ITS Help Desk Computer Support Policy

The UH Information Technology Services (ITS) department provides technical support to Supported Users systemwide via the ITS Help Desk. UH users can contact the ITS Help Desk for support by calling 808-956-8883 (Oahu) or toll free (800) 558-2669, sending an email to help@hawaii.edu, connecting via Live Chat, or visiting the IT Center or ITS Computer Labs for walk-in support (Manoa campus only). Visit https://www.hawaii.edu/its/help-desk/ for hours of operation and for more information on the support channels provided by the ITS Help Desk.

Supported Users

The ITS Help Desk will provide technical support as outlined in this policy for Supported Users consisting of current UH faculty, staff, students (including new and returning students), and active affiliates.

Technical support provided by the ITS Help Desk for our ‘Ohana Users (alumni and other former students, retirees and other former faculty or staff) will be limited to setting up, accessing, and operating their UH Usernames and the associated services available to our ‘Ohana Users.

Unfortunately, the ITS Help Desk does not have the resources to provide technical support for the personal computing devices of unaffiliated, formerly affiliated, or our 'Ohana Users users except where being used for University-related work purposes.
 

Technical Support Provided

Technical support provided by the ITS Help Desk for Supported Users includes:

  • Assistance with setting up, accessing, and operating your UH Username 
  • Assistance with accessing, operating, and troubleshooting issues with ITS-managed online services
  • Setup, troubleshooting, and basic operation of Supported Computing Devices
  • Assistance with basic network connectivity to campus-provided wired and wireless networks for Supported Computing Devices
  • Setup, troubleshooting, and operation of supported software. Setup of unsupported software is limited to installation only (no additional setup/configuration will be done). Installation of unsupported software will be performed on a "best effort" basis. The ITS Help Desk cannot and will not assist with downloading, installing, configuring, or troubleshooting any unlicensed, pirated, or otherwise illegally obtained software.
  • Limited “best effort” support for software and computing devices not explicitly supported under this policy, and personal computing devices not being used for university-related work purposes

Remote Support

Technical support through the ITS Help Desk is provided to Supported Users remotely via phone, email, or live chat. Secure remote support software can also be used to allow Supported Users to share their devices’ screen(s) in order to facilitate faster and more thorough on-device troubleshooting and problem resolution by ITS Help Desk Consultants.

Walk-in Support

For Supported Users physically located at the Manoa campus, the ITS Help Desk also offers walk-in support both at our service window located in the Information Technology Center and at the ITS Computer Labs during monitored hours. Visit https://www.hawaii.edu/its/help-desk/ for Information Technology Center hours of operation or visit https://www.hawaii.edu/its/its-computer-labs-at-uh-manoa/ for ITS Computer Labs hours of operation.

On-site Technical Support (Manoa Campus faculty and staff only)

For faculty and staff of departments on the Manoa campus with problems that cannot be resolved remotely, an ITS Help Desk Technician can be scheduled to perform an on-site consultation for problem diagnosis and resolution. On-site visits are provided for Supported Computing Devices owned and/or used by the department for performing university-related work.

On-site assistance with the setup of new university-owned devices is also available by an ITS Help Desk Technician. The standard setup will include installation of all OS critical updates, anti-virus software, and peripheral setup. Optionally, the Technician can install requested supported programs (e.g. web browser, email client, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office, etc.), and will be sure to install all associated software updates. They can also assist with configuring the computer to regularly check for and install critical software and OS updates.

On-site support will be declined for personal computing devices which are not used for university-related work purposes. Remote or walk-in support (through the ITC Service Window or ITS Computer Labs) are available for these personally owned devices.
 

Supported Computing Devices

Supported Computing Devices include devices in use by Supported Users for university-related work that fall under one of the categories below:
  • Desktop and laptop computers running a supported operating system (see Operating System (OS) Software Support below for currently supported operating systems)
  • Manufacturer-supported mobile phones running supported iOS or Android operating systems
  • Manufacturer-supported tablet-type devices running supported iOS, macOS, Android, or Windows operating systems
  • Computer peripherals, such as mice, keyboards, docks, webcams, printers, multifunction devices, and scanners
  • Ethernet switches or hubs

Personal computing devices in use by Supported Users that fall under one of the categories above, but that are not used for university-related work purposes are excluded from this definition of Supported Computing Devices, and would fall under “best effort” support. Other examples of devices excluded from Supported Computing Devices include:

