Software Info
Y2K Info

Incoming calls typically fall into two categories:

• Questions about or problems with an employee's computer or other machines their computer is linked to. These may include software issues, network connectivity, configuration problems, etc. and often can be handled over the phone at no direct cost.

• Requests for service, which result in work orders, require an engineer to come out and work on the computer in question. These calls come into the Help Desk staff, are written up and then referred to the Macintosh/PC Support Group, the UNIX Support Group, Information Systems and Services, or the appropriate network support group. These requests are charged on a "time and materials basis" and require an account number or are performed according to an in-place Service Level Agreement.

Although the Help Desk (reachable by dialing H-E-L-P or 4357) was designed as a single-point-of-contact for Lab employees to obtain computer support, the five-person team is not set up as a do-it-all organization. If the staff can't resolve the problem, their job is to write down a clear description of the problem and refer it to the appropriate specialty group.

Calls are assigned tracking numbers and entered in a tracking system to ensure that the problems remain very visible until they are fixed, says George Porter, who supervises the Help Desk. For problems that are likely to require a specialist to come out to your office, the request should be made using the Help Desk web form at http://www.lbl.gov/CS/help.html