Balancing
small business IT needs with domestic computer use
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The
customer has three PCs and an Apple Mac, but only one PC is connected to
broadband Internet. The Internet-connected PC is for family use and is located
in a bedroom, and you can only read business email by agreement with the
occupant.
One of the PCs has no diskette drive so you must write to CD to transfer
data to any other system. To transfer large image data files from the Apple
Mac also requires the use of a CD writer.
There are three printers in the household, but to access one from another
computer requires cables to be swapped about or the data to be moved via
diskette or CD.
BRG Computer Services
installed a Local Area Network (LAN) connecting all 4 systems together with
a router to connect the LAN to the broadband Internet service and set up
file and printer sharing between the systems.
Outcome:
o
No more queuing up to use the Internet, all PCs are connected at the same
time.
o No more swapping printer cables about; all printers are
accessible from all PCs.
o Much easier to transfer data between PCs and between a
PC and the Apple Mac system.
o Business use of the systems is more flexible and
efficient.
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Improving
IT efficiency in a small business
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A
High Street
travel agency business with three PCs that are used for front-office sales.
Despite
installing a LAN and broadband Internet access, users still continued to
dial up directly to certain service providers, via locally connected modems
on each PC.
BRG Computer Services
investigated and found that the reason behind still needing direct dial
connections was that printing did not work correctly when using the
Internet to access some of the services. This was due to a number of
problems: the wrong printer drivers were installed, browser set-up was
incorrect, users were using the wrong menu options to print and there were
faults in the portal web site. Corrected the printing problems,
decommissioned the locally connected modems.
Outcome:
o
The business saves money on telephone bills through lower call charges and
a reduction in the number of lines rented.
o Customers receive quicker and more efficient service.
o Users achieve more job satisfaction because they get
quicker access to the data they need to do their jobs.
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Curing
a sick computer for a domestic user
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User
complained that his home PC was running slowly, he could not access email
and that Outlook Express locked up when exiting. A recipient of an email
from the user had previously reported that their system had detected a
virus in an attachment, so the user had attempted to install an anti-virus
package but it didn’t appear to work.
BRG Computer Services ran a
scan of the system using another AV package which revealed that 236 files
were infected with several strains of virus. Attempted to repair the
software installation which proved unsuccessful. Saved all of the user’s
data to a backup server. Used the manufacturer’s recovery CD to reformat the
hard disk and reload the software from scratch. Repeated errors reported
during the reloading process were eventually tracked down to a failing
CD-ROM drive. Replaced the CD-ROM drive, upgrading it to a faster
DVD-compatible drive at the user’s request. Completed the reload and then
restored the user’s data. Installed an anti-virus package. (click here to learn more about how to stay clear
of viruses)
Outcome:
o User has a fully-functional and healthy PC system once
more.
o The user’s system is now better protected against a
future recurrence of the virus infestations.
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Making
life easier for a home-based charity
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Two
computers, each with its own printer, one of the computers was connected to
an ISDN Internet service. Data swapping by diskette to get to the right
printer. Only one person at a time can access email and must be using the
right PC. Backups of data to diskette are tedious and only done
infrequently.
BRG Computer Services
installed a simple Local Area Network (LAN) to link the two computers and
provide shared access to the Internet. Set up file and printer
sharing between the two PCs. Implemented a script to back-up the data from
each computer to the other computer.
Outcome:
o
No more queuing up to use the Internet, both PCs are connected at the same
time.
o Access to both printers from both systems without using
diskettes.
o No more tedious backing up to diskettes.
o Backups can be run daily, reducing risk of data loss.
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