Introduction
What is software?
The instructions executed by a computer, as opposed to the physical
device on which they run (Hardware). Software is not something
physical that can be touched.
Software can be split into two main types, system software and
application software or application programs. System software is any
software that is part of the operating system and helps maintain
other software. Examples of system software would include the
compilers, editors and sorting programs.
eMachines splits the application software group into three sub
categories:
• Bundled Software: Software that came on the computer and
can only be reinstalled by restoring the computer.
• Downloadable Software: Software that came on the computer
but can be downloaded off the internet (Example: Acrobat Reader)
• Third Party Software: Software that did not come with the
computer and is not supported by eMachines.
It is important for an agent understand the difference between a
troubleshooting call and a how to call. As an agent, your
responsibility is to fix it if it is broken. Answering How to
questions is outside the support we offer customers.
When presented with a how to question you need to be careful to not
give the customer an uncaring response. Even though we can’t teach
them what they want to know we must educate the customer on the
boundaries of our support, and then offer recommendations that will
help the customer find their answer. Two tools will prove invaluable
when looking for how to answers, Help and Support and the Help
Viewer.
Help and Support
Help and support is a users manual for the operating system. It is
easily accessible from the start menu. Help and Support features a
new help user interface that was originally released in Windows ME.
It has been updated to provide many new options such as searching
multiple resources at once, open multiple instances of Help and
Support, and it is now configurable by OEMs for their customers. In
addition Help and Support allows you to install or download patches
and fixes to the product, and initiate “Remote Assistance”.
Help and Support also features a compatibility service to help users
determine whether hardware or software is compatible with Windows
XP, and features built in links to all troubleshooting tools such as
Windows Update and System Restore.
Accessing Help And Support
Help and Support Interface
The help and support center user interface is divided into six major
areas. These areas are the “global navigation bar”, “search”, “pick
a help topic”, “ask for assistance”, “pick a task” and “did you
know”.
Global Navigation Bar
The global navigation bar is located along the top portion of the
Help and Support Center interface.
The first three buttons back, forward and home are
navigation buttons that take you back, forward, and to the main page
respectively. It is identical to what you would see in the Internet
Explorer navigation bar.
The index button will take you to a screen where as you type
in what you are looking for it will automatically update the search
with possible results.
Favorites allows you to set a bookmark, just like you would
in any book, the specific location of where you are currently in to
return to it quickly at a later time.
History shows you the different items that you’ve searched
for.
Support takes you to an area displaying model number and
contact information for eMachines support.
Options allow you to set search options.
Pick a Help Topic
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The pick a help topic in
divides common user tasks into four areas. The user area
has information like what’s new in Windows XP and
Windows basics. The networking area has tasks such as
networking in the web and working remotely. The
customizing section provides information on how to
customize your computer and accessibility features. The
last area, the system area, has information on printing
and faxing, fixing a problem, and performance and
maintenance. Dividing these topics into four areas
allows users to find common situations that they may
need help on when working with Windows XP.
User
Networking
Customization
System |
Pick A Task
The pick a task area contains four important items. The first is to
allow users to connect to the Windows update website to download the
most current versions of software for their system. The second is to
point them to hardware and software compatibility list for Windows
XP. The third is to undo system changes with the system restore
utility, which will be covered later in detail. In summary the
system restore allows you to rollback system changes to undo
application or driver installations that may have rendered your
system unstable. The last is the tools section to allow you to
create or perform administrative tasks and diagnose problems on your
system.
Did You Know?
The “Did You Know” area of the help and support center contains
helpful tips and facts that are periodically updated. When users
connect to the internet the system automatically downloads updated
content that can allows the user to access the most current version
of help information.
Search
The Help and Support search interface allows a user to search
through all the articles, walkthroughs and guides in help and
support. When connected to the internet the search can also search
Microsoft Knowledge Base articles. With the ability to contact the
internet, the search results are up to date and the information
should never be old or out dated.
Search is the fastest and most common way to navigate Help and
support. The search results are broken down in to 3 groups:
• Suggested Topics
•Full-text Search Mathces
• Microsoft Knowledge base.
Typically Suggested Topics is the most relevant information
Help Viewer
Pressing F1 inside any windows application will bring up the help
viewer. Due to the fact that many applications use different help
interfaces, we can recommend that a customer access the help
feature, but we will not be able to walk a customer through the
interface. This section will focus on the help viewer, however keep
in mind that help viewer is the most common help interface with many
applications but is not the only type of interface, and may change
depending on the application.
Generic Help Viewer
The Help viewer makes it easy for you to find information about the
feature you are using. The Contents, Index, and Search tabs display
helpful information that you can print or copy. Click a heading
below for detailed information.
Contents Tab
To browse the table of contents, click the Contents tab. Click the
book icons to reveal topic entries and sub-books. Click a table of
contents entry to display the corresponding topic.
Index Tab
To see a list of index entries, click the Index tab, and then either
type a word or scroll through the list. Topics are often indexed
under more than one entry. Double-click an index entry to display
the corresponding topic.
Search Tab
To search for a word or phrase, click the Search tab, type the word
or phrase, and then click List Topics. Double-click a search results
entry to display the corresponding topic.
Links In Help
In a Help topic, you can click underlined words or Related Topics to
see other information related to the topic.
• To see the definition of an underlined term, click the term. Click
the definition to make it disappear.
• To open a program, to access a Web page or Help topic on the
Internet, or to see another topic, click the underlined words.
• To display other topics containing related information, click
Related Topics, and then click the title of the topic you want. If
there is only one related topic, Help immediately takes you to that
topic instead of displaying a topic title list.
Move through Help topics you've seen
• On the Help Toolbar, click Back to display the previously view
Help Topic
• On the Help Toolbar, click Forward to display the next help topic
in a previously displayed sequence of topics
Summary
eMachines supports various applications, in this document you have
learned about Help And Support, and the Help Viewer interface. It is
important as an agent to be uniform in your answer to “how to”
inquiries. Remember all questions regarding the operating system
itself, need to be referred to “Help and Support”. All questions
regarding specific application should be referred to the Help Viewer
for that application.
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