Computer and Internet Troubleshooting 101

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Computer and Internet Troubleshooting 101

How many times have you had to call Tech Support only to find a simple reboot was all that was needed -- or perhaps the monitor had come unplugged? Have you ever wanted to identify all the parts of a computer and understand how they work together to get your patrons to the Internet? Ever had print jobs get the upper hand? Ever wished someone would explain what some of those error messages actually mean?

If any of these scenarios are familiar, then Computer and Internet Troubleshooting 101 is for you. This one-day course is designed for those of you who have to deal with tech support issues in branch or small libraries that lack the benefit of trained technicians onsite. The goal of the workshop is to provide students with a good, solid understanding of computer components, network components, and basic Windows features, and to provide the tools needed for troubleshooting common problems. You'll even get to take some computer parts out and put them back in.

Workshop Description: In this hands-on Infopeople workshop, we will attempt to demystify computers, how they connect to the Internet, and how to find out what you can and cannot fix when something goes wrong. Students will learn basic troubleshooting techniques that apply to their home computers as well as the computers used in the library. You'll learn by doing in this very hands-on workshop -- so wear your jeans!

Highlights: While working in a computer lab with Windows, students will learn:

Computer Hardware

  • What a hard drive looks like, inside and out, and where it lives
  • The difference between RAM and disk space
  • Names of parts and how to connect everything together
  • Hardware troubleshooting techniques such as "Problem Follows"

Computer Software

  • Systems software versus application software
  • The meaning of common error messages
  • How to identify and resolve common browser problems
  • When to uninstall and reinstall programs

Printing

  • "Print Preview" and printing from the Internet
  • Killing jobs
  • Finding the right printer

Network and Internet

  • What needs to be in place for a computer to access the Internet
  • Network cards and ethernet cable
  • How to tell if you've connected to the Internet

Who should attend: Anyone who works with computers in libraries and needs to understand how to do basic troubleshooting and maintenance to keep them running (without pulling out your hair). No previous network experience or computer troubleshooting experience is expected.

Prerequisites: Those attending should be:

  • very comfortable using a mouse
  • able to open a program and save a file

Please Note: There is a $75.00 fee for this workshop. Infopeople does not provide parking passes, lunch or refreshments.

Check-in: 8:30 to 9 AM Instruction: 9 AM to 4:30 PM