Unit Project

You get an email from a frantic customer. He bought a computer from you that you built. You built a computer that has the following configuration:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo e6700
Motherboard: ASUS Commando
Video Card: ATI x1900 XTX
RAM: 2 1GB sticks of OCZ PC6400 for a total of 2GBs of physical memory
Hard Drives: 2 500GB Maxtor Sata2

OS: Vista Ultimate

He emails you this frantic question.

“Okay the computer is sweet, but I really wanted to be able to game and decode video at the same time, and sometimes listen to music. So I decided to add more RAM. I got two sticks of 1 GB of the same kind of RAM. When I boot up the RAM seems like it’s there. But when I go into Task Manager, there’s only 3 GB of memory showing!

Here’s a screen shot of what I was seeing:

So then I thought, “I’ll just reinstall Vista because maybe it’s my OS.” So I get the DVD you gave me and I start the installation, and it stops and I get an error that is something like this:

STOP 0x0000000A - IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Now I can’t even reinstall Vista and I want to throw the computer off a bridge! Your computer SUCKS! I think there’s something wrong with my motherboard! HELP!

Task One: Create a list of words that must be defined in order to answer the customer’s question.

Task Two: Develop a list of questions that must be answered before you can begin fulfilling the customer needs. Email those questions to the customer. Be sure to ask him about his current problem and his future needs. Obviously he felt like he needed to upgrade, so you want to ask him why.

Task Three: Research the problem based on what you know from him.

Task Four: Write a description of what the problem is. Be very specific and reassure him that while he is frustrated, there is a fix.

Task Five: Develop a step by step list of THREE options he could take to resolve this problem. Use screenshots support all three options. Be sure to write the proposal in complete sentences. Be nice! You want him to return and not badmouth you to all of his gamer geek friends!

Task Six: Create a package to send back to him that explains what he is doing wrong and how to rectify the situation. (Note: There is a specific answer to this problem, but it isn’t an easy one.) Include in your package maybe an alternative to what he actually did (adding the RAM) to deal with being able to do a lot of processor heavy things.

Task Seven: Create a complete proposal that outlines what you can do for the customer. Include drawings and images, price quotes, and other items as applicable.