Documents in this section relate to issues directly related to programs developed by Bengal Software. For general FAQ's and problems with other vendors' products, see the section below.

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Documents in this section are intended to answer questions about other vendors' software products and general support issues not specific to Bengal Software products.

General FAQ's

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As a support company, obviously much of our revenue is derived from doing support calls. However, it never hurts to give the customer some free advice to save them money. We figure if you save money on the small stuff, you'll keep coming back to us for the bigger more complex calls. After all, while you might put your own band-aids on, you're not likely to do your own heart bypass are you? With that in mind, here's some free advice from the guys that know about how to save money on computer service.

Do-It-Yourself Preventative Medicine:

  • DO use anti-virus and backup software, and if permanently connected to the Internet, implement a firewall solution as well. There are many popular packages out there, ranging in price from free to several thousand dollars. As always, keep in mind that you get what you pay for and these packages play an important role in protecting your business. Consider our Res-Q Automated Backup as part of this solution. It will eliminate a lot of the work and headaches for you, and has the ability to launch the anti-virus program of your choice as part of the backup procedure.
  • If doing your own backups, use only good quality backup devices and media. Once again, you get what you pay for. Would you shop around for the cheapest brain surgeon in town? Backups are only 1/2 the solution - you must be able to restore from them too, when the time comes. Rotate media, with at least one backup always taken off site. Store backup media in proper cases and use fire resistant storage facilities. Do not transport backup media with other objects, such as in your purse, and do not leave them where exposure to sun or heat may occur. Test your backups occasionally to ensure that you can restore from them. If you don't have anyone on staff with adequate knowledge to implement these procedures, then contract out your backup service.
  • On a regular basis, run Scandisk and Defrag or some other disk maintenance utility to check the hard drive for errors and optimize the use of space. These utilities fix minor errors before they corrupt important files and speed up your computer by aligning all the pieces of each file sequentially. Often you can use the built in scheduling ability of Windows to run these utilities at night, while your computer would otherwise be idle.
  • Purchase a good quality Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for each computer. These are not power bars or surge suppressors. Rather, they are sophisticated battery backups with a range of power filtering and conditioning circuitry, which can provide clean power to your computer at all times and 15 to 30 minutes of run time in the event of a power outage. Most companies purchase these for their servers but many ignore the workstations. This ignores the majority of potential sources of data corruption, as the workstations will likely have open files when the power goes out. Equip ALL computers with these devices and you will prevent many of the power related problems that occur.
  • Don't eat or drink at your workstation. Crumbs can hamper proper operation of your keyboard and mouse. Sugar is quite electrically conductive (think back to science class) and if spilled on a keyboard in the form of coffee or soda, it can cause continuing problems even after drying. If you do spill liquids, turn off the computer immediately. If no service personnel are available, unplug the keyboard and rinse it thoroughly with clear water. Don't worry, it's already wet, and water is better than other liquids. After rinsing, prop it on its end to drain and dry, and do not plug it in again until examined by a qualified service technician.
  • Keep cables neat and tidy and off the floor. Do not walk or roll chairs over cables, place them under chair mats or cabinets, or otherwise bend or damage them. If you have two or more devices (such as printers) sharing a cable, consider purchasing a good quality switch box to eliminate wear on the connectors.

When Support is Needed:

In the event that you do determine the need for a support call, here's what you can do to minimize the cost.

