P3 Types of faults that can occur

Problem: “My computer is running slowly”

Questions from the technician:

1. What programs do you have installed onto the computer?

2. Is it slow when you are on the internet or just all the time?

3. Have you go any anti-virus on your computer?

4. What age is your computer, are you using windows eight or below e.g. vista, xp, windows 2003

5. How long would you say it takes for your computer to load and turn on?

Possible diagnosis:

Filed becoming corrupted over malware steadily breaking them

Problems with have on start up to many being open and running at once

To many add-ons with the internet

Malware, spyware or virus affecting your computer system

Computer age is affecting how the programs are running as the computer can’t handle it

Ram and hard drive could become faulty with over use

 

D1 Advancement in the support systems

Advance in support systems:

Technology advancements have allow a lot more power to certain individuals, sometimes the bad but for the most part the good, these people could be teachers say in a school or the technicians that will fix something as small as email allowing teachers to send websites for the students to access without people going off on tangents getting the wrong information. Some websites can have material in it that shouldn’t be seen by students allows the teachers or it support to block the websites from being used or seen, this can help stop bulling be it across the web via things like Facebook’s and MSN. 

The disadvantage of such software is that there are many things limited be it websites, also with each entry the overseer can view all the work handed in some might put this down as a privacy breach as they don’t want some work to be seen. Work can be done at a much slower rate with the teachers overviewing everything that is going on within the computer, with the power mostly to the teacher they have the option to take control over some pupils computers to see their work stopping the pupil from advancing further, this means that the students virtually have no power as they can’t stop or sometimes don’t know when they are going to be monitored.  

When information is checked this can be a long process depending on the amount of work that is needed to be looked at, when a student or an employee working within a company has their work looked at they could have private information that they don’t want shared. There are policies in which a company has to abide by so information that is critical that might affect the company is leaked by the overseer, this isn’t a bad thing but sometimes information can be leaked out for malicious purposes. This can offend some people and put them at a disadvantage within the company.

There are a few software’s which allow people to look into the computers a big one is called Impero this is mostly used within the technical support as it gives a lot of management options and gives a lot of solutions to problems than might affect the company. This software is a quick block or report on anything that might cause malicious harm or be something that is inappropriate for the student to look at. It also allows for teacher to give a quick way of sending emails such as website addresses for the students to go on to get the work or information needed, a system like C2K with My-School.

With every software there are the disadvantages with this one it is the limitations on doing most things although it allows to block and send information that is about how much it will do, it wouldn’t be the most secure software either not many things are but when information is leaked it can cause an uproar.

Net support or My-School Fronter, this is a software which allows teachers to monitor and instruct on what needs to be done via seeing the work handed in or giving help sheets to instruct the students on how to do the work.  This allows for teachers to manage the students on what they are doing and to mark their work to see if anything is going wrong with misunderstanding. Again the disadvantage of this software is it is only educational bases and will only provide an overview this means that large companies can’t use the software as it is put under education use, the software in itself leaves a student vulnerable if information not meant to be unloaded is as the teacher can take full control locking folders and meaning that the student can go in and change or delete once the deadline is in.

Net OP or My-School  My Apps, this software on an overcast is software that allows the technical support to add in software that is only design for school education for particular fields meaning no new software can be added unless give permission. The advantage is that the school can keep a good system of software they know that will only need to be used by the students within the set courses. The main problem with it is some students studying within other schools say CLC might have different software installed than the present school they attend making the long process of getting the software required.

All the software shown above are near the same as they are educational bases they all give different types of ways in which to monitor the school system allows for more power to the teachers and less the student in terms of work submission or restrictive software usage.

With every software there are danger factors as well as having many advantages, as software they are good in what they are designed to do it’s only the people using them that has to be watched as well, educationally I don’t see there to be many large problems such as there is privacy between student and teacher and if broken can cause more problems. The software above could be changed to be used within organisations small in size as I believe large companies will have a more advanced and sophisticated software doing more than the three software’s above due to their limitations.

For a conclusion I will say that the software above is mostly about controlling the system there will be a lot of disadvantages and frustrations but if anything was to go wrong these software’s are great in that they can solve so many problems that might have been brought up. All software costs money some more than others what they give is the main reason some cost more than others everything has limitations but it’s what is needed rather than what is desired.

