January, 2022

New Year, Same Computer!

Hello and Happy New Year From IT!

We thought it would be best to start the New Year with some everyday behaviors to make sure your computer is working optimally!

Restart your computer

Did you turn it off and on? Someone has definitely (read: IT) asked you to do this before. A better question is why should you? Most issues can be resolved by restarting your computer! We think restarting/rebooting your computer is something you should do every day or at least 2-3 times a week. (Regardless of issues or not.)

Restarting your computer may also fix issues with your internet connection or/and when an application is not responding. Last year, I shared a shortlist of actions that restarting your computer helps resolve:

1. Clears out RAM

2. Speed up Performance

3. If Your Computer feels hot

4. Things are freezing or taking longer than usual to respond

5. Resolve Internet and Bluetooth Connectivity

6. A file or application will not open

Restarting your computer is a great first triaging step when trying to figure out an issue with your computer

Send a Ticket!

The first, best, and most essential way of communicating your tech issues is by creating a ticket. Your ticket will immediately notify everyone on the IT team at once.

We will both have a written record of the issue and how it was resolved. This allows IT to support you and other members of staff quicker, should a similar issue arise.

You can Email your ticket by typing to itsupport@episcopalrelief.org or go to the google app launcher and click on the icon that says “SolarWinds IT Service Desk”

Stay Well Ventilated!

This might be obvious but I think underrated. Your computer should always be on a flat surface or on an elevated stand. It is not meant to be placed on your bed or lap.

Your computer generates an incredible amount of heat while it is operating, and placing it on your bed or lap may block the airflow and prevent the heat from dissipating from the vents. This can cause internal damage to the components in the computer or worse, can burn you.

Bonus Tip: Site search within Google

Ever find wanted to find out something specific on a website, without having to navigate the whole site to find it. Google has a keyword feature that helps you do just that! In a Google search field, type the keyword “site:” then the site you want to search. Like so (site:apple.com) In the example below I want to find the contact information for Apple. So I typed “Site:apple.com contact” and it showed me results for contact information on Apple's website, instead of navigating the entire website for it.

Please do give us feedback on what you like or what you would like to see by emailing us at Techbits@episcopalrelief.org. Thank you and we look forward to giving you new tech bits, next month!