  • DO print screens containing error messages or write them down verbatim. Also include what you were doing prior to receiving the error message, what programs were open at the time, and anything unusual that might have preceded the problem.
  • DON'T tell the support person, "it had some kind of message on the screen, but I don't know what it was". Doing this basically throws away one of the few clues you're going to get and makes the support person's job much more difficult.
  • Try rebooting the computer before calling support. This is probably going to be the first thing they tell you to do anyway, so go ahead and try it on your own. These days most manufacturers save money by eliminating memory error checking and so forth, meaning that many problems are transient ones. The computer loses a "bit" because of a power glitch, static electricity, or some other cause, and it generates an error as a result. Once restarted, you can do the same operation again and likely won't encounter an error in the same place. If the problem persists, it may be indicative of a more serious hardware or software problem, but it's worth issuing the "three-finger salute" (CTRL-ALT-DEL) to find out.
  • Find out if you can replicate the problem and be prepared to tell the support person the exact steps required to do so. If the problem can be replicated reliably, it makes troubleshooting much easier. If it's a transient problem or one that only occurs occasionally, tell the support person how often you see the problem and if possible, under what circumstances. For example, "it only seems to happen about once or twice a week and only when I have five or more programs open at once". This information can help the support person narrow the focus of their search and prevents them from staying on site longer than necessary trying to replicate the problem. Often, the support person can do what they think is most likely to solve the problem and then leave it with you for continued testing. In the example above, I would not declare the job a success until at least two to three problem-free weeks had passed. Therefore, the only true test is to let the user work on it as usual for this period of time, doing the same tasks it normally did when the problem surfaced.
  • Keep a computer log. This may sound simple, but it can be invaluable in tracing the source of the problem. Record in the log every time you encounter a problem, perform a backup, install new software, or change system settings. Sometimes even a seemingly innocuous change like switching screen savers, can cause a problem.
  • Try to avoid using fancy screen savers that involve complex moving graphics or web based images. There are known problems with many of these screen savers, as well as the potential to download something harmful each time your computer updates itself from the web. Screensavers today serve no useful purpose anyway. Gone are the days where you had to blank the screen to avoid having the phosphor burned. Today's lower powered monitors do not require screen savers so the only purpose now is the amusement of bystanders, unless of course you use a screen blanking utility with password, which generally doesn't cause problems.
  • Do not exchange floppy disks or other removable media with other users unless absolutely necessary, and even then the first thing you should do is virus scan the disk before using it. Remember, if you can write to it, so can a virus. Also don't rely on floppy disks to store important data. They're too easily damaged by magnetic fields, heat, cold, humidity and the like. There are many more durable choices available, such as writable CD's or USB flash drives.
  • If you have another computer (or printer, mouse, whatever) available, try exchanging the troublesome part with another system. If, for example, your cursor jumps all over the screen, but only with a certain mouse attached, then it's probably the mouse itself that needs cleaning or replacement.
  • Check the cables! This may sound too simple, but you'd be surprised how many times cables have come loose or been kicked out of their connectors by a passing pedestrian or janitor's vacuum. As above, try swapping suspect cables with a known good system to narrow down the source of the problem. If your printer is printing strange characters, try a different cable. And when replacing cables, DON'T overtighten the connector thumbscrews. The screws on the connectors are meant only to keep the cable from falling off. They don't need to be tight to make a good connection. Two fingers only, please. Overtightening often causes the nut behind it to unscrew with the cable when it is removed next time. On some older systems, this can cause another backing nut, inside the case, to fall down onto the circuit boards and short out the system.
  • Be patient. Sometimes waiting a while and trying again actually works, especially when it involves Internet access. Some problems although evident at your workstation, may actually be caused by external factors. If this is the case, you don't want to go dismantling your system only to find that there's nothing wrong with it.
  • Have all your original software and manuals on hand, particularly the program(s) causing the problem, but also the operating system, device and network drivers, and anything else that goes with your system. There are thousands of software packages out there and you can't expect anyone to remember all the commands and procedures without reference to a manual occasionally. If your support person has to refer to the manual, don't assume they don't know what they're doing and harass them about it, or ask for a discount for "reading time". It's hard enough concentrating on solving problems without trying to fend off price negotiators and complainers at the same time. DO NOT expect the support person to provide any of these things; you should have purchased them with the computer or thereafter and you should have one original for each computer. Using copied or "borrowed" software intended for another computer is illegal. You wouldn't ask the support person to go across the street and steal lunch for you from the convenience store; don't ask them to install your copied software either, and don't act surprised if they refuse to continue the call and send you a bill for their time.
  • When placing your call, let the support person know if there's a preferred time of day or a particular person to contact when they arrive. If the person experiencing the problem(s) cannot be available at that time, change the appointment. If possible, have this person available to speak on the phone when you place the call. Second hand information can impede the troubleshooting process and waste your money. Even if the user doesn't feel knowledgeable enough to explain the problem, a good support person can sometimes glean important first hand information from them by asking the right questions.
  • When you place a call for support, it's likely you'll be talking to someone who knows a lot more than you do about computers, but next to nothing about your business. Be prepared to explain any relevant business procedures to the support person, as well as any potential disruptive actions to your business. For example, if shutting down your server means everyone in the office is unable to work, the support person should be aware of this before shutting it down. For your part, you should alert staff to this possibility and ask for their cooperation. Remember, it's you that's paying for the time when the support person is standing around waiting for someone to "just finish this one letter".

Some Tips on Dealing With Support Personnel:

  • Let the support person know how urgent your call is, but don't overstate the importance. If it can wait until tomorrow or next week, say so. If no one is able to work right now and life support systems are inoperative, speak up! Support calls tend to come in waves and part of the support person's job is analyzing the severity of the calls and ranking them for the order in which they are handled. While you may believe all your calls are of high importance, believe me when I say you will benefit in the long term by being flexible when you're able. After all, we've all heard the story when we were little of the boy who cried wolf.
  • If there's a minimum time charge, don't insist on keeping the support person there for every single minute of it. While you may think you're just getting your money's worth if there's still ten minutes unused, you're probably just making him/her late for the next call without getting any real benefit. It all works out in the long run, really. This ties in with another nemesis of support personnel, the "while you are here" call. Try to avoid these at all costs. Remember you're one of many, and your support person has probably already mapped out their entire day according to the required calls to be done and the expected time for each. Throwing in another problem that wasn't mentioned earlier, will require them to reorganize all their remaining appointments to accommodate you. If everyone did this, your support person would arrive onsite feeling rushed and under pressure, and this does not contribute to efficient, clear-headed troubleshooting. You'll get better results if you enumerate all problems and give clear expectations when placing the original call for service.
  • Expect the support person to want to maximize their time on site. Have your desk cleared off, your work moved somewhere else, your computer log, original software and relevant documents handy, and be prepared to give your undivided attention to the support person when needed.
  • Don't use the time you're paying for to chat with the support person about the latest games or Internet technologies. Save your other questions for later and ask the support person if they have the extra time to stay and chat. And be fair. Don't sign the completed service report and then expect the (billing) clock to stop while you get some free advice. Your support person may be needed at another site. If you want some advice for your home system or other unrelated matter, either offer to extend the time on the service report or make a lunch date (your treat) for another day.
  • You probably expect to add 15% to the bill when you eat out don't you? Why not treat your support person as the important person they are to your business, and offer them a tip now and then? Service rates reflect all combined business costs, including the unbilled time spent traveling between jobs and doing research, not just the cost per hour onsite. These rates are probably not indicative of the support person's take-home pay, even if they're an owner-operator, so your appreciation will in turn be appreciated. Cash isn't necessary either. A gift certificate, a small package of home-baking, company promo-wear, or even an unsolicited letter of reference can go a long way to cementing a positive relationship with a key person in your company's computer hierarchy. Remember they're as important to you as you are to them.

We hope these tips and suggestions are as valuable to you as you are to us. If you have any suggested additions, or for specific issues or additional customer support information, please contact our support department directly by clicking the link below: