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How to Get Help

There is a list of answers to frequently asked questions which is posted on the world wide web at:

        http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/faq/

or new site at:

        https://cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au/~csg/

It is advisable to look at this before looking for help elsewhere. Section 5.5 on page  of this book, The World Wide Web, explains how to run a web browser so you can see this document.

The Help Desk is where you are able to get help with any problems that you might experience with the hardware, the system software, your account, the booking system, etc. It is situated in the Mechanical Engineering Building Undercroft, room G03. The Help Desk is not the place to go to when you require help with your assignment or laboratory work.

Help Desk Location:	Room G03, Ground Level,
	Mechanical Engineering Building

Help Desk opening hours are subject to change, see opening page for latest opening times:

        http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~helpdesk/opening.html

Lab opening times may vary depending on demand and the time of session, and are independent of the Help Desk opening times listed above. Notices will be put up describing any variation. You can also get details of lab opening times on the web for different times of session at http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/help/computing/facilities/index.html.

You can contact the Help Desk in person (in the room listed above), by telephone on 938 55438, or by email. The Help Desk email address is helpdesk@cse.unsw.edu.au, so you can email them by typing:

        % mail helpdesk

See Electronic Mail (section 5.1, page ) for further information on the mail command and other mail readers.

A great deal of useful information can also be found on the Help Desk web page at:

        http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~helpdesk/

This page provides information on the types of services provided by the Help Desk, laboratory opening hours, online forms, laboratory maps and usage reports, along with a host of other information.

It is very important that when you go to the Help Desk to have a problem resolved that you take with you your student card and the details of the problem you are experiencing.

Information that may be needed in order to solve your problem includes:

• Your login or user name (or student number -- the supervisor on duty can determine your login name with this information).
• The exact name of the machine you are currently logged into if you are currently logged on, or the name of the machine you were using when you experienced the problem.
• A brief and coherent description of what the problem is you want resolved.
• A brief and coherent description of the events that lead to the problem occurring.
• Any error messages that appeared on your console -- you should write down the exact error message because an approximation is often not good enough!

You must take some responsibility in getting your problems solved. You can not expect to get appropriate help with your problems if you fail to provide adequate or reliable information.

It is often a good idea to write these things down so that you don't have to chant error messages like a mantra all the way to the Help Desk! Armed with this information, you should approach the Help Desk supervisor and supply them with the required information. If they are unable to solve your problem, they will contact someone who can.

Some problems will not be resolved immediately. If your problem can not be resolved immediately you should be given an estimate as to when you might reasonably expect your problem to be solved. Make sure that you write down the date and time that you reported your problem, the person that you reported it to (the current supervisor on duty at the Help Desk should have their name displayed at the front of the desk) and the estimated time you were given for the problem to be resolved. If your problem has not been resolved in the estimated time, return to the Help Desk, being sure to take with you the details that you carefully wrote down, and check up on the progress of the problem.

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Next: Where is Everything? Up: Local Knowledge Previous: Local Knowledge   Contents