Computers are great, but inevitably there will come a time when something doesn’t work as intended. Those who sometimes struggle with technology can spend hours hunting for answers on the Internet, getting more and more frustrated.
The solution is often to get someone more experienced with computers to take a look at your device. But visiting in person might be expensive or impractical.
Luckily, many operating systems can enable someone to remotely access your computer to help you out. And in this article, we’re going to look at how remote desktop software can be used to solve some common IT problems.
1. Emails not working
This is one of the most common causes of computer frustration. You’ve created a new email account and you’re trying to set it up in your email software. But you can’t send or receive, or maybe both.
The solution is most likely due to incorrect settings, but sometimes what you’ve missed is something small like not ticking a checkbox or updating a port number.
Using remote access software, an IT professional can either take control of your device, or you can screen share with them while they explain to you what you need to do. Once able to see all the settings, the technician can usually identify the problem quickly and get you up and running.
2. Internet is really slow
Also high on the list of the most frustrating computer-related problems is slow Internet. You might have a plan with supposedly very fast download speeds, but everything takes much longer than you think it should.
Most often this happens when you’re trying to connect wirelessly using WiFi. The solution might be that new drivers for your modem or router need to be installed. Or maybe spyware or viruses on your computer are the sources of the problem.
A technician who has remote computer access will be able to troubleshoot these possible scenarios and install and configure whatever is necessary to fix the problem.
3. Computer running slowly
Your Internet might be working OK, but your computer, in general, is just very slow. Opening and closing applications takes ages, and a lot of the time you’re wondering why nothing seems to be happening.
Hard drives running out of disk space can often cause computers to slow down. Or maybe you’ve installed lots of apps over time that are all running silently in the background, competing for your computer’s resources.
With remote desktop software, your computer’s hard drive and system configuration can be audited to identify areas that could be slowing things down.
4. Setting up a backup strategy
It’s not something that everyone thinks of, but it should be. Computer hard drives often fail, and if you only have single copies of your important files on your computer, you risk losing everything if the hard drive goes down.
So it’s important to have a backup strategy that involves copying your computer’s data to more than one location. That other location might be an external hard drive connected to your local network, or it might be a cloud backup server. It’s actually a good idea to have both to be doubly secure.
Setting up backups initially can be tricky if you’re not that tech-savvy, so it might be a job better suited to an IT pro with remote computer access.
5. Printer not working
Being unable to print is another common IT problem. And similar to slow Internet issues, it could be related to the drivers or firmware for your printer that are installed on your computer.
Updating these doesn’t usually take long, but finding them in the first place is often difficult for those who don’t really know what they’re looking for. An experienced IT technician will be able to quickly locate the required software on the printer manufacturer’s website and install it from their remote PC.
6. Certain programs not working on new computers
So you’ve just bought a new computer and tried to fire up your favorite program, but it wouldn’t start or you got an error message and it quit.
Not all old software programs will work on newer operating systems. For some, unfortunately, it means you won’t be able to use that program anymore. Others might still work if the software is upgraded or other components are installed on your computer.
In the same way that an IT technician can install updates to fix Internet or printer problems remotely, they can assist with problems with old programs.
7. Computer keeps restarting
These sorts of problems are often hard to diagnose. One of the things to check is that critical system drivers are up to date, for example, drivers for your graphics card, motherboard, and network card. Many of these can be updated remotely over the Internet.
Other possible sources of trouble can be viruses or adware. If your computer doesn’t have any antivirus software, it might be time to install one. An experienced technician can recommend an antivirus package suitable for your needs and install it remotely.
8. Popup ads keep appearing
This is also usually related to adware or malware which may have been inadvertently installed on your computer. There are many programs out there which will claim to clean your computer for you and make it faster. Some will do very little and some nothing at all. So how do you know which one to install?
To get the best result, you often need to turn to a professional with extensive experience using these sorts of utilities. Installing these programs can easily be done by someone with the right knowledge via remote desktop software.
Summary
Having problems with your computer can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be an expensive or time-consuming exercise to get it fixed.
As we have explained, by using one of the best remote desktop software products available, IT professionals don’t need to be sitting in front of your computer to be able to solve many common problems.
If a technician doesn’t have to visit you, that saves you money. And if you don’t have to visit a store, that saves you time.
- Read our guide to the best remote desktop software
