Support

It can be both costly and frustrating when computer systems fail. Moreover, as a system is often made up of many components covering different technologies from various suppliers, it can be difficult to know where to turn for help.

The DCSL support package has been designed to make the process of technical support as painless as possible. When a problem occurs you simply contact us and we will either resolve the problem ourselves or we will liase with the appropriate suppliers or manufacturers to ensure that a solution is provided. We employ a number of methods to resolve problems, but generally these are:

Hot-line and email support
This is usually the first step when dealing with a problem. Simple "How do I...?" questions are almost always resolved this way. DCSL have written an in-house support database to speed up the support process.

Remote Access
By setting up a link between DCSL and your offices, our support engineers can physically take control of any of your PCs. This is a powerful way of fixing software problems and guiding users through more complex queries.

Engineer Site Call-out
Where a problem can not be resolved by other means, our engineers will drive to your offices and diagnose the problem on site. If possible the system will be fixed there and then.

Please contact us and we will be pleased to discuss your requirements.

Report a fault (Supported Customers)
If at all possible, please e-mail the details of your fault. Our engineers receive the call quicker and more clearly than by phone, and can act on it immediately if necessary. Please include the name of the computer if possible and any error messages. More info on good fault reporting here - please have a look so that we can get as much information as possible to sort out your problem quickly.

Email: support@dcsl.com (quickest - recommended)
Telephone: 0845 050 5557
Fax: 0845 050 5559 (this will take a while to get to the Support Team)

Report a fault (Unsupported Customers)
Please contact our Sales Team to arrange for a support call. You will need to arrange payment for support prior to receiving a call from the Support Team.

E-mail: sales@dcsl.com
Telephone: 0845 050 5557
Fax: 0845 050 5559

Would you like to find out more about DCSL Support?
Please contact our Sales Team to find out more information. We are always happy to consult with potential customers, and could arrange a visit to your premises if necessary.

E-mail: sales@dcsl.com
Telephone: 0845 050 5557
Fax: 0845 050 5559

Important: Please report the fault to DCSL Support by e-mail rather than by telephone. It's quicker, and the message comes through clearer than if you report by phone, and one of our operators has to transcribe a verbal message.

Please include the following information:

• Your name, company, and telephone number (if not at your main office).
• Clear description of the problem as you understand it.

For example, "Printing problem" is not really good enough for us to begin the process. A report such as "When I print, my printer does nothing, and I get an error message after about a minute" is really helpful to us.

• A copy of any error message or fault condition that arises (we don't expect you to copy down 50 lines of 1's and 0's, just any useful information).

For example, "When I start up my computer, I see an error message that says "Device failure, press any key". When I press a key, all seems normal." Or, "when I open Word, it flashes up on the screen and then disappears".

• If the fault is on a computer, please give us the computer name. Click here to find out how to find your computer name.
• Try and give us an indication of how serious the fault is. See more info on Fault Priorities here.

If we have a problem with Company A's server, and no one there can log onto the network; and then Jo Smith from Company B reports that her computer is a bit slow, you can probably guess where we'll be putting in maximum effort. If the fault clears by itself, or if you manage to fix it, please let us know.

Important: Scheduled tasks such as adding a new network user when someone new joins the company, disabling a network user when someone leaves, or helping out at an office move are much easier when we have prior notice.

Please try and give us a week's notice when doing user maintenance, or a month when you are moving offices.

We prefer having a new user set up and tested before they start, rather than receiving a last-minute panic call when we are busy with something like a dead server.

Remote Support
Our goal at DCSL Support is to try and carry out as much support as possible remotely. We are able (in most cases) to connect to most of our customer's servers, and even to the user's computers themselves. This is far more efficient than having to travel to your office.

Unsupported Customers
Our supported customers are our first priority. You will unfortunately have to wait your turn if you do not have a Support Contract with DCSL Support.

Also note that you will need to arrange for payment before you receive a call from the Support Team. Click here for details.

If you want to find out more about signing up for support, please click here.

