IT Helpdesk Getting You Down?

This was an article I found in the Brisbane Commuters’ Newspaper “mX”. (Brisbane, Australia). I think it is very true, but that people need to realize that if it is Windows, funnily enough, a restart does the job. Simply closing the program and starting it up again doesn’t always do that job. Sometimes the framework (all of those wonderful SYSTEM processes and explorer.exe) needs to be restarted. People also need to understand that if it is a big company, the IT staff will attempt to try the things that normally fix it, like restarting. The University I study at has 2 staff for the whole campus, and the first thing you will hear as you stand at the door explaining your problem, is “Have you restarted it?”

The fact is, there isn’t enough time for every support technician to run around to every problem, and trawl through files and registry keys, to find the exact problem and rectify it. If it doesn’t fix itself after a restart, they will do a quick search for any known problems, and Google it. If that doesn’t work, its re-Ghost time! (Ghosting is basically where a program called Norton Ghost is used to extract a premade image file (of a premade hard-drives computer) onto your computer.) Ghost is a lifesaver, as it can have a fully working computer, with Administrative permissions, programs, and settings all configured, in less than the time it takes to install windows in the first place! A godsend!

So to all you desk lackeys being weighed down by long wait times, Computers are almost always an experimental art. The more you support the technicians, and are patient with them, the faster you can get back to work.

*Please note, this was a repost from Geeks.Pirillo.com, dated September 12, 2008 at 4:16pm*