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Getting Technical Support on the Web

When it comes to fixing problems on my computer, I get by with a little help from my friends. At askSam, I'm surrounded by programmers, Web developers, and support technicians. We exchange thoughts and theories on the various glitches we encounter, but we also pop onto the Web to look for solutions.

The Web is full of great resources for solving computer related problems. Support sites offer a wide array of information including FAQs (frequently asked questions), Knowledgebases, "How to" articles, and forums where you can post questions to other users. There's something for everyone -- and don't be intimidated, some of the Web sites may be targeted toward techies, but other sites are meant for novices.

As a first stop on any problem, I'd recommend checking out the Web site for the hardware/software product that's giving you the problem. Whether the monitor on your laptop is acting up, or your operating system is driving you nuts, check out the vendor's Web site. Nearly all companies post frequently asked questions as well as knowledgebases. Our Support Technicians frequently visit Microsoft's Web site looking for solutions to problems we encounter.

Example vendor sites: Dell Knowledge Base and the Microsoft Product Support page.

For more help, the Web offers a variety of on-line communities where you can turn to help. Web sites that are specifically setup to bring users together to help solve each others problems. These Web sites offer message boards (or forums) where users can interact and try and solve each others problems. These forums are normally moderated by extremely knowledgeable volunteers, and since you can browse or search through previous messages, they are a great source of information about a wide variety of computer-related issues. Here are a few of the sites you can turn to for help:

Protonic.com is an on-line community dedicated to providing fast, free technical support to any computer user. Protonic has public forums divided into broad categories. You can easily post questions which are answered by other users or volunteer techs and administrators (all Protonic techs and administrators are volunteers).  Protonic's help is not limited to one particular platform, you can ask questions about Windows, Mac, Linux, hardware, software... you name it.

The Tech Support Guy Web site is also an on-line community where the support is provided primarily through message boards (forums). Again, the site is free and staffed by knowledgeable volunteers. With over 175,000 messages on-line, just searching this site provides some great answers to a variety of questions. Plus with all this traffic, you're certain to get quick responses to any questions you post.

PC Mechanic provides more than just technical support, it also offers plain-English information on computers that is well-suited for novice users.  They provide tutorials to show you how to perform various tasks, from installing a video card to assembling an entire computer. The content is organized in a channels with quite a bit of information on "building your own" systems, but the site also contains message boards where you can post your own problems.

Finding updated drivers for printers, scanners, and other devices can be a major headache. WinDrivers.com started in response to this headache - the site lets you quickly locate a driver without having to waste a lot of time. The site also contains other technical information, as well as forums.

These are just a few of the many resources available on the Web. The site you like the best will depend on several things - the nature of your problem (for example PC Mechanic seemed more hardware oriented than some of the others), your level of expertise (some sites cater to novices whereas others are meeting places for tech types). To check out some of the other on-line support sites, see Yahoo's directory at:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Technical_Guides_and_Support/

So have no fear, help is only a mouse-click away... as long as your computer boots... your operating systems loads... and you can log onto the Internet...

Related Links

     http://support.dell.com/us/en/kb/ - Dell Computer's Knowledgebase

     http://support.microsoft.com/directory/default.asp - Microsoft Product Support     

     http://www.protonic.com/ -- Protonic support site

     http://www.techguy.org - Tech Guy support site

     http://www.pcmech.com/ - PC Mechanic support site

     http://www.windrivers.com/ - Resource for Windows drivers

     http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Technical_Guides_and_Support/