  • Desktop and laptop computers and mobile devices running an unsupported operating system and where updating to a supported operating systems is not possible
  • Departmental computer lab, departmental classroom, or departmental audio/visual devices and equipment
  • Routers, wireless access points, hotspots, network attached storage (NAS) devices, and other networking equipment external to the University-maintained wired and wireless networks (switches and hubs excluded)
  • Digital cameras, video cameras, capture cards, and network cameras
  • Single-board computer (SBC) or single-board microcontroller (SBM) devices (such as Raspberry Pi, Arduino, etc.)
  • Internet of Things (IoT) devices including casting or streaming devices
  • Video game consoles, hand-held gaming devices, etc.
The ITS Help Desk provides “best effort” support for computing devices configured to use a foreign language. Supported users with these computing devices are encouraged to set their device’s language to English when seeking support, or to check within their department for other faculty/staff with similar configurations for help. Below are some resources within the University of Hawaii for foreign language support:
  • The College of Arts, Languages, and Letters provides limited help and maintains computer labs with foreign language support built-in to Windows which are available to their college faculty and staff free of charge or to others for a fee.
  • UH Hilo maintains a website for the Hawaiian Language at https://www.olelo.hawaii.edu/.
If you have information on additional sources of foreign language support that you'd like to share, please email help@hawaii.edu.

Departmental Computer Labs and Classrooms

Unfortunately, the ITS Help Desk does not have the resources necessary to provide cost-free support for computing devices purchased for departmental computer labs, departmental classrooms, or departmental audio/visual setups, nor can the ITS Help Desk manage custom or unsupported departmental infrastructure. It is the responsibility of the department to provide the necessary staffing and resources to support these types of computing devices and/or infrastructure. ITS may be contracted to provide support for these devices for a fee.
 

“Best Effort” Support

The ITS Help Desk may provide “best effort” support to Supported Users seeking assistance with unsupported software or devices. The ITS Help Desk will attempt “best effort” problem resolution for no more than one hour within the limits of the collective knowledge of the ITS Help Desk staff. This “best effort” support does not extend to the (re)installation of unsupported operating systems, the configuration/setup of unsupported software (beyond basic installation), nor the configuration/setup of routers, wireless access points, print servers, network cameras, IoT devices, and other excluded devices.
 
Should problem resolution either:
  • require knowledge beyond what the ITS Help Desk staff currently have,
  • exceed one hour of work time to resolve, or
  • be unattainable after exhausting all reasonable avenues of problem troubleshooting,
then the problem will be deemed unresolvable and no further action will be taken to troubleshoot.
 

Operating System (OS) Support

The ITS Help Desk will repair, reinstall, or troubleshoot problems with the following computer Operating Systems:
If reinstallation of an OS and/or reformatting of a hard drive are determined to be necessary, an ITS Help Desk Technician may provide assistance. Users should have their own license key available for the Technician, or if the OS was purchased through one of the UH Site License programs, users should make arrangements to have the license key(s) and installation media on-hand at the time of the scheduled appointment.
 
Supported Users are generally responsible for backing up any necessary data they need on their computer and are encouraged to consider an appropriate backup strategy. The ITS Help Desk can assist with data backup and restore only if time and resources permit, and will require that a Supported User present a detailed list of data on the computing device that needs to be backed up, as well as appropriate and sufficiently sized media onto which this data can be moved/copied. The ITS Help Desk Technician will not be responsible for data erased from a computing device that was not explicitly specified for backup prior to an OS reinstallation.
 
Note: Depending on the reason for OS repair or reinstallation, data backup and restore may not be possible. The ITS Help Desk encourages all users to maintain their own backups in the unfortunate event of data loss.
 

Software Support

A list of ITS Supported Software is posted at https://www.hawaii.edu/askus/575.
 

Limited Hardware Support

On-site hardware support is limited to University-owned and operated equipment.
 
CAUTION: Equipment under warranty should be checked with the vendor first, as some warranties may be invalidated if a non-authorized person attempts to repair the equipment.
 
An ITS Help Desk Technician can install or troubleshoot on-site standard computer hardware components (e.g. DIMMs, video cards, wired or wireless Ethernet adapters, m.2 or sata storage devices, optical disc drives, etc.). The Technician can install or remove hardware components from a computer, but not necessarily repair faulty hardware components nor their integrated circuitry.
 
Note: Laptops often have different or non-standard hardware configurations or requirements and limited serviceability when compared to typical ATX desktop computers. Hardware support for laptops is generally "best effort" only.
 

Server Support

The ITS Help Desk does not support server hardware or software. A designated staff server administrator is required for any server hosted at UH. The administrator is responsible for the maintenance of server hardware, any necessary software, management of user accounts, actively applying security and OS patches, backups, and general troubleshooting of the server. If a department has no designated staff server administrator, and that server has any problems with compromise, viruses, or security, ITS reserves the right to remove the server from the UH Network.
 
For information on ITS-provided virtual server or co-location services, please visit https://hawaii.edu/askus/1181.
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Article ID: 588
Created: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 12:06pm
Modified: Wed, 27 Nov 2024 10:57am