Providing IT with Pertinent Support Information

My May column touched on the concept of “Expectations from Those in Need of Support.” I mentioned that there is no magic bullet and an IT person really needs to have some time on your machine to ask questions, evaluate, and propose a resolution for the technical issue at hand.

Honestly, would you prepare a brief or give legal counsel without first asking some questions and doing some research?

Reboot!

So, what is the first step that an end-user should consider when in technical distress? My first suggestion to that end-user is the time-honored, well-known and often irritating ' reboot.

Yes, Reboot

As a technical person, I reboot a lot. I mean a lot. Not just client machines when troubleshooting, but my own machine as well, particularly the many test machines I work with. It's just one of those things that needs to be done, and probably one of the first things your tech support person will ask you to do. My recommendation? Reboot first, then try the task again that gave you the problem in the first place. If it is still an issue, call tech support and tell them, “Yes, I've already rebooted, and still have the same problem.”

Why Reboot?

• Free up memory resources. Just because you close files and applications doesn't mean your operating system has released all of those resources back to you. Some remain behind and gum things up (if I may be technical);
• If a program generates a “fatal error” (which can happen for a plethora of reasons), rebooting is the only way to unfreeze it. Although the fear is that data will be lost by rebooting, the fact is that the data has already been lost, or the data is still recoverable. A reboot won't cause any more damage;
• When a computer starts up, it will always run a self-diagnostic program and may even repair some damage you were not aware of; and
• If a system file or device has become unstable, keep in mind that the only time the computer reads the instructions for loading certain files or devices is when the computer is started.

What Else Can I Do?

Here's where the fun comes in. I'm going to tell you about some screen capture methods you can use. They're all free with your Operating System, so no need to make a purchase. Not only will the screenshots be helpful when sending an e-mail to tech support (a picture is worth a thousand words here), but you can use these features to populate any document or e-mail with screenshots.

All of the methods below will be much more informative with “repro” steps. In other words, jot down exactly what you were doing prior to the error message, and what happened after clicking on a specific button of the error message.

ALT + PrintScreen

The message below is a cruel error message. Fortunately, it's one I created myself, unfortunately numerous “real” error messages are not much more helpful. Some error messages do contain helpful information, and it will help your IT person to see the actual error message with the exact language presented in it.

[IMGCAP(1)]

Alt + PrintScreen usually (but not always) captures the active or focus window. To be sure the window you want is in focus, simply single click within it. Hold down the ALT key and gently “tap” the PrintScreen key, release ALT. This method copies the image to the Windows Clipboard, making it available to paste into a file or e-mail message.

Snipping Tool

Be sure the window you want to capture is in focus (see paragraph above). From the Windows Start button, choose Snipping Tool (you may need to find it first in Accessories).

Your mouse now becomes a cross that you can press and drag across the screen area to be captured. After you press and drag the desired area, click the Copy button in the Snipping Toolbar (it looks just like the Copy button in any other Windows application). Just like ALT + PrintScreen, the image is now sent to the Windows clipboard, making it available to paste into a file or e-mail message. Click the Close button in the Windows Snipping Tool window and choose “No” to save the image as a file. On the other hand, you may find yourself on a project where you do want to save the image to a file. If that is the case, save the file to a location you can easily retrieve it from at a later time.

Problem Steps Recorder

To date, this is the mother of all free screen captures, as it not only grabs screenshots, but adds the exact steps you were taking before and after an error may have appeared. Not only that, but it allows you to insert your own comments into the appropriate area of the process.

• Click the Windows Start button and type “psr” in the search field and press “Enter.” Notice the Problem Steps Recorder window (it's small).
• Click “Start Record.”
• Start working through the steps that led to the earlier error message.
• If you feel you have something relevant to add, click the “Add Comment” button. A window will appear that you can type in. Type your note and click OK.
• Continue working through the process.
• When you're finished, click “Stop Recorder.”
• Save the recording as a .zip file to a location you can easily retrieve it from.
• Provide your IT person with the .zip file.

Note: Within the .zip file is the saved .mht file. This opens in the Web browser with considerable information and screenshots.

