This month, we traveled to the North Side’s warm and friendly Amani International Coffee House. Our starter topic for the month, troubleshooting hardware and software, was extremely interesting and produced some great stories. At one point, I laughed so hard my eyes started to tear up (over the one about the user who was hiding a key in the CD-ROM tray).
Here are the resources and issues we discussed during the meeting:
Resources
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TrendMicro - http://us.trendmicro.com/us/home/ – good antivirus, not-so-good spam catcher
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Google Postini - http://www.google.com/postini/index.html – they filter email then forward non-spam to you
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Sonicwall Barracuda - http://www.sonicguard.com/barracuda.asp – network appliance
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EIT Store - (whoever mentioned this needs to send me the link because I can’t find this!) - discounted hardware/software based in Houston
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Data Bazaar - http://www.databazaar.com/ – inexpensive printer toner
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SmartPrint - http://smartprinttechnologiesinc.com/spt.php – will match toner prices, provides printer service free of charge if you are buying their cartridges
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Consistent Computer Bargains - http://www.ccbnonprofits.com/ – discounted hardware and software
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Sierra w/o Wires - http://www.sierrawowires.com/- local company that is a reseller for Microsoft, Adobe, et al, and has prices lower than retail, but higher than TechSoup (good if you don’t qualify for TechSoup)
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Harmony - http://www.harmonyis.com/ – a client information management system
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Spiceworks - http://www.spiceworks.com/ – network monitoring and support ticketing system
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Viewpoint software - http://www.sonicwall.com/us/support/3340.html – comes with Sonic firewall products, and has good report capabilities built in
Troubleshooting Tips
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It is important to probe the users thoroughly for information and ask the right questions.
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If you can train users to write down errors or create screenshots, that’s great too.
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Start at the lowest level, most basic level, with the simplest possible thing. (Is it plugged in?) Only try one thing at a time so you know what worked and what didn’t.
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A cable tester can save you a lot of time and energy. http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/8510/
Next Meeting:
- Our next meeting is May 6 at Amani International Coffeehouse on the North Side. Our starter topic will be “Keeping Up with Trends.” The meeting is, as usual, from 8 am – 9:30 am.
