[Hidden-tech] On-site tech support for Ashfield needed

[Robert Heller]

At Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:14:46 -0500 Jeff Rutherford <jeff at jeffrutherford.com> wrote:

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> Whenever I have problems getting online, I always reformat my hard  
> drive.
> 
> Jesus, I can't believe this. But that's certainly been my experience  
> with Dell. If they can't solve your problem within 10 minutes, they  
> move to Plan B - let's reformat your hard drive.

This is probably due to the fact that almost any *MS-Windows* problem
that can't be trivially solved can be solved by a re-format/re-install,
since this effectively removes malware, de-frags the disk, and
re-initalizes the registry (these are the common 'non-obvious' sources
of MS-Windows problems).

Given that Ashfield is a hill town and probably lacks much/any
broadband internet options, getting on-line means via a dial-up modem. 
Either the modem card in the computer died (possible) and/or her phone
line quality has gotten too bad for the modem to deal with, which is
quite possible (thank you Verizon). Slim possiblity is trashed
network/ppp configuration. If any of these is the cause "Plan B -
let's reformat your hard drive" is not likely to help much.

Has she talked to her ISP?  Talking to the phone company is probably a
waste of time, but probably should be tried anyway, if for no other
reason than to log a service problem (the more of these that are logged
the better).

> 
> I hope she gets some good local tech support from your query Anne.
> 
> Jeff
> 
> Jeff Rutherford
> jeff at jeffrutherford.com
> 413 369-4128 - phone
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> On Jan 14, 2009, at 10:28 AM, Anne Campbell wrote:
> 
> >   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's  
> > area.
> >   ** If you did, we all thank you.
> >
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > A friend and client of mine in Ashfield is having computer problems,  
> > and she's hoping to find a patient techie who can come to her house  
> > and do some troubleshooting. She's a very *non*-technical person, so  
> > I don't know any details other than that she can't get online all of  
> > a sudden, and Dell support in India is just telling her to reformat  
> > her hard drive. I'd appreciate any referrals you have! Again,  
> > patience is a major virtue, and she'll need someone who won't talk  
> > jargon and make her feel foolish.
> >
> > Thanks very much -
> > Anne
> >
> > -- 
> > Anne Campbell, acampbell at gmail.com
> > http://www.annecampbelldesign.com/
> > http://www.riverbenddoula.com/
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