Chapter 5 Common Support Problems A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialists Fourth Edition by Fred Beisse Chapter 5 Common Support Problems Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Common end-User Problems Hardware Problems Software Problems User Problems Vendor Problems Documentation Problems Operating Environment Problems Network Problems Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Hardware Problems 1 Wrong installation Incompatibility between hardware Configuration problems Hardware malfunctions 1 Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Software Problems 2 Wrong installation Incompatibility (with operating system or hardware) Configuration problems (e.g. default program) Bugs: errors in a computer program. Poor performance (add RAM) 2 Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

User Problems 3 Mistakes (e.g. pressing the wrong key) Misunderstandings (e.g. unaware of product features) Wrong products Not enough Information or Training Forgotten Information (e.g. password) 3 Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Documentation Problems The readability of a vendor documentation Poorly organized Inaccurate Omits important points 4 Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Vendor Problems 5 Advertise non existing features Beta version Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Operating Environment Problems Problems with facilities (electricity, lighting, furniture..) Problems with computing environment (backup, security…) 6 Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Network Problems 7 Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Problem-solving processes applied to typical end-User Problems Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Problem 1: Sounds Like Trouble Critical Questions Simple Obvious Solutions Module Replacement “I lost sound in my system” Hardware - Incompatibility Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Critical Questions “Has this problem ever happened before? What program were you running when you noticed the sound was lost?” Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Simple obvious solution Reset the sound card in the expansion slot. Make sure the volume is turned up. Check all the connections and cables to the sound card. Check the speakers connection. Make sure the speakers are plugged in and turned on Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Contradictions Try the card in a different expansion slot. Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Hardware - incompatibility Check the Windows device manager to see if there were any IRQ conflicts between the sound card and other devices. IRQ conflict happens when other devices (like Network card, Sound card, etc) in your computer share the same IRQ with your TV tuner card or VGA card. Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Problem 2: Free Antivirus requesting an Update Research Personal Experience “I downloaded Win 7 Antivirus. It has found several problems. Now, it requires that I purchase an update” Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Problem 2: Free Antivirus requesting an Update MALWARE! Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

activity Unresponsive software. A user contacted a help desk with a report that he has an error message on his screen that says, “Program not responding”. Research possible causes of this error message and suggest one or more ways to recover from this problem. Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Causes The software is doing some very long, CPU-intensive calculation, so it might not respond in a timely fashion.  There are viruses or spyware which can in fact cause other programs or Windows as a whole to misbehave in various ways including causing applications to become unresponsive. Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Solution Start the “Task Manager” and end the software task. (Ctrl + Alt + Del) Restart the computer. Uninstall the software. Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

activity Decipher an Internet error message. An email from a user says: “I have been using Google, to search for information on the web, I received a message ‘Error 403: Forbidden’ when I attempted to access a Web site that interests me. What does this message mean, and how can I view this page? Research the problem, and write a response to the email. Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Causes You do not have access to the website for one reason or an other. Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)

Solution Check for URL errors. Clear your browser's cache. Log in to the website. Clear your browser’s cookies. Contact your ISP. Come back later. Created by L. Asma Rikli (adapted from A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialties by Fred Beisse)