Calling all Helpdesk/Desktop Support

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Can someone who is either a Helpdesk or Desktop Support Technician give me an idea of the comon problems you have to deal with everyday. Mainly something along the line of Windows XP troubleshooting and MS Offce troubleshooting

 

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OK, this week I have:

Built 7 laptops (windows xp, office 2007)

Built 2 desktops (xp,office 2003)

Patched 4 customer servers (out of hours)

Reset a few passwords

Installed the odd app here and there (adobe acrobat/ visio 2007 / a ticketing fault system for engineers)

Changed backup tapes

reset a few blackberry passwords

Documented a workaround for a know problem and sent it out via email to users

set up a webcam, headset and communicator for a user.

re profiled a user account that had problems.

drank Coffee

installed a vpn client on two customer laptops

set up a network shared folder on a fileserver and created group in AD, added user to group + some general AD work with adding users to groups etc

yep, thats my week.

If in doubt, give it a reboot!

 

main issue with MS office is Outlook, .pst files in general, its rare I have to advice about any other office app.


Read up on how to troubleshoot offline file sync issues may be an idea, and how outlook works with exchange.

Lets face it, everyone uses and relies on Email

 

Do you require this help as you have an interview, for a job in which you falsified your CV?

 

I'll answer the question, but you should really do the right thing and cancel the interview.

My answer (and I don't make such a bold statement very often) is to buy this book:

PC Technician Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to CompTIA A+ Skills. I worked a temp job (the regular tech was out on maternity leave) for 3 months. Some stuff I knew how to do and with some stuff, I had to rely heavily on the advice of my superiors. I kept every trouble ticket I ever worked including the solutions and turned it into this book.

You can read a free excerpt in PDF format to get an idea of what I mean. It can be had on this page of my website:

http://www.wiredwriter.net/publications/publication.html

If you lie and say you actually did the things I write about when you just reviewed the book...then you will have indicated you have no desire to fix the mess you caused. You will not only lose credibility in the IT field fast, you will blow whatever rep you have left here. CF is a terrific resource for people trying to forge a new career in IT. Don't blow it.

You can teach a person just about any technical skill imaginable, but integrity, you can't teach. You just have to have it.

 

many folks on cf have spent a long time 2 get to where they are.

u just make a mockery of this...

truth is... u'll simply get busted at every interview you go to with your false career history as you dont have the 'technical expertise' / i.t knowledge to answers those interview q's.

sorry... but u dug your own grave... no sympathies.

 

Agree wholeheartedly, I cannot believe after everything people have said on here, You're still going to go ahead and wing the interview?!?!? If you don't know the facts you can't learn it in a week!!!!!!!!

 

come on give him the benefit of a doubt, he could be doing research atleast let him explain first.

i'd say the main areas would be:-

office - mainly word and outlook depending on the company. outlook you'd get full mailboxes, lost or blocked emails, emails not sending/receiving, lost pst files
o/s - xp, be fluent in this as you'll need to fix and configure alot
network - connection problems. local and internet. ping, trace route etc
security - resetting passwords, file permissions, checking spam filters, anitvirus and firewalls

these are quite broad areas mainly due to users having the ability to break everything and anything and never assume anything

Grim

 

thamx guys

 

only just started on 1st line really but at already Im getting lots of things customers are asking for help on..

Most of the issues are for the software we sell, which im still trying to learn :P..

Also been getting a lot of printer issues (mainly Oki dotmatrix printers and the odd lemark lazer)

had a minor network issue recently as well where a customer could not get his fax software to work due to a setting in windows services which was not set right.

Had loads of questions on broadband equipment also, and just had my first experiance of RDP so that was fun.. every day has been different up to now. you just cant guess as to what customers are gonna throw at you..

I know some of the people I work with have also had windows permission issues they had to deal with, many network issues anti virus although we only offically support sophos as thats what we sell with our systems.

 

Im currently studying for my A+, but i was looking at 1st line support job ads on monster ect. and alot of the ads said you will receieve 200-400 calls a day,

Is this realistic?

after looking at some peoples replys it doesn't seem you are this busy?! or do you have cusy jobs?!

 

First, not all of us are in 1st line support. Second, not all of us take 200-400 calls a day.

Some help desk techs DO take a bunch of calls per day. It's not that difficult to do, particularly if the calls go something like, "Help desk, how can I help you?" "Could you reset my password?" "Done." <click> "Help desk, how can I help you?"

 

200-400 is hell of a lot of calls a day even it were purely password resets!
I guess it depends on the size of your team, and the size of the userbase.

 

I used to work in first line support. We had a target time of 6 minutes per call. I used to get through about 60 a day, some would be longer than 6 minutes but a lot I could wrap up in less time.

 

I've never worked first line support, but started out in second line - and can tell you with some certainty that, if you are receiving 400 calls a day then you're working in a call centre. First LINE in a call centre. Do the maths:

1 hour = 60 minutes
1 working day = 60 minutes
7 x 60 = 420

That means you are on the phone non-stop, 100&#37; of your day and each call is taking an average of a minute (give or take 20 minutes to log on in the morning, sort out any stats or whatever that you need to do and take a whizz)

In other words, you are picking up the phone, taking someone's name and address and passing the call straight to second line without even asking what the problem is - unless it is a password reset.

That's not an IT helpdesk - any moron can do that job (and, if you doubt me, just ring British Gas, BT, Virgin, your Bank or any other huge company that has rationalised its customer service down to zero).

I'd say NightWalker's estimate is about right for 'real' first-line support - i.e. support where you try and actually fix something rather than just taking a name down and passing the call up the line.

 

Vantage this is what exactly I want to do in my career and obviously adavnce down the technical network engineer route or 3rd line help desk.

At the moment I am working for 1st line support help desk virgin bb just basics with customers over the phone and using a Linux system preloaded with all the help I need to solve bb technical problems etc.

So I want to become a network engineer or do something more close to what your doing which sounds a dream to me because I love IT to bits ever since a small nipper.

But after graduating the IT degree only gave me basics which may be ok but it the hands on experience that employers want and also certs as well.

Have you or anyone got any advice for which paths I should follow in terms of certs and career route I can provide as much info for you guys but I just want to get on the right track and I need advice form people who know what their talking about and not some sill career adviser at uni who is pointing me into other directions.

 

This is what you need to change, broadband helplines are very niche, and the problem is you do very little in regards IT support, other than anything to do with telling them there password, setting up outlook and logging faults with an ADSL line, i worked on one for about a month and unless you get on the networks team, then it really is a very narrow career.

You need to get yourself into a role working for a companies IT help desk as this will be much more hands on and exposure to systems.

 

Thank you kevicho for that info, I am now on the hunt for a company help desk job,
Would it be a good idea for me to study for the mcdst cert?

Or should I begin the A+ and continue to N+ because I want to head in the network direction

 

If your on a company help desk the A+ is a good idea. I thought I knew my around computers until I started the a+, I was wrong!
I can honestly say the a+ is not a waste of time (as I recently heard it described by a senior engineer) so, yeah A+, MCDST great choices.

 

BTW is worth mentioning that I am first line support, I did not have to work my way up to this position, this is the bottom rung of the ladder where I work

It has been mentioned before on these forums, how 1st/2nd line support differ from company to company. A colleague recently commented my job role would be 2nd line support at his old firm, as first line was only logging trouble tickets and resetting passwords at his previous employment.