IT Service Center

What to do when technology just won't work.

When you encounter an error condition in the course of working on an LFCDS supported system, follow these steps:

1. Try again: Many technical problems are transient, one-time glitches.
   1. Try the action that generates the problem a second time to test whether or not it persists.
   2. Try closing then reopening the application in which the error occurs, then trying the action that generates the problem again to test whether or not it persists.
      Be sure to let the application exit out of memory completely (wait 10 seconds after selecting File-->Exit before reopening the application.
   3. Restart your computer (Start-->Shutdown-->Restart) to test whether resetting the computer's system state resolves the problem.
2. Record the error: Record the descriptive text of any error messages so you can remember it when reporting the problem.
   
   1. CTRL-C will copy the text of many error dialog boxes to the clipboard, allowing you to paste (CTRL-V) the actual message into an e-mail message to @IT Support. 
   2. The PRINT SCREEN button will copy a picture of the entire screen to the clipboard, allowing you to paste (CTRL-V) the actual screen state into an e-mail message to @IT Support. 
      The PRINT SCREEN button may be labeled PrtSc. If it shares the key with another function, print screen may required the function (fn) key to be pressed to activate. ALT+PrtSc will take a picture of the current window instead of the entire screen.
3. Contact the IT Department! Be sure to report:
   
   1. Which software application generated the problem.
   2. What action you took that lead to the problem.
   3. What any error message says.
   4. When you're available to bring your computer in for us to repair, if applicable.

Learning how to use technology resources:

When you're working on an LFCDS supported system and need to know how to do a particular task or use a particular function, we encourage you to practice self-reliance by trying to discover the solution yourself. There are only 3 of us supporting more than 500 employees & students, so we appreciate any steps you take to learn on your own! However, feel free to contact the IT Service Center if you run into a dead-end or just want to make sure you've found the optimum solution.

How to get "how to" help:

1. Built in help: Virtually all of our software contains extensive built-in documentation that can be browsed and searched to find answers to your questions. Look for this under the application's Help menu.
2. Tech Tips: We try to answer common questions and demonstrate common procedures for many of our supported hardware and software systems on the Services  page.
3. Web sites: Many software packages have web sites both created by the publisher and by third parties with additional support information. Check out the Services page for links.
4. Printed manuals: Most system documentation is now provided electronically, but some software packages have printed manuals that may be checked out from the IT Service Center.
5. Contact IT Support: After researching the problem yourself, feel free to run a proposed solution by the IT Service Center.
6. Request a Training Session: In addition to "just-in-time" training from the help desk, the IT Department also presents scheduled training sessions on various supported systems. These sessions will be announced via e-mail and Outlook invitations. If you have a suggestion for a training session, please contact the IT Service Center. The Technology Curriculum Coordinator will respond to your request.