M2 Advantages and Disadvantages of outsourcing technical support

Advantages and disadvantages when outsourcing

Outsourcing: This is when companies that are handling a large amount of work can offload some onto other companies, like a company working with wood but it doesn’t fit, they can outsource a specialist trained to do the job, this is the same with larger companies who seek other companies to handle things like e-mail or calls from customers or clients (Call Centres).

What are the Advantages?

When we look at large companies we all know that a part of them will end up within another country, reasons why are that they fall under things differently than a European country is a large benefit to the financial sector, as they will pay much less than the average wage of a normal worker, plus the hours working are much long giving benefit to a 24 hour service. There are packages that come with working in the UK such as Health care and insurance, in the western countries these do not apply meaning less money coming out of the pocket of the company.

This might sound all bad but it does give jobs to people within the country and helps develop their skills.

Outsourcing just doesn’t go outside of the country it is still used within the same country depending on the job, when the company isn’t specialised in something it is cheaper to get a professional job than one which will cost more in getting materials and people with the skills in the company to do a job which will take twice as long as a professional.

Disadvantages:

Going outside of the country can cause problems it’s not always good for the company, cheaper yes but there will always be problems as most call centres are based in India making language communication between the customer and the person answering their questions hard, as even in India their computer systems are set up different than that of a European one such as keyboards and starting systems. This becomes an annoyance and difficult for the customers.

The biggest problem revolves around outsourced companies that this is much cheaper for the company financial but because of this they are losing their own people on their own home ground, this is job cuts reason being they can get someone from another country for half of what a normal wage earner gets to do the same job, unfair in its own way but companies will fight amongst themselves for the best profit and if it means cutting people from the company they will do it.

Outsourcing to different countries can be difficult paperwork wise and time scale wise, jobs sent to China or USA, there are an average of 6 hours to twelve for reply’s on messages sent from the country of the UK this means that it is harder to communicate and get an update on what is happening at the stages of a products development or an overall status on how that side is handling things.

Companies outsourcing have to factor in how high they are prioritised as the company taking on the work isn’t just going to do theirs there are other companies to, these time delays have a knock on effect with the company and its clients with trust and can make a company go into ruin losing their clients that can provide a good profit and production amount e.g. factorise even paperwork law firm.

M1 Keeping Fault logs

Fault Logs

What are fault logs, these are notes be it written or typed theses are taken down as an error comes in to help sort out what the problem is and how it has occurred and where is the source of it, once all the notes have been written it is tagged and can be used again if the same problem was to arise with another customer. There are ways of going at an error when the error arises it will give the option with a small arrow pointing down within the box allowing the person using the computer to see the error code, this is for the more advanced as they can look up the problem on google to find out if someone else has encountered the problem and the way to fix it, for the normal person it is best to call a technician to get the problem solved without damaging the computer.

If you are experienced or even a normal person being talked through the problem it’s best that you keep your own fault log this means the next time a fault like this occurs you will have the notes on how to deal with it instead of having to think back to how it was done, this can cause more faults if done wrong.

A computer will always give warning to problems they come in forms such as:

Red Sign: This is when the computer has a fault and will show it, telling you it can’t fix the problem itself, it will most likely tell you what is causing the error be it hardware or software within the computer, if not it can sometimes give an error code one which you can look up to find out the information. Once you have the information the next part is up to you in order to solve the problem be it uninstalling re-installing or calling a technician or getting a new piece or hardware if this is the problem.  

Yellow Sign: This isn’t as serious as a red, much like a traffic light it is the warring sign it can still run but is it safe? A red is the full stop it can’t run the yellow sign will give indication to the user on there is a problem and its best to get it fixed now rather than later. They can sometimes appear when you plug in USB’S if the software didn’t install right, they would affect the computer but it lets you know they typically look like a yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark in it.

Information signs:  These are to just tell you things that the computer is running fine and smooth, but always be wary if you have a fault log know that the computer might encounter and error and it’s best to know what you’ve install or uninstalled making if a fault was to arise what things are no longer needed and know would cause a fault making it easier to track it.

Just remember your fault log is the way to fix it, the less information you have put down or an awkward way of writing you will find it difficult to fix the problem if it is to come up in the future, make sure your fault logs is as accurate as you heard or wrote down from the internet gain as much information as you can so that when repeating the process it would take up most of your time.

