This document provides tips for non-technical staff or volunteers to support basic information technology needs for their organization on an occasional basis. It outlines common types of short-term IT projects that are well-suited for occasional support and provides recommendations for basic computer setup, maintenance, troubleshooting, and additional resources.

1. Tips for the Accidental Techie
Andy Wolber
andy@highwayt.org
@highwayt

3. www.dimdim.com

4. http://highwayt.org/resources

5. 29% <Contract on an as-needed basis
25% In-house MIS staff
22% Tech support w/1 or more
providers
13% No formal approach to IT support
9% Volunteers to our agency
2% Friends and family of staff
Source: Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management Study, 2008. Survey of 330
nonprofit organizations.

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Source: NTEN 2006 Nonprofit IT Staffing Survey Report.

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Short term projects
Projects that have an easily definable end
Projects that aren’t time sensitive
Projects that aren’t critical

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Issues that require significant, rarely needed
expertise
One-time projects
Server configuration / upgrade / migration
Database development
Multi-site integration
Phone system setup

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Initial troubleshooting
Triaging issues before escalating externally
Projects that require immediate assistance
Maintaining critical documentation
Direction for others implementing long-term
projects

10. By Sue
Bennett

11. Office.Microsoft.com

12. www.nten.org

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Documentation

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Keep documentation "in the bag"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/srharris/3643864625/

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One binder to ring them all.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/span112/3503394977/

16. http://hwyt.me/NPNotebook

17. http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html#faq

19. http://hwyt.me/SpiceworksInv

20. www.evernote.com

21. Label printers, routers
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniewoo/27698222/

22. Flashdrives: programs, drivers & text files
http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-s-y/3895688671/

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Basic Setup

24. techguide.npowermichigan.org

25. $800+
1-year
warranty
5-year life
$1,300+
3-year
warranty
3-year life
www.toshibadirect.com: NB305 (left); www.dell.com: Vostro (middle), Dell Latitude E6410 (right)
$400+
1-year
warranty
3-year life

26. Standardize on Corporate Make, Models

27. www.crucial.com

28. Sugges
t
1 - 2
Gb
Suggest
2 - 4+ Gb
Also know that Windows versions have varying maximum RAM limits.

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31. ${#}
10 / 100 / 1000
Mbps

32. http://home.cisco.com/en-us/wireless/linksys/

33. http://hp.com/go/learningcenter

34. ${#}

35. http://hwyt.me/GavinWHS

37. www.OpenDNS.com

38. http://hwyt.me/SANSpolicy

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Password Password Password

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System Setup

41. Standard Setup using www.Checkvist.com

42. www.pcdecrapifier.com

43. "If you have tried out the PC
Decrapifier and you would like
to use this program for
commercial purposes, you will
require a commercial license.
The cost is $20 per "technician"
(not per PC), which is really a
bargain considering how much
time you can save by using this
program."

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update.microsoft.com

45. http://hwyt.me/TechSoupOffice

47. http://hwyt.me/OfficeAtHome

48. http://j.mp/CompatibilityPack

49. http://hwyt.me/PDFOffice2007

50. http://hwyt.me/NIS2010

51. http://hwyt.me/TSEndpoint

52. http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

53. http://chrome.google.com

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Maintenance &
Cleaning

58. http://j.mp/WJBc

59. www.ccleaner.com

60. ${#}

61. ${#}

62. www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag

63. http://hwyt.me/Spybot

64. http://hwyt.me/FixWin

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Troubleshooting

66. http://hwyt.me/optimizewindows

67. www.microsoft.com/athome/

68. www.microsoft.com/atwork/

69. www.slipstick.com

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Reboot

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Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore

73. http://hwyt.me/Win7Recovery

74. http://hwyt.me/DriveImageXML

75. www.LogMeIn.com

76. http://www.zolved.com/remote_control

77. http://www.google.com/advanced_search

78. ${#}

79. http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

80. http://hwyt.me/RetrevoPrinters

81. http://gethuman.com/customer-service.html

82. ${#}
www.techfinder.org

83. www.delicious.com/highwayt