Don’t feel bashful about computer questions. You can be an expert and still will need advice. It’s that big of a field.
I get a lot of questions such as “Help! How do I get my printer to work?”
Knowing how to ask tech questions is the key to getting useful answers. It could be a query to a support line or a conversation over your backyard fence. The requirements are the same.
No. 1 is: State the kind of system you have; No. 2 is: Mention its operating system.
Tech help is dependent on those two items. You’re not going anywhere without them.
It’s especially true in this era of Windows 7. Some of the old Windows fixes don’t work with it. Mac is a whole different creature.
There’s a lot of free tech support available online, some of it, well, teeth gnashing. I stopped reading blogs when I realized that “reformat your hard drive” is not a logical solution for most of us.
For this reason, I stay with the company Web sites. Microsoft.com has evolved into a knowledge base of stuff that works. If you call a tech-support line, the tech probably will use the MS site for his answer.
Click on Support and choose the operating system. The database includes questions most often asked by customers. Nothing happens in a vacuum.
Being able to at least describe what’s wrong escapes many users. They’re not helped much by the hated error codes that software and hardware generate. These are such simple items as ERROR_STATIC_INIT4002 (0xFA2). That means the file failed to load.
Error codes sometimes stick on the screen, requiring a reboot. This gives you a chance to copy them. Although they seem esoteric to the gills, they are important and yet another key to getting tech support to work.
Microsoft.com has built an encyclopedia of error codes in its Windows Development Center. Be prepared for a shock. There are 16,000 of them.
A buddy of mine has worked in tech support for 10 years. His favorite calls come from people who want him to declare the system a total wreck.
“They’re looking for an excuse to buy a new one,” he said.
Contact Jim Hillibish at jim.hillibish@cantonrep.com.
