dsltips

 Victor, Branch 1

Tips for verifying information.

     When you get to the part where you have to ask them all the computer questions, there's a keyboard shortcut that the customer can do that'll show you everything you need.  Tell the customer the following:

    "On your keyboard in the lower-left hand corner, right next to the Ctrl key, is there a key with a little windows symbol?  OK, remember where that key is.  Now on the very top row where Esc and F1, F2, F3,etc. keys are, what does the last key on that top row say?  There should be three keys after F12, does the last key say "pause/break"?  Great, can you hold down the windows key and hit the pause/break key.  It should pull up your System Properties."

On older keyboards there won't be a windows key there, if they don't have the key tell them to click on the Start button>Settings>Control Panel and click on the System icon.  That will pull up the System Properties also.

System Properties should pop up on the General tab by default.  The customer will see the following.  I'm using mine as an example, the information will vary.

System:
    Microsoft Windows 98
    Second Edition
    4.10.2222 A

Registered to:
    stu    
    11201-OEM-0084441-41281

Computer:
    AuthenticAMD    
    AMD Athlon(tm) Processor    
    128.0MB RAM

With that information you will know what version of Windows they have, if it's a Pentium or not, and how much RAM they have.  AMD K6-2 processors are the equivalent of a Pentium 2, by the way.
__________________________________________________________________________________

     Now on to the USB ports.  If it's a fairly new computer and they have Windows 98, they should automatically have a USB port.  Most Windows 95 machines do not have a USB port, but I have come across many that do in my calls.  To find out if they have a USB port tell the customer the following:

"In the System Properties window that I just had you pull up, do you see a tab called Device Manager?  Click on that please.  That will list some components installed on your computer.  Towards the bottom, do you see anything called "Universal Serial Bus controllers?"

If they see it, then they do have a USB port.

I hope this improves our SPH.  Remember, AOL has a knack for making things easy, so you probably won't talk to many bright people in your calls.  All you'll have to do is read it and they'll say yes.  It's just like fishing.

Good luck to everyone..

- stu

p.s.  If you want to try the System Properties trick on your computer at work hold down the Alt key and hit Tab.  That should take you out of the West System and into Windows.  Hold down the windows key and hit Pause/Break.  The system properties should pop up on the General tab.  The computers at work wont have the Device Manager tab, but it will be on your customers pc's.