Abstract:
Diagnostic apparatus for computers, including a diagnoser that connects to a PC, including an SD connector for connecting the diagnoser to an SD port of a PC, a storage medium for storing diagnostic program code that automatically runs on the PC via the SD connector, in response to connecting the diagnoser to the SD port of the PC, wherein the diagnostic program code performs specific diagnostic tests on the PC in response to input instructions, and generates test results as output, a modem for receiving input instructions from a remote online help-desk facility, specifying which diagnostic tests the diagnostic program code should perform on the PC, and for transmitting the test results to the help-desk facility, and a processor for controlling the storage medium and the modem.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The field of the present invention is computer technical support. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The advancement of computer technology and the affordability of fast microprocessors and large storage disks has led to the proliferation of powerful computers among consumers. One of the challenges in keeping pace with the ever expanding market of personal computers, is providing technical support for computer-related problems. Conventional technical support is provided via help desk support, via phone calls, vie websites, via e-mail and, in case of difficult problems, via technician house calls. 
         [0003]    A growing service that has emerged in the past years is that of the online help-desk. Online help-desks originally used voice conversation or chat messaging for technical support. Currently, some online help desks use remote control applications, which enable a technician to remotely interact with an afflicted computer over the Internet, or over a company LAN. Such remote control applications may provide the technician with the same level of control as if he were sitting in front of the afflicted computer itself. Examples of such remote control applications include (i) PCAnywhere® developed and marketed by Symantec Corporation of Cupertino, Calif., (ii) Bomgar™ PC remote control software developed and marketed by Bomgar Corporation of Ridgeland, Miss., (iii) UltraVNC PC remote control software developed and marketed by Ultr@VNC, and (iv) NetSupport 24-7 developed and marketed by NetSupport, Inc. of Alpharetta, Ga. Some remote control applications integrate voice conversation and text chat with customer support, during a support session, such as (v) Linktivity®, marketed and developed by Inter-Tel, Inc. of Tucson, Ariz. 
         [0004]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 1 , which is a prior art illustration of an online help-desk system. Shown in  FIG. 1  is an afflicted personal computer (PC)  100 , which connects to a remote help-desk  110  via an Internet gateway  120 . Computer  100  runs remote control software that enables a technician using help-desk  110  to take control of computer  100 , including keyboard and mouse input control, with output displayed to the technician. In particular, the technician is able to run diagnostic testing tools such as anti-virus software and registry scan software, and see the results of the tests. 
         [0005]    A drawback with current help-desk technology is that it requires an operational Internet connection. As such, in cases where there is no available Internet connection or if the problem itself is lack of Internet connectivity, online help-desk support is useless. 
         [0006]    It would thus be of advantage to have a help-desk technology that provides remote technical support without requiring that the afflicted computer be able to connect to the Internet. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION 
       [0007]    Aspects of the present invention concern methods and systems for providing remote online help-desk technical support to a personal computer (PC) that is not fully operational, including circumstances where the PC is unable to connect to the Internet. The present invention includes a diagnostic device, referred to herein as a “diagnoser”, which connects to the PC and remotely communicates with a remote online help-desk facility. 
         [0008]    The diagnoser is generally used in combination with voice communication between a user of the PC and a help-desk support person. The help-desk support person guides the user in performing several actions, until the help-desk support person is able to take control of the PC. Such actions include inter alia connecting the diagnoser to the PC, turning the PC off and on, and selecting an option from a menu displayed on the screen. For user&#39;s that are not skilled with technical support operations, voice communication enables the help-desk person to explain each action to the user. 
         [0009]    The diagnoser includes boot instructions in its disk drive and, as such, can be used to boot the PC when it is connected to the PC. The diagnoser also includes diagnostic testing program code, which the PC runs from the diagnoser&#39;s disk, that scans and tests the PC. The diagnoser further includes a modem that provides a wireless communication socket with the remote online help-desk facility. 
