Believe it or not, this page is here to help you--and there is nothing worse than a help page that doesn't help!

The format of this page is intended to help the user supply all of the relevant information necessary for Tech Help personnel to effect a swift and efficient solution to computer related problems. If this page did not help, or if you have any comments or suggestions concerning the layout or operation of this page, feel free to submit them through the media of your choice: e-mail, form, or phone.

How to use this page

The form below operates along the same lines as an e-mail, with the significant difference that identification of the sender is not automatic--in other words, if you don't let us know who you are, we will be unable to respond. Primarily, it is present for those people who are having difficulty with their e-mail programs, but it also shows the sort of information that Tech Help needs to have in order to solve whatever problems you may be experiencing--so even if you are going to send us a standard e-mail (a link for which is provided at the bottom of this page), please include all of the information requested by the form below.

The following definitions are meant to help you describe your technical problem--if you are experiencing any of these difficulties, please use these terms so that there will be no misunderstandings. If none of them apply to your problem, or if you are familiar with these terms already, please skip down to the form itself.

Computer Model: This is the name brand and/or designation of your computer, and is generally found displayed prominently on the front of the computer tower. If not, check the back of the tower for paper stickers bearing the information; at worst, it will be on the invoice that accompanied your computer.
Example: Dell Optiplex or Dimension; Macintosh G-3 or I-Mac

Operating System: This is the program that actually runs your computer, usually called an "OS." If you are using a PC, this is almost certain to be some flavor of Windows--95, 98, 2000, ME, etc. In some cases it is important to know which version of the program you are using (Windows 98, for instance, has several editions). This information can be found by double-clicking on the "My Computer" icon found on your desktop, then clicking on the "Help" menu, then clicking on the "About Windows" option. If you are using a Macintosh system, the OS version should be displayed on startup. If not, it can be found by (more information to come).

Detailed Description: While generally self-explanatory there are a few things that must be included with the description to help in the diagnosis of the problem, mostly having to do with definition of terms.

       Error Messages: Generally a dialog box that the operating system pops up, notifying you that some program or programs currently running have encountered problems. These can run from the seriously annoying small gray box announcing that "This program has performed an illegal operation and will now close down" to the terminally aggravating "Blue Screen of Death," which generally presages a complete system shut down. In either case, it is important to note exactly what the error message tells you unless it is one of the above generic messages.

      Program Malfunction: The program still operates, but is not working correctly--commands have the opposite or random effects, clickable areas do not respond, scrollbars move spontaneously, etc.

      Program Freeze: The program you are using ceases to respond, but other programs (including the mouse) still function.

      System Lock: The entire computer locks up. Nothing functions, including the CTRL+ALT+DEL command (PC's only).

      System Crash: The tower shuts down, the screen goes black, and--with luck--the system restarts itself as though it had just been reset. Without luck, it has to be activated manually and may or may not complete the boot cycle.

Last but not least...

     What you were doing: This involves not what you were attempting to accomplish, but the exact operation you were performing when the problem occurred, including keystrokes if you accidentally hit the ESC key or one of the Function keys.

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