T 'n' T: Hello, Family Help Desk Speaking Friends and Relatives Keep Calling for Windows Help? Make the Best of It Gregg Keizer
Mon 4/15/02 -- You know the drill. Friends and family members consider you the resident expert on Windows, and like hypochondriacs surrounding a doctor at a cocktail party, they call you every time they get stuck.
Serving as unofficial, unpaid tech support puts some good karma on your side of the cosmic ledger, but it can also be a tiresome chore. I know -- I regularly get calls from friends, in-laws, and even other writers about Windows, applications, and PCs in general. I've learned some lessons in my time on the help desk, and am passing along five that can make you even more of a hometown hero. (The sixth, "Read Tips 'n' Tricks every week at WinPlanet," can stay our secret.)
Is the phone ringing? It may be your Mom with a question about Windows. Here's how to help.
Use an instant messenger. My time as a tech resource has taught me that, while there's no substitute for patience (especially when you want to scream at your father-in-law), one of the best tools is an instant messenger. It doesn't matter which one you use -- AOL's, Microsoft's, whoever's -- as long as (a.) both you and your friends and family have it and (b.) it lets you send and receive files as well as type chat text.
Why an IM? Because most of us still have only one phone line -- and with so much support material, from drivers to documentation, available on the Web, you'll want the modem line free on both ends so you can cruise sites for solutions while you try to calm down dear old DLL-deleting Dad. As for the file transfer requirement, you may need to send a driver to Uncle Bob, who can't navigate vendors' Web sites to save his skin.
Snap a screen. Along with an instant messenger, another tool to tell your pro bono clients to have handy is a screen grabber or capture program. By snapping and sending you an error message, or the window of a misbehaving application, your sister Sarah can show you exactly what she sees, without the need for complex a remote control program.
You can tell your helpee to snap the active application screen using Windows' built-in Alt-PrintScreen key combination (or just PrintScreen to capture the entire desktop), then copy the results into a Windows Paint image. But that's a hassle, and creates a much-too-big bitmap image that takes forever to transfer via e-mail. Instead, I recommend Capture Express, a $15 shareware program that will save a snapshot directly to disk in the much smaller GIF or JPEG formats.
Ask for help with XP. It's no surprise, but the newest Windows leads the way when it comes to helping you help others. The tool to use is called Remote Assistance, which lets you grab the reins of Aunt Betty's balky PC from your desktop. Both parties must be using Windows XP; both must have an Internet connection; and unless you want to jump through some hoops, both should have Windows Messenger ready to go.
To get going, the user seeking help (cue Betty) must enable Remote Access by using Start/Settings/Control Panel/System and then clicking the Remote tab. Check "Allow Remote Assistance invitations to be sent from this computer" and click OK. Switching to Messenger, Betty right-clicks the help provider (that's you, dear reader) and chooses "Ask for Remote Assistance."
Control the helpee's PC. Don't have Win XP? You're not out of luck, though you'll have to bring in some outside help to help the helpless -- in other words, an application that lets you control a remote PC via virtual mouse, keyboard, and monitor cables.
My favorite remote-control applications aren't cheap -- they include the Web-based GoToMyPC ($20 monthly or $180 for a year) and LapLink Gold 11.0 ($140 download, $180 boxed) -- there are some freebies out there. Microsoft's own NetMeeting (download it here if it's not already on your PC) has a feature called Remote Desktop Sharing that lets you control another system from far, far away. Other options include the for-free WinVNC, but I think it's a bear to set up and use. Instead, you might try RadMin 2.1, which costs just $35 and offers a free trial, so you can use it for one family support emergency and decide whether to keep it in your toolkit for future.
Tell 'em to help themselves. When you don't have time to hold hands with Cousin Jake, who only calls when he's in over his head, PC-wise, tell the freeloader to take a hike. But do it nicely by suggesting that he try an online help site. These fee-based tech desks are manned by people around the world (I've gotten some of my best help from know-it-alls in India), ready to solve your troubles for either a flat fee or a quoted price. A couple of sites worth steering the helpless toward are Tech24 and Keen.
