how to cope with computer errors

You’re working on your accounts package and suddenly an error message flashes up on the screen. David Carter gives some suggestions on what to do next.

You’ve been typing the day’s bank receipts into your accounts package and suddenly an error message has flashed up on the screen. Something’s gone wrong. What do you do?

Interpreting error-messages
What does the message say? Some are fairly easy to understand: “Error 7, this record in use by another user�. Some are completely incomprehensible. “Error 27, fault at memory location 12345: stack overflow. “

The reason is that error messages come from different sources. Some are from the software developer to the user and give instructions about running the package. These should be reasonably clear. Others are from the writer of the operating system to the software developer. These are the incomprehensible ones and you don’t know whether they mean trouble or not.

One package I know used to give this “Stack overflow� message all the time, but I just hit the Enter key and it went away again. What is a stack overflow, anyway?

Of course, you know you are in trouble when the screen locks up. You tap away on the keyboard but the computer doesn’t take any notice. It’s frozen and the mouse and keyboard aren’t working any more. The program you were working on is still displayed on the screen, but it’s no longer in control of the computer. In the jargon, the computer has “hung� or “crashed�.

Switch the machine off and restart?
So what do you do? Although we’ve all done it, turning the computer off and restarting is NOT a good idea.

If you are running Word or Excel, rebooting won’t do any harm as you simply lose your most recent data. But with something complicated like accounting software the consequences of losing data may be more serious – some files get updated, some don’t, balances get out of sync, etc etc.

Even though you manage to get started once again and everything seems OK, you may have corrupted your data and created a bigger problem for yourself in the long term.

Also, if you are on a network, the central server doesn’t know what you’re doing. When you try to log on again it gets upset because you’re supposed to be logged on already.

Store the message via the “Print Screen� key
So you have a choice: either to see if you can get out of the problem yourself without switching the machine off, or to ring up someone such as the Technical Support line for help. If you need to get back to work ASAP, it can be tempting to try and sort it out yourself, especially if ringing up Technical Support is going to mean a 20 minute wait on the phone.

But before you do anything, remember that the computer is telling you something; it’s giving you a warning. It is always good practice first to make a record of the message. Do this via the Print Screen key.

Start up Word with a blank document. Now go back to the screen showing the error message. Hold down the ALT key to left of the spacebar, then tap the Print Screen key (next to F12). This puts a shot of the screen into memory. Now switch back to the blank Word document. Edit-Paste or use the Ctrl-V shortcut: the screen is displayed in Word. Now save the Word file as a permanent record.

So if you don’t manage to sort out the problem yourself, when you have to call in Technical Support at least you have a record of the original error. And even if you do sort it out, it’s still worth ringing them up later and asking what it was all about.

Before you call TS – whose fault is it?
Sensibly, perhaps, you decide to ring Technical Support (TS). Before you do, ask yourself this question: “Have I tried doing this before on the computer and did it work OK then?�

Software works purely by cold logic. It may be stupid, but once it works, it works for ever. Suppose, then, that when you input invoices like these last month, everything went fine. But this month, when you do exactly the same thing, it goes wrong. Logically, it cannot be the software that’s at fault.

Accounting works on a monthly cycle. After you’ve had a package for three months you will have used all the programs at least once by now. In practice, the vast majority of faults in software will make themselves known within the first three months after installation.

So unless it is new, it is highly likely that the software itself is OK and the error has occurred because something has gone wrong at your end - a network error, or an electrical fault (as I’ve discussed earlier in this series). So you are about to ask them to sort out a problem with their software which has resulted from a fault in your system. This of course is why you pay all that money for Technical Support in the first place, but nonetheless: be humble.

[If however you think the problem really IS due to a fault in their software, you will have to use a totally different approach because you are about to enter the lion’s den. I’ll discuss this in the next article.]

Talking to TS – speak only when you’re spoken to
If Technical Support are going to sort you out, they first have to work out what went wrong. This entails unravelling all the steps you went through BEFORE the error occurred. Once they’ve established all the steps that led up to the error they can establish the chain of causation and work out what went wrong.

Your role in this is to be a witness who tells all the relevant facts to the expert: just like a policeman in the witness stand who has to explain the facts to the court. Be patient and let them take the lead. Don’t launch into detailed explanation of what has happened.

Instead, wait to be asked a question, then give a brief answer, then shut up. Stay silent while they absorb this new information and formulate their next question. Even if a question seems to you irrelevant or immaterial, be patient and answer it.

The first question – “What’s your problem?�
The first question they will ask you is, “What’s your problem?� Have your answer ready and include in it:
1 What were you trying to do
2. What program were you in
3. At what point in the program the error occurred

“I was trying to post the bank receipts we’d received this morning. I want into the Sales Ledger, then the Cash receipts menu, then into the second one down, Manual Cash Receipts. I entered the customer number, the cheque number and the amount, but when I pressed the Allocate button this error message came up...