How to help the HelpDesk help you

You call the HelpDesk, frustrated because you can't get your work done, and leave the message "my computer stopped working. Please help!." Then someone from the HelpDesk calls you back and instead of immediately solving your problem they start asking lots of questions.

Has this ever happened to you? There are some steps you can do to help us help you.

1. If your computer stops working or something isn't working right the first thing to try is to reboot your computer.
2. If the problem continues then please pay attention to exactly what you are doing when the problem occurs.
   • Were you writing an email?
   • Were you trying to print?
   • Did you get an error message? If so, either get a screen-print of it (Windows - press print Screen) or write it down.
3. Has this happened before?
4. Can you connect to the network?
5. Is your web browser working?
6. Can you see your H:\ and R:\ drives?

When you call

1. Please leave your first and last name, phone extension, and department so we can call you back.
2. The more information you can give us, the faster we can solve your problem. When you call please give us as much information about your problem as you can.

This informaton will be very helpful to us as we try to fix your problem as quickly as possible.