What are fault logs, these are notes be it written or typed theses are taken down as an error comes in to help sort out what the problem is and how it has occurred and where is the source of it, once all the notes have been written it is tagged and can be used again if the same problem was to arise with another customer. There are ways of going at an error when the error arises it will give the option with a small arrow pointing down within the box allowing the person using the computer to see the error code, this is for the more advanced as they can look up the problem on google to find out if someone else has encountered the problem and the way to fix it, for the normal person it is best to call a technician to get the problem solved without damaging the computer.

If you are experienced or even a normal person being talked through the problem it’s best that you keep your own fault log this means the next time a fault like this occurs you will have the notes on how to deal with it instead of having to think back to how it was done, this can cause more faults if done wrong.

A computer will always give warning to problems they come in forms such as:

Red Sign: This is when the computer has a fault and will show it, telling you it can’t fix the problem itself, it will most likely tell you what is causing the error be it hardware or software within the computer, if not it can sometimes give an error code one which you can look up to find out the information. Once you have the information the next part is up to you in order to solve the problem be it uninstalling re-installing or calling a technician or getting a new piece or hardware if this is the problem.  

Yellow Sign: This isn’t as serious as a red, much like a traffic light it is the warring sign it can still run but is it safe? A red is the full stop it can’t run the yellow sign will give indication to the user on there is a problem and its best to get it fixed now rather than later. They can sometimes appear when you plug in USB’S if the software didn’t install right, they would affect the computer but it lets you know they typically look like a yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark in it.

Information signs:  These are to just tell you things that the computer is running fine and smooth, but always be wary if you have a fault log know that the computer might encounter and error and it’s best to know what you’ve install or uninstalled making if a fault was to arise what things are no longer needed and know would cause a fault making it easier to track it.

Just remember your fault log is the way to fix it, the less information you have put down or an awkward way of writing you will find it difficult to fix the problem if it is to come up in the future, make sure your fault logs is as accurate as you heard or wrote down from the internet gain as much information as you can so that when repeating the process it would take up most of your time

P4 Source Technical information to provide advice and guidance for a variety of faults

Printer Trouble shooting: 

Website trouble shooting of a printer failing to print or has a jam.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see from this trouble shooting service it gives you a list of what might be the problem that the printer has, from paper jams to the printer being slow all we need to do is click on what problem we have to get an answer from the manual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see on the left we have the first line one on solving the problem of a printer not printing, straight forward bullet point’s help create an easy to follow and read giving clear instruction on what you the user needs to do, these will solve most peoples issues unless there is a more underlining problem.

If you continue to have problems there is a website for the printer under hp, support people able to give advice on what problem might be affecting your printer.

 

The small things might be the things in which trip people up something as small as not enough ink or it not being turned on, it’s best to check your printer that everything is set up all the lights should be on if they are red it is either off or running out.

This trouble shooting is for an HP printer if yours is of a different type there will be manuals on the internet or ones which came with the printer.

Pc Specialists computer troubleshooting:

Chat room to ask questions to a person on the other side live to find out how to fix an issue.

This is the forums in which we can look be it people we have live support on which we can ask questions that we wish to get an answer from, this is live support which is there to help people with their problems we can call up their service or we can email them to get more information in format version.

                                                              

Contact information for the user to use under contact us so you have the telephone number and email address

 

Internet computer troubleshooting.

Manual on how to fix a problem that might be with the computer/ internet given with the router sent to the house on how issues with the internet can eb solved.

 

 

 

 

 

Installing or downloading something from the internet sometimes we can get problems errors is you will these three option can help using one of the three internet provides Explorer, Firefox or Chrome to download, option two is key as outdated Java might not let you on most things. A desktop App is a quick and easy way for people to download from.

These might be the problems causing an issue with downloading on the internet, a virus is most of the causes if it is a safe site you shouldn’t get this message, a virus scan fail will deem the website unsafe, a network error is something to do with your connection or the server giving the information.

Authentication to some website might throw people of as they might need a code or password.

A forum to help those who have issues but arent getting the issue fixed by techincal support, forums are of people who might have similar problems and the ways in which they fixed the problem.

