• Northampton County Schools Technical Help Desk

     

     

     
    Welcome to the technical support services
    site for Northampton County Schools.  

    Our objective is to provide and maintain an environment.
    where technology assists students, teachers, and
    administrators in reaching their instructional and achievement
    goals and can fulfill their duties in an efficient
    and effective manner.

     

     

    Before Contacting Technical Support

    The following suggestions will help us help you. You can save time (both ours and yours) by going through the steps listed below before you contact tech support. If you are still having problems after attempting these steps, please feel free to contact us via the Technology Work Order system. (While the Technology Work Order System is the best way to contact us regarding a technical issue you are having, we can also be reached via  email or by telephone at 252.534.1371 and the extensions above.)  Keep in mind that emergencies should be logged in on the work order system since the technology support team may be out of the office and not get your call.

    1.  Restart the computer. Many problems are solved by simply restarting the computer. 

    2.  Try, try again. Try it again to make sure there wasn't just a one-time or temporary problem. You can even try it on another computer to see if the problem is just isolated to one machine.

    3.  If you are having login problems, make sure you have typed all of your information correctly and that the Caps Lock key isn't on.

    4.  Contact someone knowledgeable in your building. There are people at each school who can help you to solve minor problems. 

    5.  Gather information. The following information is helpful to anyone who is trying to diagnose a problem:

    A thorough description of the problem including any messages that appeared.
    What programs were running when the problem occurred?
    What steps did you take to try and fix the problem and what were the results? Did you try any basic troubleshooting steps?
    The type of machine you were using including the gold fixed asset tag number.


    Reporting a Technology Issue

    The technology work order system is accessible from any web browser by going to the Northampton County Schools website and clicking on Work Orders. Then click on Technology Work Orders.  Your login and password are the same as your Active Directory login and password.  Once in the system, you just select your location, your problem, and enter any information you have gathered about the issue you are experiencing (see #5 above).  The work order is submitted and a technician is assigned.  A technician should contact you within 24 hours of your posting.  Due to the volume of work orders, a system of priority is followed: mission critical issues (network, Internet, AS400/Finance, testing, student information, media, phone, alarm systems) are addressed first, then hardware technical issues (desktop hardware and software), then end-user issues (forgotten passwords, relocating computers, outsourcing hardware, loading software), then other issues (workshops setups, inventory, quotes, audiovisuals).  School administrators and media coordinators should call the district office immediately in the event a network or Internet problem occurs. Other end users should not call the district office unless it is a login or password issue.

    Phone System Repairs

    All phone system repairs should be entered into the technology work order system.  A TO-5 form ( the school secretary has them) should be completely filled out, signed by the principal, and forwarded to Teneka Newsome at the Central Office.  The Technology Department will contact the state Information Technology Service and put in a work ticket to CenturyLink.  Do not call the phone company directly for a phone repair service.

    Obtaining an Account

    To obtain an account that allows you to access the network, please see the technology contact for your building.  Usually this person is the media coordinator, data manager or the principal. The technology contact in each building is responsible for requesting network and email accounts from the Network Administrator and providing basic end-user training in the use of these accounts. If you are new to the building, please make contact with your technology representative first and then alert the technology department as soon as possible.

    Changing Passwords

    You should always take care to protect your password! If you feel that someone has discovered your password, please change it as soon as possible. Please do not write down your password and store it next to your computer or anywhere else that someone could easily find it. With your password, someone could access your information or do things that will get charged to you. Follow the guidelines listed below when choosing a password:

    Your password should be at least 6 characters long. The longer the password, the harder it is for someone to guess. Don't make it so long that typing it in becomes a chore. A good rule of thumb is 6 to 8 characters long.

    Your password should be a mix of alphabetic, numeric, and special (!@#$%&*?) characters. This also makes it harder to guess. A good rule of thumb is to have at least two non-alphabetic characters in your password.

    Your password should not be a word found in an English dictionary. There are programs that are readily available that will try every word in the dictionary against your login and can do so in a matter of a few minutes. If you use a word, make sure that you mix numbers or special characters with it.

    Your password can have both upper and lowercase letters, but some programs are sensitive when it comes to passwords, so remember your password exactly as you entered  it.

    Your password cannot contain spaces.

    Your password should not be something easily associated with you. You should not use things like: your first or last name, your birthday, your nickname, your child's name, your school's name, your pet's name, etc. Also, do not use the same password for all of your logins.