September 26, 2023

Common Help Desk Issues

Technology is only as good as its uptime. If software or services fail, staff can’t complete key tasks and productivity suffers. IT help desks offer a way to address and resolve recurrent issues. Here’s a look at what these desks do, why they’re so important, and some of the most common problems they see.

What Is a Help Desk — and Why Do You Need One?

An IT help desk offers a single point of contact for employees that encounter technology issues. These desks typically work on a ticket system: Users submit a request via email or an online form that describes their issue, any steps they’ve tried to remediate it, and any other factors that may be relevant, such as recent software updates or security issues.

These tickets then enter a queue and are dealt with in order, except for significant operations issues — such as storage server failures or likely security risks — which take top priority.

While it’s possible to assess and address IT issues without the use of a help desk, this can cause both confusion and service delays. For example, if staff are simply told to email IT staff with their issues, this could result in one technology team member being overwhelmed with requests or one being left out of the loop. If emails are lost in the shuffle or accidentally deleted, meanwhile, it could lead to missed service requests, delayed responses, and increased downtime.

Help desks provide a centralized, standardized solution to addressing coming issues and make it easier for IT staff to reduce the rate of recurrent issues.

Nine Common Help Desk Issues

If there’s one constant in technology, it’s that change is inevitable. From the uptick in cloud services to the evolution of AI, technology never stands still. This means that it’s always possible for IT staff to encounter entirely new problems that test the bounds of their knowledge and creativity.

In most cases, however, teams are faced with common help desk issues that they’ve solved before — and will likely see again. Here are nine of the most common IT help desk problems and solutions.

1. Forgotten passwords

Despite the advent of multifactor authentication (MFA), passwords remain popular. But with different login details across multiple applications, each of which may have its own password rules, forgotten passwords are common.

If users can’t remember their passwords or discover that they’re locked out after one too many guesses, they call IT help desks. Using administrator access, IT staff can reset passwords and help staff get on with their work. It’s also worth considering the deployment of authentication portals that provide a self-service option for password resets.

2. Login failures

Login failures are also common. These may not be tied to passwords specifically — instead, it could be something as simple as users entering their login details with caps lock on, or if their account has been temporarily suspended.

3. BSOD

The “blue screen of death” occurs when a computer running Windows experiences a crash. While it’s less common now than 10 years ago, it’s still a familiar site for many users who call the help desk for assistance. First up? Try a reboot. If that doesn’t work, disconnect any peripherals. IT teams can also check the hard drive remotely to see if they can boot the computer in safe mode.

4. Slow internet

Users often encounter issues with slow internet connections. In some cases, the issues are tied to network density, especially if new devices have recently been added. In others, it may simply be a case of staff using too many cloud-based applications at once.

5. No internet

Another popular problem is no internet. If this is a system-wide outage, the answer is clear: Users must wait until the issue is resolved at the business level. If no other outages are reported, however, a system setting or update may be the cause.

6. Printer problems

Printer issues are persistent, especially if companies add new printers or have recently changed print interfaces. In many cases, however, the problem is physical, not digital — printers may not be turned on or may be experiencing paper jams.

7. Deleted files

It’s never on purpose, but deleted files are a familiar complaint for help desk staff. First, check to see if users have emptied their recycle bin. If not, restoration should be simple. If so, IT staff may need to restore specific files from server backups.

8. Peripheral issues

Peripheral issues, such as problems with mice and keyboards, can lead to users calling the help desk. In many cases, the issue is a simple loss of connectivity for users with wireless devices, either because the Bluetooth connection has failed or the device has lost power and needs new batteries.

9. Loss of shared drive access

Many companies used shared drives to collaborate on key projects. If employees lose access, however, their first call is to the IT help desk. If server pings show that users can still connect with the shared drive, teams will likely need to remap network connections to reestablish access.

Helping Yourself: The Advantages of Help Desk Outsourcing

Outsourcing help desk services to a trusted provider can help streamline day-to-day operations and provide a single point of contact for common IT help desk problems and solutions. Here’s why: Instead of dealing with familiar issues over and over again, your in-house teams can focus on line-of-business initiatives that help improve operations or increase overall revenue.

Acropolis Technology Group offers 24/7 remote and on-site support for all workstations, laptops, mobile devices, and users in your organization. This means that no matter the problem and no matter the cause, Acropolis experts can help address your common help desk issues.

Need more help? Choose a managed IT services plan that fits your needs — from cloud-based malware protection to backup monitoring to virtual chief information officer (vCIO) services, we’ve got you covered.

Blog written by Acropolis