This is from Modb site used to help people within forums this helps give information on what problems are arising and the way in which they are solved, giving people the chance to talk to each other and gain information, they can personalise their work or games with the reassuring help of others that might have encountered various problem like it before.

 

 

P1 Questionaire Baseline Questions

1.    What is processed first in the system boot process

         The BIOS operating system components of the hardware must be working, there has to be no failures in any of the three elements otherwise the booting sequence will fail. The CPU will initialise when triggered by events of clock ticks generated by the system clock, part of the CPU initialization is from the systems ROM which stores the instructions on the power-on then the self-check of POST and the CMOS Ram if it doesn’t detect failure then the CPU will full initialize.

2.    Where do you locate the current BIOS version ID?

           Go to your starting menu once there, click on the run or find it with the use of the search program and files, once in the run type in the msinfo32 once you have done this will open the system information then you can click on the BIOS/Date to see what version of the BIOS Version you have.

3.    What is the CMOS battery?

          The CMOS battery is like a time clock within the computer recording down the data of the time and memory inside the computer meaning once the computer has been turned off it will still remember, meaning your computer wouldn’t lose track of time.     

4.    What should you do after replacing a CMOS battery?

              First thing to do is go into the BIOS to change the settings of the date and time to get the computer back on the normal time it should be running at.

5.    What is ATAPI

            ATAPI is an interface between your computer and the CD-ROM drivers and backup drivers; it provides the commands to use the CD-ROM and the tape backup so your computer can use the IDE interface controllers.     

6.    ATAPI is a standard for what?

                The standard for ATAPI is a interface which controls new devises examples like SATA, it allows information to be shared through the CD-ROM and backup drives.

7.    What would be the first step in diagnosing a computer that will not boot-up that was running fine the day before?

                  Listen to the beep of the computer, if you can’t hear it you might have to change your BIOS settings, if not then your PSU might have a fault and will need to run a test to see.

8.    What could be probable causes of a computer where the speakers are working intermittently?

                       Check the drivers of the computer, make sure everything is up-to-date, if it doesn’t allow you to then change the drivers, if this isn’t the problem then it could be down to the sound card that may have a fault. 

9.    What is the function of the bootstrap loader?

             The function of the bootstrap is a software that must be loaded before other software can be loaded the bootstrap is held in the ROM, it reads the hard drives allowing the os to keep running.

10. What is the best way to keep a system cool?

                There are many ways to keep the system cool like, intercooling which is expensive or using the fans, fans are cheaper and will provide a good source of air through the computer (Air Flow) also upgrading your CPU by changing it.

11. Which chip on a motherboard can be updated through the use of software?

              The chipset drivers can be upgraded to help improve the computers running speed e.g. the system performance you can download better drivers through software like GEFORCE which updates the computer drivers to the newer version.

14. Most modern motherboards contain at least one ISA slot. Why?

                        The industry standard architecture, it is no longer used much in a modern computer as now a days we use a PCI and the ISA uses different peripherals as the PCI.

15. What are the main features of SDRAM?

                     The SDRAM is like the DRAM but has a synchronised interface, it lines up the sync with the DRAM to allow the inputs to respond.

16. What is the PCI bus?

                        The PCI is an extension of the system which allows you to use video cards and allows the computer system to run at the same speed required. The PCI also allow connection to the CPU.

16. What is the maximum throughput of the PCI bus?

                     113MB per second 8-bit 266 34-bit and 533 for 64-bit

17. What is chip creep?

                     Chip creep is an issue normally found in older pc’s you have top open the case to put them back in as they would push loose.

18. What causes chip creep?

                       Because of the expanding during the system when it heats up and cools down it makes the chip creep loosen through thermal expansion.

19. Give an example of an IDE drive?

           IDE are for older drivers and disk drives the modern version is now SATA a more updated version which has taken over.

20.What is the Windows System Registry?

                    A data base which stores settings and option within the Microsoft windows os it contains low level os system components to allow applications to run on the platform. The windows registry is the configuration of settings.

P2 Explain the impact of organisation policies and procedures on the provision of technical support

Guidelines and Constraints

Reporting faults within a computer:

It’s an advantage to catch faults early on when using a computer as there will always be some faults that need specialist attention , the quicker it is sourced  the sooner it is fixed and data banked, meaning if it was to arise again it would  be fixed by the computer. When within a company the issues have to be taken on a scale of how important they are to the least important. The most important will be dealt with quickly the more minor ones will be sent out to people lower in the company of technicians to solve the minor ones gaining experience.

