“Wow, that only took you guys about five minutes” says the slightly amazed client, right after we spent about four minutes solving their problem. Now, we like talking with our clients, but generally when we get a call, it’s not to chat about the weather or the ballgame. The call is usually about a problem – and while some problems really do need a technician, a lot of simple issues can be handled without calling in the “big guns”
Here’s five things you can do to help support your own computers, before you call us…
#5 Install power protection before you need it
It’s getting to be “brown-out” season. Do you have, at minimum, a suitable surge suppressor, or ideally, an uninterruptible power supply (“UPS” or “battery backup”) on every piece of sensitive electronics… computers, servers, phone system.
Even millisecond drops in electrical power can create problems for computer equipment. Some of those problems are temporary, fixed when the power is restored and equipment restarted. Some are permanent, in the form of physical damage. Nearly all can be avoided when you install the right protection.
This is, or can be, a do-it-yourself effort, but many of our clients prefer assistance in the selection and installation of power protection, especially for servers.
#4 Use a business-class antivirus and make sure it’s current
We’ve discussed “free” antivirus tools here before. It’s not always “you get what you pay for,” but it can be with free antivirus, especially if it’s the product that came with a new computer. Often the software that comes with a new PC is “trialware,” set to expire with a month or two of activation. If you miss than notice, you may not be protected. Sometimes, the free software just isn’t very effective.
Every PC, laptop, server – and now even some phones and tablets should be protected with an effective antivirus product that is kept current.
Again, this can be do-it-yourself if we’re not actively managing your PC’s (and already providing your antivirus), but many clients prefer that we install and monitor the currency and effectiveness of their malware protection.
#3 Be careful what you install
The “P” in PC is of course for “personal” and that sometimes leaves users of company machines assuming their office computer is a personal asset, ready to receive whatever software they want to put on it…legal or not, viral or not, compatible or not.
It’s in your company’s best interest to take a hard line on installation of “personal” software on company machines. All too often, the personal software becomes a business problem.
At a basic level, that software check can be done yourself with written policies and occasional spot checks. Or, it can be managed through systems policies and asset management and reporting that we can provide as an on-going service.
#2 “Help” is there to help
Nearly every program has a “Help” button or function. Yes, a lot of the help in “Help” isn’t always very helpful, but it can be. And now, more and more help links to on-line resources that tend to be more up to date and complete.
For common issues with common programs, we might have the answer for you faster than it can be found in Help… but if it’s a less common, or industry-specific program, honestly, we’ll probably be looking for that same help – at least to start.
#1 Before you shoot it, reboot it
For anyone contemplating violence against a slow or “flaky” machine, save and exit from your programs if you can, and reboot it...Shutdown and Restart. This clears memory and resources, can commit and complete the installation of updates, and sometimes even finish a virus removal that has occurred in the background. Powering off the PC for a minute or two and firing it back up can be even better.
One warning about this: if you’re hearing grinding or whining noises from the PC, DO NOT shut down until you’ve called us. Those noises can be signs of impending hard drive failure, the kind that can cause data loss and keep a machine from rebooting at all. We may want to safeguard your data with a backup, before trying to reboot the problem away.
