System Programmers and Other Sources of Help

What to Do First

Warning

DO NOT REBOOT THE MACHINE

Only system administrators should reboot the machines.

Reasons for this policy include:

  • Other users could be logged into the workstations.
  • System update or administrative tasks could be running.
  • Reboots can damage the hardware of the system.
  • We need to know the machine's current state to solve the problem.
  • We keep track of how often systems freeze or lock up so that we can identify hardware problems.

The basic idea is that if a machine needs rebooting then there is a problem that the System Administrators need to know about so that they can prevent its occurring again.

Before contacting the system administrators you should:

  • Try another computer. If possible, try both a Linux and a Windows computer.
  • Look for signs on the doorway of the lab alerting you to current issues with the CS Department network.
  • Ask other people in the labs.
  • Ask a TA for your class. The system administrators are not TAs.
  • Try to solve the problem on your own using the suggestions in the next section.

Problem Solving 101

As students in the Computer Science Department, you should learn to discover solutions to your own problems before asking the system administrators. If you can't find an adequate solution after trying these methods then the system administrators will be happy to help you.

Read The Fine Manual

About 90% of the questions or problems you might encounter have been answered on this site (Computer Science Documentation Project). Please spend a few minutes and review this material; in the end it will be faster for both you and us.

Search the Internet

http://www.google.com is one of your best resources for finding answers to your questions. Besides checking the web, be sure to search on http://groups.google.com

There is also a club on campus known as the Unix User's Group. Their mailing list discusses many computer related questions, and the answers are provided by members of the BYU community. There is a link to the archives: http://uug.byu.edu/mailing_lists/

Post a question

Eric S. Raymond wrote a helpful set of instructions for getting your question answered; it is called [http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way"]. We strongly suggest that you read it. This is a good resource, but it is not in any way affiliated with our department, and they are not a helpdesk for the CS Department here at BYU.

Getting Help in Person

There are a few ways of contacting people that can help you. We have the Helpdesk group and the System Administrators.

If you don't need to physically talk to someone face-to-face, you can always send an e-mail to [mailto:help@cs.byu.edu help@cs.byu.edu]. This e-mail address will send messages off to both the helpdesk and system administrators. We check our email regularly throughout the day, and can fix many problems remotely. The other problems will be taken care of as soon as possible.

Contacting the Helpdesk and System Administrators

The helpdesk are the first level of support for the CS Department. They can handle most situations. If you can't find a solution to your problem through any of the above means, you should ask them for help next.

The helpdesk is located at 1144 TMCB. If the door is closed, they are not there. Try back in a few minutes.

If the helpdesk are still not available, you can contact the system administrators. They can handle less common situations, and situations in which a full administrator is required to fix the problem. A helpdesk employee may refer you to the System Administrators if they deem in necessary.

The System Administrators are located in 1140 TMCB. If the door is closed, and no one from the helpdesk is present, go ahead and knock.

What information do you need to supply?

Problems that system administrators don't know about, or can't reproduce can't be fixed. When you contact the helpdesk or system administrators, you should give them the following information:

  • Your CS username. (Student ID Card may be easier, and for some things, required.)
  • The name of the computer you were using, or attempted to use.
  • The name of the program in question.
  • A description of what you were doing when the problem occurred.
  • A description of any error messages you received. Provide the '''exact text of the error''' whenever possible.
  • A way that we can contact you: a phone number or email address. Only provide an email address that you can use. If your account is broken then you probably shouldn't give us your CS email address.

Warning

DO NOT GIVE US YOUR PASSWORD

Do not give anyone your password. We don't need it to access your account, and we can always change it if we think that your password is the problem.

If you need to reset your password, then you should come to the helpdesk's office with your Student ID.

What if they are not there?

Do not reboot the machine. Simply send them an email and lock the console of the machine.

Contact By Phone

This should be a last resort and generally should be used for emergencies only. The phone number for 1140 TMCB is 422-6472.

Giving comments and suggestions

The administration of the CS Department gets a lot of comments and suggestions. Though the system administrator's enjoy feedback, and especially appreciate well thought out ideas, they do not make the decisions which determine the policies of the department. The best way to make a change in the department policies is to ask a professor to present the idea to the department administration. If you insist on bringing the idea to the relatively powerless system administrators, please follow these rules. If they haven't heard your idea a dozen times before, they might pass it on to their boss.

  • Read the documentation in the Doc Project first.
  • Be prepared for an answer of "no".
  • Be prepared for an answer of "we have considered that, and decided against it."
  • Be prepared to leave should the system administrators need to help someone else.

If the system administrator with whom you are speaking gets defensive, looks annoyed, or appears busy, then your suggestion will probably not be well received and you should find a more effective method of getting your ideas heard. Topics which are sure to get the system administrator's ire up include (but are not limited to):

  • Can I borrow your office product?
  • Can you find my TA?
  • Can you raise my quota?
  • Can I use your phone?
  • Why can't I eat in the labs?
  • Why aren't the labs open all night?
  • Why can't I play games in the labs?
  • Will you install . . .?
  • Why can't I plug my personal hardware device into your network?
  • Is the CS100 lab just for the CS100 students?
  • Why is software that is available in the CS100 lab not available in the other labs?
  • I lost a file, can you restore it?

We have tried to answer these questions in our online documentation, and are not empowered to change the network at a user's request. You should discuss such things with the Department Chair.