to when your problem occurred and what specifically it is preventing you from doing.

Giving information as to what your computer is still letting you do will also help greatly, because it will isolate the problem for the technician. If your email client is not working, but your network connection is working, it is likely an isolated problem with your email client or the email server itself. By telling the technician this, you have already saved time and helped further the process of getting your computer fixed.