“Laptop ER” might sound like the title of a bad parody sketch, but it’s actually a campus organization that rescues students concerned about the health of their computers.
Laptop ER, a service provided by Northwestern University Information Technology, comprises approximately 40 students whowork from different locations across campus. From a single site, these students help others with laptop issues on a first-come, first-serve basis.
In the past, IT specialists made visits to dorm rooms to diagnose and fix computer problems, but NUIT deemed that process inefficient.
At the beginning of last year, NUIT began to phase in the current Laptop ER system, and eventually phased out on-site visits for laptop problems completely.
“Basically everyone has a laptop now,” said Weinberg senior Peter Chang, who was working for Laptop ER at the Norris University Center couches Tuesday afternoon. “It’s easier for us to set up stations around campus and have people come to us.”
Laptop ER specialists set up stations every afternoon Sunday through Friday at hubs of student activity on campus. The exact hours and locations can be found online at NUIT’s Web site, which also notes that the organization will still visit student residences for any problems encountered with desktop computers.
Though they do not promise to fix all laptop woes, the Laptop ER “doctors” do whatever they can to fix students’ problems within certain limits.
“We don’t support hardware issues,” said Weinberg junior James Jones who was working alongside Chang on Tuesday.
Jones added they can fix just about any problem “if it’s on the software end.”
“Basic problems like that, or if there’s some kind of problem with your operating system – we can try to help fix that,” Jones said.
On Tuesday, a student came in who was having problems connecting her new computer to NU’s wireless network. Chang took the laptop and began going through the basic steps to figure out what was plaguing the student’s computer, and took the necessary steps to fix her machine.
Laptop ER representatives have to meet a few basic qualifications to make sure that people who fix student computers do so in a correct and professional manner.
“We have to have pretty standard technical backgrounds,” Jones said.
He said skills for a typical “doctor” include recognizing and dealing with issues, such as spyware, viruses and troubleshooting wireless networks.
Chang added that technical skills are not a prerequisite for working for Laptop ER.
“We’re looking for people with good customer skills,” Chang said. “If you don’t have that many (computer) skills, we have training every week.”
In addition to basic troubleshooting, Laptop ER can help students and staff with Virtual Private Network configuration, university e-mail services and issues with NUTV. Laptop ER staff can also reset NetID passwords if needed.
