Hey, I love to help people with their computer problems. I also want to make sure you get the best answer to your questions. Since I have just a small staff of elves (or is that a staff of small elves?) helping me out, it would help us if you would follow these tips when you write: Be specific about your system. If, for example, you are looking for an upgrade for your CPU, don't just tell me you have a 75 MHz Pentium chip. If you'll give me the brand and model number, we stand a better chance of finding the answer to your hardware-related question. You only need to give specifics that you think are helpful (for example your processor type and speed isn't of a lot of help in solving an IRQ conflict or a printer problem).
For software problems, give the name of the product, the company that made it, the version number, and the operating system you're using. For operating system-specific problems give the name and version of the operating system and tell us what program(s) were running when you experienced a problem. For example, an invalid page fault can be caused by a myriad of problems. It helps me if I know what software was running at the time.
Be as specific as possible in your question. For example, "My computer won't start," isn't very specific. Gee, that can be anything from not having it turned on to a corrupted disk and anything in between and beyond. If you tell me your computer says, "starting Windows 95" and then won't go anywhere for example, that helps narrow it down.
Please leave your real name (first and last) and your real e-mail address. We can't answer all questions online, and even though personal replies are next to impossible, we would like to be able to reach you if we have a question. Due to the volume of mail, my elven friends and I cannot respond to unsigned messages or messages without a return e-mail address. Hotmail, Juno, or another service is okay. I assure you we do not publish your e-mail address and we do not use it for marketing or for any purpose other than to reach you if we need to. And guess what? Once in a while we try to write people for clarifications of their good questions. And we're just as frustrated as you are when our mail bounces.
Here are some other CompUSA resources that may be of help. If your question falls into one of these categories, we have to pass it along to one of these departments anyway. You'll get faster service by trying the following: For technical questions and comments regarding the site, write to [email protected]. For an issue regarding one of our stores, please write to [email protected]. For product availability and pricing at your local store, call 1-800-CompUSA to be connected to the store nearest you.
Interested in learning to do some of your own tech support? It's not for everybody, but when your computer hangs at 2:00 in the morning when you're on a deadline, you need help now, not when my elves can get around to the next question in the "in" box. The following resources should be of help, and they're where I go first to look for answers when I don't have them handy:
Product manufacturer web sites have a wealth of information. For example, if you need a new driver for a printer, visit the manufacturer's site. Manufacturer's sites are a font of information, updates, bug fixes, etc. Did you know Microsoft has a huge Knowledge Base that covers all of their products? They also have FAQ's and Known Issues lists for most of their products, also. Two of the largest computer magazine companies, CMP and Ziff-Davis, have huge repositories of articles and specifications of many products. Check them out. There are a ton of other resources on the web. A search engine is a good starting point. If you've no idea what to type, a hierarchical search site such as Yahoo! is a good place to start. Starting at the top page, you can drill down through a list of topics until you find what you are looking for.
If you're still stuck, drop me a line. I really regret that my elves and I can't answer every single question. Due to the volume of mail we receive, answering every single qustion is impossible. We do try to answer the best general-interest questions, so if you don't see an answer to your particular question, take a look at the most recently-asked questions and search the archives. You might be surprised to find your question has already been answered.
Happy Computing!