Internet use:                                                          

Company computers are meant to be used only for work within the company looking at research into work needed to be done, companies must make sure that their workers are complying with work guidelines not ensuing things unrelated to the company e.g. illegal sites, people have also been playing games which shouldn’t be done when deadlines are needed to be done and it’s a waste of the internet usage. Punishment will be within company policies this can mean sanctions will be put in place around them such as loss of their jobs or will lose pay even have to work over time to cover the hours wasted.

Security:

Every company must have some sort of anti-virus to help enable routine checks on the server and computers to make sure no harmful viruses or malware has affected them. If so the virus and malware must be purged from the system to keep the security level high otherwise other viruses might use the same path to get into information stored.

Back-up, every company must do this so that information is stored not just on the computer but on the server so if anything was to occur for example a fault there is a backup of the work to be taken and used to continue on with work as usual.

Usb’s, and hard drives, many companies will ban these as they might be used to take or steal information from the computer and be passed on to other companies. There will always be risks around this some companies might buy in computers which don’t allow you to stick in usb’s or external hard drivers protecting information.

SLA Service Level Agreements:

This is a legal binding contract between the It technicians and the company meaning that there are things that the It technicians within the company must do and met within their job perspectives.  

They will have to produce things like:

·         Secure networks for college or schools if they work within one

·         Make a good connection between the wireless and the remote version of accessing the internet.

·         Make a service that allows the users to keep up to day and for it to be easy to access and meet all the needs of what the user wants.

Things that the service will have:

·         Authentication via password and username

·         An email system to send messages to teacher and student

·         The internet, blocking unauthorized websites but allowing use to research information

·         A learning platform for kids to play games and learn from them wise use of fronter

·         Software to allow them to make and design things needed for class

·         Network printing to print their work via wireless

·         Anti-virus protection to stop getting viruses from the internet,

·         Teaching privileges for teachers to access work and more permission than a child

·         Admin services and systems to help run the system to be up-to-date.

Confidentiality:

This is when work is stored within a company which is protected on the behalf of the client, the client has to be told and given the option of allowing the company to use their information if they however are not informed legal action could be taken, with information being stolen some of it might be confidential something which could affect the security of the company and has to be at its top level to stop anyone from stealing the information.

Information that is sensitive:

Companies that are at risk of being hacked are an aspiration for up-in-coming hackers as they try to infiltrate a large company and steal information, this could be important information which could affect the image of the company as well as the trust in the client, plus the information stolen could be harmful and used against the company or client, so fines and law suits are placed to stop hackers as well as a tough security system.

Organisation their constraints:

Money is key within companies, a company never starts out big unless they are funded by a parent company, smaller companies start small using software and systems that are of the lower end as large companies can afford the better equipment. Small companies can find that they will have a better support network, they wouldn’t be partnered around the world they will be based within their country, they wouldn’t hold the same software or tools to help define and solve a solution easily, so they will take more time but you will get a more in-depth detailed way of solving the problem as you are following the journey with them so if the problem arises you know every detail.

Resources acquired:

Again there will be problems that a small company can’t solve with the means of software that they hold even their hardware if the process is too strenuous on their computers. They will have to find alternate routes to help solve problems that arise as if they don’t have the resources available they will have to find ways of solving it without the resources required or recommended.

Time:

Things need to be done quickly now a days to be more effective and efficient to help support the people with problems be it in the company or outside of it, going into a bigger company you will find that things are categorised and set deadlines are made up, making the workers have a goal but also to get work processed and put through for a better rating.

Technician experience:

IT Support is all about having a person able to help you if they are new things will take time and mistakes will be made but for some this is just an annoyance, the more experienced veterans of the support call will be able to get this done in a third of the time as a new person to the job, there are key things needed to be obtained through information and questions that the experienced have done so many times before they nearly know what will be said. Fault logs are used on how to obtain a quick and easy solution to the problem.

Outsourcing the version of support:

This is when you will be put through to a different company this has all happened to us at one point, only problem is these companies outside of the main HQ are representing them so if you get bad service it will impact the main HQ by the loss of a customer or client, They have to have good software and hardware to solve the issues as well as providing a good service.