Ramblings, ideas, problems, and solutions

Category: Tech support

  • The single most annoying feature in iOS, and how to work around it

    Apple’s bidding for the smartphone market, the iPhone, ships with several preinstalled apps, none of which can be removed. As annoying as this may be, at least you can stick them all in a folder, and place the folder on the last page of apps. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

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  • FotoWare Color Factory checks whether a share is offline

    In Service Release 4 of Color Factory 7, FotoWare introduced a new feature, enabling it to check whether a network share is offline. When it finds that the share is offline, the channel is temporarily stopped, allowing other channels on the server to keep running.
     
    When a share is found to be offline, this will be logged and displayed on the Operations Center status page.
     
    For some shares on non-Windows systems, this check may appear to fail even though the share is online. From Color Factory 7.0.511 and later builds, this function may be turned off on a channel by channel basis, on the error handling tab of the channel:
     

     
    Caveat lector: I used to work with support at FotoWare. This blog is my own space, I am not paid to write it. I write about FotoWare and FotoWare products because I believe in them.

  • Using MSTSC to connect to a console mode session.

    One of the most important tools in any sysadmin’s tool kit is the ability to remote control servers and client computers. Being able to quickly connect to Terminal Services is a great way to do so. If you’re like me, you leave a few windows open whenever you leave a machine, and a neat trick is to be able to see these same windows when you login remotely.
     
    As it turns out, that is fairly easily done. When using the mstsc command line tool, you simply need to use the appropriate switch to activate a console session, and off you go! Simply use the following command, and you’re good to go: mstsc /console

  • BitLocker asks for BitLocker Recovery Key at restart

    Having gone from Windows XP to Windows 7, we are seeing a rash of new problems. One of these is that a lot of our users are unable to boot into Windows, as they are prompted for a BitLocker Recovery Key. The temporary fix for this is simple enough; look up and tell the user the BitLocker Recovery Key, and have them enter it. Well, I say simple, but the BitLocker Recovery Key is a string of eight segments of six digits, and having to enter this each and every time you reboot gets … tiresome … very quickly.
     
    So, let’s see if we can’t improve on that. There are two methods, the first usually suffices, but sometimes, I’ve had to go for the second. The first solution is as follows:
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  • Controlling the version of Java installed

    Every so often, I encounter computers that, among other things, have very specific prerequisites. For SAP CRM and Mobile Sales, more often than not, a specific version of Java should be installed. If it isn’t, problems ensue. Now, while you’ll always have the option of finding out what version is installed through the control panel, there is a much quicker way.
     
    Simply open a command line, and enter the command, and the result will be displayed promptly. The command is:
     
    java -version
     
    Here’s the result:

  • How to survive on-site support

    Having worked on-site support for most of my career, I’ve seen a lot of things that can bug you. There are a few things we can do to make it a little more survivable, such as:
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  • Free eBook: Troubleshooting Windows 7

    Working in IT, I often have people ask me about issues they are having with their computer. Now, while I’m happy to help out, I often find that the problems I solve for them are problems they could have solved themselves. Mitch Tulloch, a Microsoft MVP and lead author of the just-published Windows 7 Resource Kit (Microsoft Press, 2010; ISBN: 9780735627000; 1760 pages), has created a short e-book called “What You Can Do Before You Call Tech Support.” Here are the opening paragraphs:
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  • Remote support, simple and cheap

    Working for a large-scale support department, we have a good solution for remote control and support for users who work for the companies I support. I am, however, from time to time called upon to provide support for friends and family. While I do prefer sitting at the computer in question, whenever that is not an option, I have a decent backup solution.
     
    The backup solution is called TeamViewer. TeamViewer is free for non-commersial use, and supports all Windows versions since Windows 98 (including Windows 7), as well as Mac OS X. The download link can be found from the main website, and when downloaded, the program offers options to install or run the program.
     
    When run or installed, the program displays this screen:

     
    In a supporter role, all you need to do is ask the person at the problematic computer tell you their client ID and Password, enter the ID into the ID-box in the create session field, and click “Connect to Partner”. When prompted, you enter the Password, and hey presto! – you’re in.
     
    There is also an option for manually setting a password, which can be useful if you want to remote control your home computer whenever you want, and are unable to rely on others being there to provide the information.
     
    All in all, TeamViewer is simple to use, and effective to boot!

  • The importance of logging as much information as possible.

    In my last post, I wrote about one of my recent support tickets. What annoys me about that ticket is that I could have solved it a lot sooner, if only the tech that had logged the call had taken down more information that “Video replay doesn’t work”.
     
    When logging a support ticket, especially when you are going to pass it on to another tech, it is important to log as much information as possible. I’m not telling you to write the Great American Novel, but if you properly log what the problem is, when it occurred, and what has been done to resolve the problem, you solve two potential problems:
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  • Five tips for getting better support

    A while back, I wrote about giving better support to users. This time, I’m turning the tables; here are five tips to get better support: (more…)