Help

Occasionally, things break. When they do, it's nice to have someone to call. Tstaff has implemented a problem resolution system. Either email or the phone can be used to report problems.

Problem

Each day, a member of the technical staff responds to all system problems. That person is responsible for resolving each problem, or forwarding it to someone who can.

To contact the problem person, send email to problem or see the problem man page for more information, spoc office hours and home phone numbers.

If you are really interested, find out what happens behind the scenes.

Software Problems

Some software is supported by tstaff, and some isn't. See software support page for an explanation of which software is and isn't supported.

Supported

Users with software problems should first try to resolve their problems with the on-line manual pages provided with the operating system or specific software package, or with the hardcopy documentation.

If the problem cannot be resolved by this approach send mail to problem. A tstaff person will either answer and deal with the problem or forward it to the appropriate people for resolution.

Unsupported

For help with unsupported software (see section Unsupported Software) ask the owner of the program.

Hardcopy Documentation

Hardcopy documentation for some supported software packages is available in Kathy Kirman's office (room 572). Manuals in Kathy's office may be checked out.

Help Newsgroup

For all problems, the forum of last resort is the help newsgroup. Problems posted to help are read by many of the most experienced and knowledgeable users in the community and the technical staff. They may offer suggestions or solutions in followup postings or by email.

Hardware Problems

Some hardware is supported by tstaff, and some isn't. The few remaining Suns, all tstaff-built PCs (MaxBuilt) running Windows or Linux, all networking (see the network), and the printers (see printers) are tstaff supported.

Supported: If the problem is a hardware problem (ie. frozen workstation, jammed printer, etc.) send mail to problem. Users are not to attempt hardware repairs themselves.
Unsupported: For help with unsupported hardware, contact the machine's administrator.

Page Owner: Mark Dieterich