P1 Tools & Techniques Used for Technical Support

Tools and Techniques:

Identifying faults that can occur within a computer and the ways in which we can resolve or improve the computer so that we can give it a longer life span, allowing us to see what problems might come up within a computer and ways in which we can solve it.

1. Defragment of your computer system e.g. hard drive, the first thing we have to do is make sure we have the software installed. Defragmenting is essentially making your hard drive faster, as you uninstall programs already on the computer you are leaving gaps within the computer hence meaning that it needs to be defraged to get all the software bunched together, for example a bar which is fragmented in the middle putting it together it can become whole again. 

2. Uninstalling software that’s not working and restore if needed, to do this you go into your control panel and there you will see an icon of unpacking of a box, it will say to uninstall programs click it and you will see what programs you have, tick the ones you do not need or do need but don’t work, uninstall or reinstall if needed.

3. Scan for malware or spy software (Anti-virus) if you have an anti-virus you must click on it, under scan the computer system or a quick scan, plus we can optimize your computer this will allow it to run faster, these things will help improve and remove any malware or viruses on your computer.

4. Is your hardware up-to-date to run windows? If your hardware isn’t up-to-date it can run your programs slow it might be because it’s an older version or over used.

5. Check the internet connection if the problem lies with the internet, plus look at how many add-ons are installed, if there are too many add-ons you can delete them or deactivate them meaning that your internet can run better as it will only be running what you need. If your internet is the problem it is either the company which supplies your internet service or area where you live that might be causing the problems.

6. Don’t automatically start all the applications (programs) as soon as you log on. If you do this you will be running process on top of already running processes making the computer work more to load already running programs.

7. Restore your computer back to an earlier time (systems restore) if the problem is out of control, for example factory settings having it restored to the last sessions will enable you to return back before all the problems may have arisen.

8. Have automatic updates on your firewall so it is always ready whatever new problems may arise, updates on the computer itself will improve the condition as it will increase parts of the computer so that they run better.

9. If you are considering on upgrading the computer e.g. Ram, you can invest in new updates or upgrades hence enabling your computer to run at its optimum speed.

10. Make sure that your computer is running at the best performance possible without allowing it to over exude itself. For example the computer will balance running processes to help give optimum efficiency.

The diagram above indicates how defragmenting works. The illustration displays what is needed to be defragged as you can see there are empty white spaces; these are things that have been uninstalled over the years, as the computer will have to work harder in trying to find space saving cells.

At the bottom of the illustration it shows what defragmenting does, it will start collecting all the data to the front of the hard drive leaving the end free for space of new things to be installed or saved onto. This increases the speed of the computer as it can find space easier, with the start filled the end of the hard drive will have to be used.

Techniques to help:

When you go onto a technical support website questions must be asked, this could be formed from other questions asked by people in order to help them find the problem, giving an easier way of explaining the issue and how to solve it for the customer. The least information the technician knows the longer it will take to solve the problem. The more he does know the easier it will be to help the client and ensure the computer will work to its best performance. For example whether it is a phone or a tablet the client wants it working to the standard they want.

Logs are written to help take note of problems, for example codes that might come up on a computer allowing us to see what’s wrong for the technician so he can track down which part is failing or causing the issue. This allows the problem to be addressed whenever it has arisen again as the computer will keep a “Fault Log” the list of questions and the way to solve the problem.

Some technical support might have something called monitoring this allows them to take control over your computer to see themselves what the issue is and how it comes up, first you must give them permission and if they are able to do it.

A computer will hold something called a solution database this means that a log within the computer will be taken. This allows us to see  what the  problem is and how it can be solved .It will know how to fix the problem if it has encountered it  before and if a new problem is to arise it will be added for a future reference if it comes up again.

Questions asked by the IT support

·Security questions on your name, account and password

·A welcome to the use of the service on what the problem is

·What the problem is

·Can you help give details on what the issue might be how it started?

·Are you using the phone at the moment

·What phone it is be it android or apple product

Standard questions all to get the detail needed to help them find the answer or solution to the problem that has arisen within the use of their product.

Technology advancements:

Past Technology: Advancements in technology have preceded its earlier counter parts enabling us to have data banks and storage servers. This is such an advantage considering in the past they had to use filing systems which could be damaged or destroyed due to fire.

With the advancements people want their technology faster and easier with less problems and malware. They want something which is efficient and will prove a brand they can trust and use knowing if it is a good provider. There are products out there such as new phones and computers which will help bring people up to speed with the ever advancing world.

People want the best, i.e. phones are something that gives them the status but it not all about the style of something, but the insides, the data, the software within a computer is what makes the advancements, as things will get faster and better than other phones as everything has their own specialities.

Future telecommunication centres will be improved allowing people with problems enabling them to be solved much quicker, to my belief I would think in the future problems will be debugged by a person controlling your whole system, so that you on the other side wouldn’t have to do anything and it will be done within minutes.

There are many different ways of using a computer and different products now on offer giving the needs of the user; the Apple (cloud) is big at the minute with things being stored online. This helps back-up our work.

With the rise in technology there are more fields present within it working on different things opening up a new sector for work and jobs, with jobs hard to come by with the amount of people we have this opens up a new sector allowing people with computer knowledge to go into it. With the new advancements this makes everything easier for the customer.