My Computer is Broken
First you must understand, you are responsible for your own data. This means you are responsible for making backup copies of any important files on your computer; homework, pictures, music, you must have a backup copy somewhere other than on your computer. The best locations for back-ups are an external USB drive, DVD’s, CD’s or the CASERVER (for homework). It is an industry-standard practice to back-up files daily and one that you must learn to practice in order to be prepared when your computer becomes broken.

The Technology Department staff is seeing many people who do not make backup copies of their files, and as a result, people lose things which they value. To prevent problems in the future, ALWAYS MAKE BACKUPS!!

Where is the Technology Office located?
The Technology office is on the ground floor of the main building right across from the library stairs. Ms. Harrington will most often be your first contact for dropping off and picking up computers.

My computer is broken, when can I bring it to the Technology Office?
You may bring your computer in for drop off during office hours.

All repair requests must be entered through IT Direct, please enter a ticket when you drop off your machine for repairs. If you have a computer problem outside of Office Hours enter a request through IT Direct and a Technology Department staff member will get back to you with further instructions.

If I don’t have a Cushing Laptop Program computer and it is broken; how do I get it fixed?
Contact your computer manufacturer; visit their web site and see if there is an email address or a phone number for Customer Support. Typically if under warranty you will be required to send the computer in for depot repair. If it is no longer under warranty then you will be responsible to find a private repair service on your own.

There are important things to do before sending a computer in for repair.

1. Be sure to have information (receipts, records, etc.) which inform when you purchased your computer and what type of warranty coverage the machine has. Often this information is required to prove the computer is under warranty before a company will work on the computer.

2. Note when you send a computer away, you are required to sign a statement allowing the manufacturer to erase the hard drive if necesary. This is a standard procedure for companies they will not take responsibility for data on a hard drive; therefore you must back-up your data before shipment.

What should I do if my computer accidentally gets wet??
Turn it off immediately and bring it to the Technology Department. If you continue to use the machine it will short out the motherboard and make the computer useless.

If you spill on the machine and it has not been turned on, do not turn it on. Bring it to the Technology Department so we can properly remove the power supply and parts in an attempt to dry the machine before restarting to test for damage. Often repairs of this type on laptops can be between $900 and $1,200 as you basically have to replace the entire inner workings of the computer.

Let it dry as much as possible- remove CD drives, floppy drives, batteries, PC cards, basically anything. Let it dry for 24 hours at LEAST. Bring it down to the Tech Office for further assistance.

My Computer is having difficulty starting and is running very slow, what do I do?
Computers must have their system software maintained in order to continue to run effectively over time. Use the links below to learn to run Virus Scans, Spyware Scans, System Updates, Disk Defragmenter and Scan Disk. By running these items on a weekly basis it will improve system performance. If the steps listed below are not helping the performance then you may have a more serious hard disk issue which should be check by a member of the Technology Department staff. In this case, please back up your data and bring your laptop into the Technology Department during office hours.

If your computer is running slow try each of these steps before bringing it into the office.

Spybot
Ad-Aware
Windows Updates 
Disk Defragmenter