ComputerLink articles by Brian Pitre

Online Computer Support Salvation

Computers are great when they work and a nightmare when they don't. It seems like everyone I know has friends and relatives that offer free support to keep their PC's running, but even for someone as technical as myself there are times when I'm just not technical enough.

Computer companies like Dell and Gateway are beginning to provide online support for their customers, but what if your computer is not one of those brands? The answer is the new online PC support organizations, such as PCSupport.com.

I, like everyone else, from time to time encounter problems on my PC that are extremely frustrating. Recently, my home computer developed a serious problem that allowed me to limp along at an extremely low pace with my browser and email. This problem was continually causing my machine to lock-up and crash. Finally, I found some free time on a Sunday afternoon to try to fix the problem. Since my busy schedule had forced me to live with the problem for quite some time, I managed to loose any recollection of the circumstances surrounding what had happened in the first place. After a few hours of trial and error and admitting to myself that sometimes even I need help I went to a Web site that I had heard of called PCSupport.com. Upon reaching the site, the first thing that struck me was that they were offering a full-service, 14-day free trial. That provided confidence to me that they were serious about their capabilities and their ability.

I registered for the free trial and proceeded to use their first service, 4-hour Email Assist. I attempted to describe the problem I was having and sent off the email making special note of the time. Much to my surprise the email was responded to in 20 minutes! Wow! That was a pleasant surprise. The email stated that the problem was with my mouse drivers and provided step-by-step instructions on how to delete the current drivers and reload new drivers. I carefully followed the instructions, rebooted my computer and hoped for the best. Much to my dismay the problem was not fixed.

Next, I went back to the PCSupport.com Web site and used their Live Assist, which is an online chat function with a technician that is offered 24/7. I began a dialog with Dave, a live technician, and began to discuss my problem. First, I apprised him of how I had attempted to use their email support feature and that it didn't solve my problem. He began to offer some suggestions and we attempted to diagnose the problem together. It was reassuring to find that Dave was knowledgeable and was using a PCSupport.com database to analyze my problem. The only minor complaint was that sometimes I had to wait for Dave's response and my perception was that he was probably running a number of concurrent online discussions, although they did not appear in my chat window. Finally, Dave and I agreed on a couple of actions that I would try and, unfortunately, would require me to reboot the system and thus we terminated our online chat. I asked Dave if, when I returned, he would be available and he said he would be there.

Again the actions Dave and I discussed did not resolve my problem, so I went back to the PCSupport.com Live Assist and logged-in. Not to my surprise, I entered the chat function and found a new technician. The first question I asked of the new technician was could I be connected to Dave. A cheerful response came back asking me to please hold on just a moment and after a brief pause Dave retuned to my chat window. That was reassuring that I didn't have to start over from scratch with another technician.

Dave and I proceeded to chat about what I had done and that it had not fixed my problem. After a few minutes of online chat Dave asked what type of Internet connection I had, to which I replied "a cable modem". Dave said great and asked if I would mind him remotely accessing my computer and having a look around as he described it. I said sure! A moment later a WebEx screen appeared on my browser and requested a login name and session number that Dave provided through the chat window. The window then changed to a screen that allowed me to terminate the session at my will, which was very reassuring.

Within a couple of minutes Dave took control of my computer desktop and I just kicked back to watch as Dave's activity was shown real-time on my computer monitor. It was very neat to watch him look into my registry using "regedit" and other functions that I could monitor and learn from as Dave took his look around inside my machine. After a few minutes of poking around Dave returned to my chat window and suggested everything seemed to be in order, but one of the programs running in my task bar system tray could potentially be the culprit. He recommended that I remove one program at a time to see if any of them was the problem. Eureka! It became clear that my problem with my Palm Pilot sync program. From there I went to the Palm Pilot Web site and found a patch for the sync program and the problem was solved.

My experience with PCSupport.com was pleasant and rewarding because, in the end, my problem was solved. The only major downside to the service is that if you can't boot your machine and use an Internet browser, this service would be difficult to utilize.

So, my advice would be to stop calling your friends and relatives the next time you have a computer problem and go seek online support yourself from PCSupport.com. After the 14-day, free trial the subscription fee is a mere $36.50 per YEAR! I've now signed up for a full subscription and think it's the best deal I've encountered over the Internet in a long time.