The IT Department of The King’s College provides basic technology support to students, which includes the following:
  • Connecting to and troubleshooting issues with campus network resources (e.g. internet, student portal)
  • Using the technology in the library including PC workstations and printers
  • Assisting with basic use of classroom technology
Members of the IT staff are not permitted to assist students with the following:

  • Removal of a virus
  • Replacement of broken computer components (including but not limited to - LCD screens, casings, hard drives)
  • Upgrading computer components
  • Recovering lost data
However, we are happy to recommend several services that may address the support issues we cannot address on campus. For service to remedy both physical damage to a computer and software issues (including virus removal) we recommend the following:

PC USERS

  • PC users should first contact the manufacturer of their laptop and inquire whether the damage sustained is covered by warranty. Below is a short list of contact information for some major vendors:


  • As a secondary means of obtaining support, students may find the Geek Squad at Best Buy retail stores helpful in solving many hardware issues for out of warranty computers. The nearest Best Buy Geek Squad service center to campus is at 622 Broadway, which is located by the Prince Street N & R station and the Broadway-Lafayette B, D, F & M station. For more information on this service, please visit http://bestbuy.com/geeksquad
MAC USERS

  • Mac users should first inquire about the warranty status of their equipment using the following contact information. Computers under warranty should only be serviced by an authorized Apple Authorized Service Provider, as other repairs and upgrades may void a warranty.
    • Apple - 1-800-275-2273 or http://www.apple.com/support/
    • In addition, we highly recommend using the Genius Bar repair service at the Apple Store, which covers computers both in and out of warranty. The nearest location to campus is the Apple Store Soho, located at 130 Prince Street, which is located by the Prince Street N & R station and the Broadway-Lafayette B, D, F & M station. You may make a Genius Bar appointment online and find more information about this service at http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/
    • A good independent Apple Authorized Service Provider that services in and out of warranty Macs, iPods, iPhones and iPads is Tekserve, which is located at 119 West 23rd Street. You may contact them at http://www.tekserve.com/ or by calling 212-929-3645.
SELF-UPGRADES

Students with computers that have a valid warranty should not upgrade components within their computers without first consulting the manufacturer to ensure that upgraded components meet certain quality specifications and will be covered under that warranty. However, there may arise a need to upgrade or replace certain parts of a computer, and IT recommends the following vendors as a resource.

PC hard drives, RAM modules, and other peripherals

  • NewEgg.com provides many of these components at a discounted rate and often with a warranty. Please note that a warranty for a replacement part is usually limited to the part itself, and would not cover damage that part causes to other components within a user’s computer.
MAC hard drives, RAM modules, and other peripherals

  • Other World Computing (macsales.com) provides specific recommendations based on the model of computer you are looking to upgrade. You can go to http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/ to select your model and obtain the list of parts available for that machine. Because of the complexity of upgrading components within a Macintosh computer, we recommend first consulting an Apple Authorized Service Provider before purchasing and attempting to upgrade components on your own.
DATA RECOVERY

If files have become corrupted or lost on a users computer there are several software options for recovering that data. For PC users, File Scavenger is a recommended option. It can be purchased here: http://www.quetek.com/prod02.htm for $49. For Mac users, Data Rescue 3 is a recommended option. It can be purchased here: http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php for $99.

While there are also companies that can restore data from physically damaged hard drives, these services are often exorbitantly costly ($1000+) and not guaranteed to be successful. Noting this we recommend that users be proactive and backup important data on either an external hard drive (available from NewEgg.com and Other World Computing - macsales.com, as well as most electronics retailers) and/or use a cloud-based backup solution such as Dropbox (dropbox.com), CrashPlan (crashplan.com) or Carbonite (carbonite.com) just to name a few.

CONTACTING TKC IT

Student support requests can be directed to helpdesk@tkc.edu and helpful IT information can be found at http://helpdesk.tkc.edu. Depending on your issue we can either arrange to provide support directly, or recommend a specific solution given the information provided in this document.