Fault Priorities
Here is a rough guide to how we prioritise faults, starting at the top for the most serious faults:

• Vital system maintenance, e.g. a new virus is rife, and all customer servers must be patched immediately.
• Entire organisation cannot work at all, e.g. server has crashed seriously.
• Entire organisation cannot use a function, e.g. e-mail not working for everybody.
• One person cannot work at all, e.g. computer has failed.
• One person cannot use a function at all, e.g. printing - printer is faulty.
• One person has a non-essential problem, e.g. Word crashes every few days with the same error.
• Unsupported customers.
• Essential scheduled maintenance, e.g. adding a new user.
• Non-essential scheduled maintenance, e.g. routine patching of servers.

What DCSL Support will help you with
DCSL Support will support and maintain your computer hardware (with some exceptions), and will support your (work-related) Microsoft software.

For example, if your computer hard drive fails, we will replace it, and ensure that you are able to carry on working as soon as possible.

Or, if you are having problems with Microsoft Word, we will fix the problem for you. If we have developed software for you, obviously we will support it if we have a contract in place.

What DCSL Support can't help you with
We cannot help with the following problems:

• Non-work related Microsoft software, e.g. games, Messenger, etc.
• Non-Microsoft software, e.g. Sage products, Goldmine, other bespoke software. We strongly recommend that you arrange for formal support from the relevant support organisation.
• Microsoft software that has been "retired", i.e. old versions of software no longer supported by Microsoft. For example, Windows 95.
• Training. We cannot help with user problems that arise from lack of training. We are here to support you when hardware or software fails, not to help you format a tricky document, or teach you how to use a scanner. We are more than happy to arrange training for you. Please contact our Sales Team.
• Internet problems with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). We are on hand if it all gets too technical (unlikely), but the service agreement is between yourself and your ISP, and they are best equipped to deal with your problem. Their support is aimed at the end-user (i.e. non-technical), so don't hesitate to give them a call.

How the Support System works...
The most important aspect of the Support System is the database. It contains details of everything we do for you in terms of support, with accurate timing. From this data, we can send you detailed reports of everything we have done for you over a time period. This leaves neither you nor us in any doubt of what we have done for you.

In addition to the database, we have designed an advanced e-mail and text messaging service. Whenever you call us or send an email to support@dcsl.com, we log that information in our database. At the same time as doing this, an e-mail is automatically sent to you containing a duplicate of the e-mail/telephone conversation for your own records. And, in addition, our Support Manager (or if he is away another DCSL engineer) is sent a text message directly to his mobile phone. The diagram below illustrates this process.

The Support Manager will receive the text message within seconds of the call/e-mail being logged and will either attempt to fix the problem himself, or immediately delegate the work to another engineer. If you decide to send an email to support@dcsl.com instead of calling, the Support Manager will receive the text message within seconds of you clicking the Send button in your e-mail software (It sometimes takes a little longer, but most e-mails will be processed within seconds.). This means that it is more efficient if you e-mail instead of calling where possible.

If we are not able to sort out your problem immediately, the Support Manager is automatically 'pestered' by means of continuous text messages until the problem has been signed off. Therefore it is in his interests to make sure everything is done as quickly as possible. When we have solved the problem, we sign it off in our database. This automatically generates an e-mail to you containing in full detail what we did to solve your problem. Therefore you know exactly what we’ve done.

Of course, the computer system we have written is entirely web-based. This means that any employee of DCSL can access the entire database securely from anywhere in the world.

Online Virus Scan (Free)
You can virus scan your computer for free at the Trend Micro website.
Click above to start the scan.

Or download Trend Micro System Cleaner to run a full local scan on your computer.
You'll need the latest Virus Pattern File.

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Demon Internet Status Page (Free)
View the current status of Demon Internet to see if there are any general Internet problems.

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Windows Update website (Free)
We strongly recommend that you keep your computer up-to-date by downloading updates for Windows from the Windows Update website. Click here to go to the Windows Update website.

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Google Toolbar 2.0 (Free)
We like this Internet Explorer add-on. The Google Toolbar takes only seconds to install and enables you to search the web with Google from any site, block pop-up ads, and more.

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WinZip (Shareware - pay after evaluation period)
WinZip is our tool of choice for creating or opening Zip files. Download it above.

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Adobe Acrobat Reader (Free)
Acrobat is necessary for opening and reading PDF files. Download Acrobat Reader above.

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Macromedia Flash Player (Free)
Download it above.

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Macromedia Shockwave Player (Free)
Download it above.

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Apple Quicktime Player (Free)
Download it above.

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TightVNC (Free)
Useful bit of software that allows remote control of your computer. Download it above.