I want to spend this week's column elaborating on a thread that I started a few weeks ago when talking about HP printer drivers - the topic is how to deal with technical support and emerge unscathed. A broken PC is akin to a bad automatic transmission in a car - you just hope that it never happens. The problem is not that it can't be fixed - just that you are at the mercy of the repairman and never sure that you are either getting quality service or a good price, or both.
I charge for my services and so the natural inclination for someone with a problem is to try to fix the problem themselves first rather than pay to have it done. I actually do encourage this - if nothing else they end up learning a lot more about the PC. The usual first thing they do is to call the company tech support line.
Now I have to take the side of the company here first. PCs are very difficult to properly diagnose. There is so much hardware and software in PCs these days and so many interactions between them that it is very difficult to analyze a problem. Although companies such as Dell or HP or Time Warner attempt to hire and train good people, it is very difficult to put the proper skills in place. As a result they have attempted to distill the analytical abilities needed into a series of steps, or scripts, that the tech support representative goes through. Usually part of this process is to eliminate interference from other hardware or software not in the company's control.
For example: the Road Runner service does not officially support using a router between the cable modem and your PC. They have nothing against routers per se, but the firewall function within the router can block Time Warner from getting certain diagnostic information. So the first thing they do is to tell you to re-cable and thus remove the router from the network. But at the end of the diagnostic procedure they may not tell you how to put the router back - leaving you with an incomplete setup unless you are skilled enough to know how to reconnect it yourself.
A similar thing to do to diagnose software problems (and some hardware problems) is to eliminate some or all of the Startup programs in your PC - these are the programs or services that start up automatically when you boot up your PC. Actually, some of these don't need to be there but they are often freebies that your manufacturer threw in and should be taken out. But some Startup items are mandatory.
The diagnostic procedure may also call for you to open the case to make hardware changes. Often this entails removing parts or swapping similar parts to see if the problem changes or travels with the swap - for example if you have two memory modules and remove each in turn and the PC fails with one installed and not the other, the problem is probably the bad memory module. But many people are uncomfortable doing this.
So, what can you do? First of all, always take a System Checkpoint before you start (Start / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools / System Restore) - this will allow you to hopefully return your system settings after the diagnostic procedure is done.
Write down in detail the error messages you receive. You would be surprised how often people don't do this, just complaining of "some error message".
As you go through the diagnostic procedure, carefully write down everything what the tech support rep asks you to do, and even ask them how to restore it when you are done. Take special note if they ask you to go into the System Configuration Utility and uncheck certain programs; this utility controls the Startup programs and you can easily block a program from starting by just un-checking its box. This is OK to do during a diagnostic procedure, but should be restored when done unless it is part of the problem.
You also need to filter their requests a bit. For example, reformatting your hard drive and reinstalling Windows will certainly cure a lot of ills, but that is like building a new house to repair a plumbing leak. If they ask you to do something that you can't or won't do, tell them.
But what do you do then? If your PC is under warranty and you purchased in-home or in-office support, press to have then come to fix the PC. If you have to mail the PC back to them, take good backups as your original data might not be returned.
As an alternative, you can always call a local professional. This may be the most effective, although not least costly, approach.
Or, like the automatic transmission, hope it doesn't fail!
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)