My May column touched on the concept of “Expectations from Those in Need of Support.” I mentioned that there is no magic bullet and an IT person really needs to have some time on your machine to ask questions, evaluate, and propose a resolution for the technical issue at hand.

Honestly, would you prepare a brief or give legal counsel without first asking some questions and doing some research?

Reboot!

So, what is the first step that an end-user should consider when in technical distress? My first suggestion to that end-user is the time-honored, well-known and often irritating ' reboot.

Yes, Reboot

As a technical person, I reboot a lot. I mean a lot. Not just client machines when troubleshooting, but my own machine as well, particularly the many test machines I work with. It's just one of those things that needs to be done, and probably one of the first things your tech support person will ask you to do. My recommendation? Reboot first, then try the task again that gave you the problem in the first place. If it is still an issue, call tech support and tell them, “Yes, I've already rebooted, and still have the same problem.”

Why Reboot?

• Free up memory resources. Just because you close files and applications doesn't mean your operating system has released all of those resources back to you. Some remain behind and gum things up (if I may be technical);
• If a program generates a “fatal error” (which can happen for a plethora of reasons), rebooting is the only way to unfreeze it. Although the fear is that data will be lost by rebooting, the fact is that the data has already been lost, or the data is still recoverable. A reboot won't cause any more damage;
• When a computer starts up, it will always run a self-diagnostic program and may even repair some damage you were not aware of; and
• If a system file or device has become unstable, keep in mind that the only time the computer reads the instructions for loading certain files or devices is when the computer is started.

What Else Can I Do?

Here's where the fun comes in. I'm going to tell you about some screen capture methods you can use. They're all free with your Operating System, so no need to make a purchase. Not only will the screenshots be helpful when sending an e-mail to tech support (a picture is worth a thousand words here), but you can use these features to populate any document or e-mail with screenshots.

All of the methods below will be much more informative with “repro” steps. In other words, jot down exactly what you were doing prior to the error message, and what happened after clicking on a specific button of the error message.

ALT + PrintScreen

The message below is a cruel error message. Fortunately, it's one I created myself, unfortunately numerous “real” error messages are not much more helpful. Some error messages do contain helpful information, and it will help your IT person to see the actual error message with the exact language presented in it.

[IMGCAP(1)]

Alt + PrintScreen usually (but not always) captures the active or focus window. To be sure the window you want is in focus, simply single click within it. Hold down the ALT key and gently “tap” the PrintScreen key, release ALT. This method copies the image to the Windows Clipboard, making it available to paste into a file or e-mail message.

Snipping Tool

Be sure the window you want to capture is in focus (see paragraph above). From the Windows Start button, choose Snipping Tool (you may need to find it first in Accessories).

Your mouse now becomes a cross that you can press and drag across the screen area to be captured. After you press and drag the desired area, click the Copy button in the Snipping Toolbar (it looks just like the Copy button in any other Windows application). Just like ALT + PrintScreen, the image is now sent to the Windows clipboard, making it available to paste into a file or e-mail message. Click the Close button in the Windows Snipping Tool window and choose “No” to save the image as a file. On the other hand, you may find yourself on a project where you do want to save the image to a file. If that is the case, save the file to a location you can easily retrieve it from at a later time.

Problem Steps Recorder

To date, this is the mother of all free screen captures, as it not only grabs screenshots, but adds the exact steps you were taking before and after an error may have appeared. Not only that, but it allows you to insert your own comments into the appropriate area of the process.

• Click the Windows Start button and type “psr” in the search field and press “Enter.” Notice the Problem Steps Recorder window (it's small).
• Click “Start Record.”
• Start working through the steps that led to the earlier error message.
• If you feel you have something relevant to add, click the “Add Comment” button. A window will appear that you can type in. Type your note and click OK.
• Continue working through the process.
• When you're finished, click “Stop Recorder.”
• Save the recording as a .zip file to a location you can easily retrieve it from.
• Provide your IT person with the .zip file.

Note: Within the .zip file is the saved .mht file. This opens in the Web browser with considerable information and screenshots.