Answers to common technical support questions asked by our users.

I'm Having an Emergency And Can't Wait!

We pride ourselves on offering the highest quality of service to our users and part of that is not ignoring people in crisis. If you have an urgent need, please let us know and we'll do our best to accommodate your need. Please refer to our About page for individual contact information if you need to escalate an issue

Does It Cost Money to Ask a Simple Question?

No! We are here to help all of our users and we want you to come to us any time you have a problem.  We do not generally recharge for our services other than web development.  If you need to purchase hardware or software in order to advance your research or work, please don't hesitate to contact us before making a purchase.  We love to help people get the right equipment or solutions they need the first time, without spending more than they need to.

Can a Computer With a Foreign Operating System Be on the Network.

Unfortunately, we no longer allow computers with solely foreign operating systems to be connected to the LSN after dealing with catastrophic failures on multiple systems and a limited level of confidence in being able to help them back up, etc. Many modern operating systems can be configured to provide an English interface alongside the foreign one, which would allow their connection to the Network. If you have a modern system with a single language installed, please contact us for details on how to add an English language pack to your system before we network it.

What is a Hostname?

The hostname is the name by which the server recognizes a networked device (i.e., computer, printer, etc.). An example of a printer hostname is: maroonfive.cit.ucsb.edu

How Can I Tell You How You're Doing Without Your Knowing It's Me?

We're here to help our users and it's crucial that we know how we're doing. If you have feedback for us (good or bad), please use the Anonymous Feedback Form. It will be read by management staff only. Thank you in advance for your help in improving our services!