Workshop

Q&A

Q I’ve just installed a couple of new Windows 98 workstations. Now, one of my Windows applications isn’t working anymore, even though it used to run under Windows 95. What could be wrong?

A There are a couple of things that are somewhat different between Windows 98 and Windows 95—for example, the way the hard drive is formatted. Without seeing your workstations, it’s hard to know specifically what is wrong, but you should try to install Windows 95 on one of the workstations to see if 98 as a whole is your problem, or if it’s just a hardware problem. (Your manufacturer might have just changed a motherboard on you without your knowledge.)

Q There’s someone in my organization who keeps changing things but never admits to it, particularly when things break. What can I do?

A Unless you’re this person’s boss, you can’t do much. However, this person’s boss probably sees that this he or she contributes chaos and fear to your organization. Unfortunately, this isn’t a technical problem, it’s a social one, and is best handled as such.

Quiz

1.  An external tape backup unit comes back from repair. You plug it in and boot up your PC. Your PC hangs at the BIOS screen. What do you do?

A.  Call your local repair shop.

B.  Disconnect the tape drive.

C.  Call your brother-in-law who’s “into” computers.

D.  Press Ctrl+Alt+Del.

2.  You add software to your NT server that requires a reboot. However, you don’t remember the last time the server was rebooted. Upon rebooting, you get a message saying that a service failed to start. You uninstall the software and reboot again. You get the same message. What do you do?

A.  Call Microsoft.

B.  Ask around to see if anybody else has changed anything recently.

C.  Reinstall the software.

D.  Ask around to see if anybody else can install this software.

3.  True or false? New products are typically “bug free.”

4.  True or false? Scheduled visits from your vendor (versus drop-in visits) save you time and aggravation.

5.  Everybody has been experiencing network disconnects since yesterday. The only changes that have occurred include John installing new virus protection to his PC and Mary receiving a new PC. What’s the correct first step in resolving this problem?

A.  Turn off both Mary’s PC and John’s PC.

B.  Turn off Mary’s PC, but leave John’s PC on.

C.  Turn off John’s PC, but leave Mary’s on.

D.  Fire John and Mary for endangering the common good.

Answers to Quiz Questions

1.  B

2.  B

3.  False

4.  True

5.  A