UF Computing Help Desk
Laptop and Handheld Consulting
- Consulting services
- Appointments
- Laptop Drop-Off
- What you must bring to the session
- Charged services
- Excluded services.
Consulting Services
Clients who walk-in to HUB 132 with their laptop or handheld device can receive hands-on consulting if consultants are available. If consultants are not available, an appointment can be made. Consultants will evaluate your device for FREE.
Laptop and handheld session topics include:
- Configuring and troubleshooting campus dialup, DHNet, walkup, VPN and wireless network connections
- Configuring and troubleshooting email software for GatorLink, NERSP or Grove Unix email services
- Settings and use of telnet and file transfer software
- Installation and setup of virus scan and anti-spyware software
- Hard drive, RAM and limited hardware installation
- Operation System Reformat & Installation (with and without backup)
Walk-in laptop/handheld consulting sessions are scheduled based on availability which normally limits them to one session per client per week.
Appointments
Due to demand, the Help Desk recommends calling to make an appointment before walking-in. If you do not have an appointment, you will be offered the option to wait or to make an appointment for laptop consulting. Appointments are normally scheduled for 1 hour, depending on the situation.
Laptop Drop-Off
UF Faculty, staff and students now have the option of dropping their laptops off with the Help Desk for a specific set of issues. Issues handled by the laptop drop-off technicians are limited to the following:
- Operating system reformats
- RAM and Hard drive replacement
- Data recovery*
When you come in to drop off your laptop there will be a brief consultation about your specific situation and what files you may need data recovery. Expect for the drop off process to take 10 minutes at the time of the appointment. Turnaround time for dropped off laptops is expected to be 24-48 hours during the business week, if your laptop is going to take longer for any reason you will be contacted by the Help Desk.
What you must bring to the session
This section is for all of our laptop services, including laptop drop-offs.
Please come to HUB 132 for a previously arranged appointment.
Bring the power supply and other cables, peripheral devices and the Operating System and Utility CDs for the device. Also bring any wireless/ethernet card driver software or other software that may be needed during the session. Technical documentation on the device in question (e.g. the modem technical specifications, if this was for dialup) is also helpful.
For consultant appointments, you must stay with the consultant during the session. Drop-offs are offered by specific laptop drop-off appointment only and need to be scheduled as such ahead of time.
Charged Services
Certain services or extended sessions incur a charge. You will be given the option to accept the charge, which is billed through Financial Services, before a session is extended or a charged service is started. Current available services:
| Laptop Service Charges | Price |
Computer Evaluation |
FREE |
Hardware Installation |
$10 |
Hardware Installation (advanced) |
$20 |
Spyware and/or Virus Scan/Removal |
$35 |
Miscellaneous Service |
$20 |
Operating System: Reformat & Reinstall (w/o backup) |
$25 |
Operating System: Reformat & Reinstall (w/backup - using 1-2 DVD's (or no DVDs) |
$30 |
Operating System: Reformat & Reinstall (w/backup - using 3-4 DVD's) |
$35 |
Operating System: Reformat & Reinstall (w/backup - using 5-6 DVD's) |
$40 |
Backup of Personal Files (1-2 DVD's) |
$10 |
Backup of Personal Files (3-4 DVD's) |
$15 |
Backup of Personal Files (5-6 DVD's) |
$20 |
Extended Backup (requires drive rebuild) |
$20 |
| Drop-Off Service Charges | Price |
Initial Drop-Off charge |
$35 |
Backup Charges (applied to all data backed up) |
$.50 per gigabyte |
Excluded Services
The following services are NOT offered by the Help Desk. You will want to contact your vendor or a local service center for this type of work.
- Most hardware maintenance and repair
- Consultation on class assignment tasks
- Walk-in installations or configurations on desktop computers
Note that the Help Desk reserves the right to end any consulting session due to hardware issues, software incompatibility or corruption or other circumstances that require vendor assistance.
*Recovery of certain types of lost data may not be possible without hardware recovery solutions not provided by the University.
