Things you should no to avert calling for help:

 1. You should know how to save and back up your work.

Almost every person with a personal computer has a tendency to assume that it will never die, yet every computer sooner or later does just that. That general assumption is what drives all the stupidity that happens around simple things. Most emergencies on a daily basis are because someone's laptop dies on the same day they need a proposal or report into someone. It always comes down to backup.

Many people wrongly assume that they have no role in the backup or recovery process, and are often surprised to learn that their work isn't automatically backed up for them.

 Educate yourself on how your computer backs up and recovers. Reading the manual could save you two weeks' trouble. It's pretty easy to save your work on any drive where it can be backed up.

 In addition to understanding the different places that their work can be saved, members should also understand the difference between "Save" and "Save As."

 2. You and you alone are responsible for knowing your passwords.

 "You should know how to create, remember and change secure passwords for all personal accounts, applications and resources.

Better yet, if you need to write down your password, you should do so in a way that does not announce to all passers-by your low opinion of the importance of security.

 We see people with their passwords on a sticky note on their monitor all the time. 'Because I wanted to remember it!' they'll say. But what they meant was they didn't want to be inconvenienced by having to look it up.

3. You should know how to e-mail effectively, securely and efficiently.

It may seem common sense to not respond to an e-mail phishing attempt or spam, or to not click on an attachment in an e-mail from an unknown source, yet as long as these security threats exist, someone will inevitably, either by accident or because they were markedly misinformed, fall for them. The results could cripple a computer.

Beyond the obvious "big bads" of e-mail security are the effective managing of the quantity and information contained in electronic messages. Unnecessary messages should be deleted, sent and deleted items shouldn't be used as a saved items repository, and folders should be created to organize saved items.

There are users that absolutely don't know how to manage their e-mail or storage space. Their mailboxes end up filling up and they can't receive mail anymore.

And most gravely, don't send a piece of chain mail to 20 people that you know.

E-mail was meant to be short, concise communication. Before you forward something, just assume that you're really not that great of a source of information. You're not a journalist. You send something to 10 people who each send it to another 10, and it's a huge drain on resources.

4.  You should troubleshoot before calling for help.

In the case of the stranger (cough) who hit the panic button and called for help when his computer seemed to be broken, any number of troubleshooting techniques may have averted a help desk call.

Things that could have saved a call: Is the computer plugged in? Are the lights on the printer on? Is there paper in the paper tray? Is the right tray selected? Is the network cable plugged into the wall as well as your computer? Is your monitor turned on.

Another item that any member can easily check for is repeatability.

"Is the printing problem in more than one program? You can quickly figure out if it's a printing issue or an application issue,"

 On the more technical side, but still a potential timesaver, is to learn the basic first-response tasks that any help desk worker would try first.

 It's amazing how many people don't reboot before calling for help. It solves a million problems.