Academic and Research Computing

ARC Help Desk

The Help Desk in the VCC combines Consulting and the Reception Counter in one location. It occupies a good-sized portion of the main VCC central lobby.

Members of the Rensselaer community are able to make computer-related service requests at the Help Desk. These include questions about hardware, software, networking, and RCS accounts. The Help Desk is also the first point of contact for all student WebCT problems. If the question cannot be addressed by Help Desk Staff, they will forward requests to the appropriate group for action.

The administrative section of the Help Desk follows a schedule of 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Thursday and 8:30 am - 4:00 pm on Fridays.

You can also submit your consulting questions via electronic mail to consult@rpi.edu or by calling ext 7777. On a more limited basis, consultants are available in CII 3111, ext. 8040.

Although the consultants will not write or modify programs for you, they will answer specific computing questions, explain error messages, and describe available computing facilities and services. (You should direct questions about specific course assignments to your instructor.) Remember that no one consultant is an expert on every subject. If the consultants on duty cannot provide an immediate answer to your question, they will research the problem for you or direct you to another consultant or staff member with expertise in that area, and get a response back to you as soon as possible.

You can help the consultants help you by providing the following information:

• Your name
• A telephone number where you may be reached
• The location (building and room) of the problem
• The type of machine you were using
• The machine name and subnet
• The date and time the problem occurred
• A brief description of the problem (perhaps the commands you typed, the menu items you used, the error messages or behavior you saw, etc.

Faculty, staff members, and graduate students often need more in-depth consulting help than that provided at the consulting desks. ARC staff members provide such consulting assistance and guidance.