Published February 2001

Computer crash? File
an accident report

By Tom Schreier
Computer Q&A Column

You can save time and money by learning how to speak “geek.”

No, I’m not talking about learning all the new buzzwords or boning up on the Linux vs. Windows debate. I’m talking about being able to effectively communicate your needs and wants to a member of your IT department or a hired consultant.

One of the hardest problems to solve in the information-technology field is the gap between the users and the maintainers.

When a user calls up the help desk and says, “My computer or the server just crashed — fix it,” the help-desk staff (or consultant) is in the dark as to what the problem is. The user has not provided enough information for the help desk to solve the problem. Now the help desk is going to play “20 Questions” with a user who is most likely very frustrated and not in the mood.

So, what is the answer? If the user can be ready to identify the problem to the best of his or her ability, the help desk can respond more quickly.

OK, so going back to “the server or my computer just crashed”: Did anyone else who uses the server in your area also have a computer crash? Was it just an application on your computer that crashed, or did the screen go black? These are the thoughts that will be racing through the mind of the help-desk operator.

Play a little detective on your end. Can you still do other things? So, could it be that it’s only your access to e-mail that is having the problem? If you can say to your help desk, “I was in Word and tried to print a document, right then, everything locked up. I was trying to print to the printer down the hall,” you have given the help desk a good start.

If you notice a problem that occurs on a frequent basis, try and document what is happening when the problem shows up. What applications are running on your computer at the time? List them all, and remember that not only the window in focus is “running” but also all the things that you can swap to via Alt-Tab (Windows environment) and those cute icons next to the time in the task bar. See if other people have the same problem. Can you duplicate the problem so the help desk can see firsthand what is happening?

Now you will be ready to answer the “20 Questions” the help desk is going to bombard you with. This saves time and money in many ways. First, the faster you can describe your problem, the quicker it is to fix.

Also, when bringing in a consultant, a list of “this happens when” will help that person fix your systems more quickly and understand the big picture. Otherwise, the consultant will spend a lot of time (and your money) trying to get those “20 Questions” out of you.

If you have a computer policy, network or computer question, feel free to drop me an e-mail at tom@poisonidea.net.

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