1. It’s Broke – Now What Do I Do? John F. Schrage Susan E. Yager Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

2. It’s Broke – Now What Do I Do?  Computer Support Specialists  Elementary Computer Troubleshooting  References to software and manuals

3. The Data Are In!  Dell: 400,000 questions per month  Toshiba: 1.5 Million hits in 6 months  PC World: Majority of home PCs have problem!  Consumer Reports: Reliability and service decline as expectations rise

4. Help Desk Specialist  “Question and answer” via telephone or e-mail  Indirect, continuing part of curriculum  Software use within most programs

5. Technical Support Specialist  Install, modify, clean, repair hardware and software  Daily performance of computer system  Evaluate software

6. Computer Support Specialists (Infoworld 2000)  Position compensation $44,973/year 43 hours/week 19% salary increase $2,100 bonus  Experience 8 years 4.5 current company  Education 27% high school only 47% certification  Motivation Compensation Recognition Cutting-edge technologies

7. Career Materials  Help Desk Institute (www.helpdeskinst.com)www.helpdeskinst.com  Association of Computer Support Specialists (www.acss.org)www.acss.org  Association of Support Professionals (www.asponline.com)

8. Elementary Troubleshooting  Three Choices  93.3% operator error (Beisse, 1999)  Reboot – multiple times!  Plugged in? Turned on? Get a cup of coffee!

9. Troubleshooting Steps  Approach problem systematically  Do not overlook the obvious  Check simple things first  Make no assumptions  Become a researcher  Write locations down/print screen, paste, save  Divide and conquer – isolate problem  Reboot and start over

10. The Normal Questions  When did problem start?  Were any error or unusual messages on screen?  What programs/software being used when happened?  Was computer moved recently?  Thunderstorm or electrical interrupt?  Hardware changes?  Software recently installed?  Changes to configuration?  Anyone else used?

11. Have on Hand  Tool kit  Bootable system disk  Diagnostic system software package

12. References  Antonakos, J., and Adamson, T. 1999. Microcomputer Repair, 3 rd edition. Prentice-Hall.  Beeson, D. 2000. Assembling and Repairing Personal Computers, 2 nd edition. Prentice-Hall.  Evans, D. 1999. A+ Complete Lab Manual. SYBEX, Inc.  Mansfield, R., and Petroutsos, E. 2000. The PC Upgrade and Maintenance Lab Manual. SYBEX, Inc.  Regan, P. 2000. Troubleshooting the PC. Prentice-Hall.  Saxton, C. 2001. Enhanced Manual for Managing and Maintaining Your Computer. Course Technology.  Schmidt, C. 2000. The Complete Computer Repair Textbook, 2 nd edition. Scott/Jones, Inc.

13. Thank You!  Contact information: John Schrage jschrag@siue.edu Susan Yager syager@siue.edu