We stand behind NetSwitcher software and truly want to make it
work for you.
Please read the following information before calling or
emailing any information so that we can best understand your
situation and therefore offer the best support possible.
NetSwitcher is a TECHNICAL tool and in most cases, we need
DETAILED and SPECIFIC information about your system, the versions
of software involved and what exactly is or is not happening as
you expect.
You'd be amazed at the number of support requests that
basically say:
"It's not working, please fix your software
right away."
We don't even know exactly what
"it" is or what part of "it" is not working. In fact, we
don't even know for sure that NetSwitcher is involved. Yes,
people DO contact us about OTHER software.
How to get support:
1) DON'T UNINSTALL/RE-INSTALL NetSwitcher.
Yes, this often helps with Microsoft and other complex software
but in NetSwitcher's case it rarely helps. It also may make diagnosing
your problem MORE DIFFICULT.
By the way, while I'm on this topic, BE SURE you
have actually installed NetSwitcher before reporting problems.
Yes, some people have written or called and asked why NetSwitcher
wasn't working when, in fact, they merely downloaded the installer
from the web site but NEVER installed it.
Get your site or network administrator to assist you if you are
unfamiliar with installing software.
If you have problems or the installer crashes, then the problem
is either with your system or you have a corrupted download.
I really can't do anything about this since the installer is a 3rd
party product which I have no control over. In almost all
cases problems here are due to download issues and
cannot be solved by us.
2) Check the FAQ and RELEASE NOTES, your issue might have already
been resolved. Also check to make sure you're using the
LATEST version of NetSwitcher. We only support the
CURRENT release and so if you're using an older version our FIRST
recommendation will be to upgrade to the current version and try
again. It's quite possible that your problem is already
fixed in a newer release. Check the release notes and see if
that may be the case.
Version 3.x FAQ
RELEASE NOTES
3)
Check the Yahoo! Groups
discussion for your issue:
Click to subscribe to the NetSwitcher discussion on Yahoo!
4) Be sure your problem is
with NetSwitcher. Many
contacts say things like "my network stopped working..." or "I can't
receive my email..." or "I can't browse the internet...", etc.
We usually cannot help with these things as they are not a problem
with NetSwitcher. Your network might be down or your ISP
offline. Perhaps you used NetSwitcher to CHANGE SOMETHING in
your setup to an incorrect value. These are not problems with NetSwitcher and we cannot help.
Be sure you understand how your network, email, browser, etc.
SHOULD BE setup and make sure that it
IS SETUP that way.
We don't provide "general network"
support, web browser support, Windows networking support, or email
client or server support. Please contact the people or
companies responsible for supporting these services.
Here's a link
to a BASIC NETWORK DEBUGGING document.
Perhaps it
will help you out.
Microsoft also has a Knowledge Base
article on network debugging.
Read through it here:
MS Network Debug
5) Once you've identified
your issue as a real NetSwitcher problem, we need to know some basic
information:
a) NetSwitcher version.
Please be SPECIFIC. All NetSwitcher versions have a version
identifier and it is clearly displayed in the window and the ABOUT
screen. Be sure that you are using a version of NetSwitcher
from a reliable source. In our view, the only reliable place
to download NetSwitcher is
http://www.netswitcher.com. Oh, and please don't contact
us about supporting a hacked version of NetSwitcher. Yes,
there are such things out there and some even are infected with
trojan software. No, we didn't create these and no we will
not support you with getting them to work or removing the trojan.
Sorry, you get what you pay for....
b) Windows version.
There are significant differences between the various Windows
releases and so there are differences in NetSwitcher to accommodate
them. Please be specific and include any SERVICE PACK
information. Be sure you are running NetSwitcher on a
supported platform. Currently, the only supported platforms
are:
Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP.
NetSwitcher _may_ work properly on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows
2000 Server, and Windows 2003 Server but we don't support these
platforms. If you have a problem on one of them, please verify
that your problems is also present on a supported platform before
contacting us.
c) Accessory program
versions. If your problem
centers about IE, Navigator, or some other tool supported by
NetSwitcher, be sure to include details about the versions of these
tools.
d) Details about
any 3rd party network tools or clients you are using. Things
like VPN clients, protocols, network "shims", security tools,
personal firewalls, etc. can affect your system and may be
significant.
e) A SPECIFIC
and DETAILED
description of the problem. Please avoid ambiguous terms like
"it", "doesn't work", "fails", "breaks", etc. Say things like:
"when I clicked the such-and-such button I got an error message that
said so-and-so..." If you can capture images of your problem,
please do so. Try to reproduce the problem and document the
steps. If we can reproduce a problem it's very likely that we
can fix it. If we CANNOT duplicate it, it's almost impossible
to fix it since we usually can't determine the problem.
f) A CRASH REPORT
can be very valuable in many instances. If your system
produces one, then please include it with your error report.
All versions of Windows except XP generate either a crash dialog or
a DRWATSON report by default. XP generates the "send
information to Microsoft..." dialog. This is not helpful to
us. Please see the
MICROSOFT KB for information
on how to caused your system to generate a Dr. Watson error report.
6) Once you gathered up the
information THEN you're ready
to contact us. The BEST
way is to EMAIL the information.
