Tech by PC

That is what I heard from a Microsoft trainer recently. Does anyone have any direct knowledge of whether this is true or not? The problem with any metric like this is that there are so many more variables than just Windows Vista and Windows XP. For example, take a 3-year old Windows XP machine and refresh it with a brand new PC and a fresh operating system and I guarantee help desk calls will go down, at least temporarily.

Here are some possible reasons that Vista may cut down on your help desk calls.

As I mentioned, a new operating system carries with it none of the baggage of an OS that has been used for three years. When we did a refresh three and a half years ago there was an immediate and significant drop in help desk calls related to operating system issues. Simply using an operating system and uninstalling, reinstalling, and upgrading software packages can leave a large amount of stray garbage on a computer. There are some third party software packages mostly designed for the home user that promise to clean up this garbage or keep it off a computer in the first place. My experience with these tools is that they can cause as many problems as they might solve.

Vista, because it partitions the operating system from applications better than any Windows previous, has a better chance of resisting this accumulated garbage over time than ever before. I am a big offender as far as installing and uninstalling programs just to test them out. The laptop that I use all the time has had four different antivirus packages on it since 20 months ago when I loaded Vista on it and has never been reloaded. My workstation at work turns 2 years old at the end of this month. I installed Vista Enterprise on it within days of RTM. That computer takes even more abuse than my laptop as I have at one time or another loaded almost every software package anyone uses on it, to the point where I uninstall something every time I want to install something new now. My laptop operates faster than the day I first installed Vista, and with fewer problems. How can an operating system get faster over time? Precaching has something to do with it. Service Pack 1 had much more to do with it. Either way, my laptop (Dell XPS M1210) is the most stable computer I have ever used ever.

A third reason, as proposed by the Microsoft guy, is Vista’s much improved help system. Some tinfoil types, myself possibly included, may see Vista’s constant communication with Microsoft as something negative, however it was that communication that fixed a Quickcam problem my laptop had when Dell did not. Vista’s context sensivite help goes out to the Internet, and I have noticed help pages change over time. I suppose this is a valid point - if the operating system helps a user help themselves, then it is less likely they will pick up the phone and call the help desk.

Now for the opposing reasons, or how Vista increases the amount of help desk calls. It should be no surprising fact to you, the reader, that Microsoft has a public relations problem with Vista. Apple has capitalized on it so well that it is able to make ridiculous statements in its commercials and get away with them. No one questions anything negative about Vista anymore. While we still struggle with the decision of whether or not to move to Vista this refresh cycle or wait another three years, the biggest complaints about Vista come from users who have heard something negative about it. These views are so prevalent that some users have thrown up their hands in frustration at the slightest hint of a problem and immediately involved the help desk. Their questions are laced with loathing for this “Vista thing” that is causing them to be less productive. Their problem, more often than not, is completely unrelated to Vista. More commonly is is related to a training issue with Office 2007, which made significant changes in every application except Outlook.

My second opposing reason is that some programs will no longer work as expected. This is most commonly seen with the types of software that we did not want on our computers in the first place. A screen saver that one user paid for no longer works. An alternative Explorer program that another user paid for has terrible performance when it works, and can no longer replace Explorer. You get the idea. These are things that are unlikely to generate a help desk call (”You want what to work?”) however when they do they can be among the most annoying calls.

For the most part I am out of the help desk business, although everyone helps out when it is needed. This affects me only in so far as I need to try to minimize the number of calls that the help desk will get. Is it better to go with tried and true Windows XP and be guaranteed a reduction in help desk calls, or go with Vista and take the chance that some of these technologies may actually improve things beyond anything we have experienced before?

I will revisit this subject when we decide one way or the other and report back.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 5:55 pm and is filed under Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.