         [0010]    Thus, by using the diagnoser of the present invention, together with PC remote control software, a technical support person at a remote online help-desk facility, is able to run diagnostic scans tests on the afflicted PC and view the scan and test results, in order to resolve the problem with the PC, without requiring that the PC have Internet connectivity. It will thus be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the afflicted PC is unable to make an Internet connection, the online help-desk facility is nevertheless able to remotely control the PC via use of the diagnoser of the present invention, to run diagnostic scans and tests, and to provide the necessary technical support. 
         [0011]    There is thus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention a diagnostic system for computers, including a connector interface for connecting the diagnostic system to a PC, a storage medium for storing executable instructions that boot the PC when the diagnostic system is connected to the connector interface, for storing diagnostic testing program code that scans and tests the PC, and for storing a phone number for a remote online help-desk facility, a modem for communicating wirelessly with the online help-desk facility when the PC is not fully operational, and for enabling the remote online help-desk facility to remotely run the diagnostic testing program code on the PC and view the results, an audio system for enabling voice communication between a user and a representative at the remote online help-desk facility, and a processor for controlling the storage medium, the modem and the audio system. 
         [0012]    There is moreover provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention a method for diagnosing a computer that is not fully operational, including enabling voice communication between a user and a representative at a remote on-line help-desk facility, communicatively connecting a diagnostic system (i) to a PC that is not fully operational, and (ii) to the online help-desk facility, booting the PC from a disk drive on the diagnostic system, remotely running diagnostic testing program code stored in the diagnostic system on the PC, from the online help-desk facility, and remotely viewing the results of the diagnostic testing program code, from the online help-desk facility. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a prior art illustration of an online help-desk system; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a system for online technical support using a diagnoser device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram of a diagnoser device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a picture of a physical diagnoser, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a simplified flowchart for operation of a diagnoser device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Aspects of the present invention relate to providing remote technical support for a PC that is unable to connect to the Internet. The present invention includes a diagnostic device, referred to as a “diagnoser”, the enables a remote online help-desk facility to run diagnostic scans and tests on the PC, where the diagnostic program code resides on the diagnoser&#39;s disk. The diagnoser is also able to boot the PC, in case the PC&#39;s operating system is not functional. The diagnoser also provides a voice channel for audio guidance. 
         [0020]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 2 , which Is an illustration of a system for online technical support using a diagnoser, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Shown in  FIG. 2  is an afflicted PC  100  that requires technical support from a remote help-desk  110 . Help-desk  110  is accessible over the Internet via a gateway  120 . However, computer  100  may not be able to connect to the Internet. 
         [0021]    Also shown in  FIG. 2  is a diagnoser  130  that is able to communicate with help-desk  110  even when computer  100  is unable to do so by itself. Diagnoser  130  includes a cellular modem, and connects to the Internet via a cellular base station  140 . Diagnoser  130  provides a cellular link to computer  100 , and also provides diagnostics software to computer  100 . Diagnoser  130  functions as a mediator for storing appropriate diagnostic software, or downloading such software from server computers, and running the software on computer  100 . 
         [0022]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, diagnoser  130  is connected to computer  100  via a USB or an SD connection. Diagnoser  130 &#39;s storage is thus exposed to computer  100 , and computer  100  is able to run the diagnostics software remotely from diagnose  130 ′s memory. 
         [0023]    Depending on the criticality of computer  100 &#39;s state, there are two modes of diagnostics. If computer  100  is in a critical state and is not generally operable, then diagnoser  130  serves as a rescue boot device. When diagnoser  130  is connected to computer  100 , computer  100  recognizes diagnoser  130  as a boot device, and is able to boot start itself from diagnoser  130 . In this regard, it is noted that most BIOS&#39;s enable USB boot-ability. After computer  100  is booted, the diagnostics software residing in diagnoser  130  is executed. 
         [0024]    The diagnostics software runs system utilities on computer  100  without starting computer  100 &#39;s operating system, or alternatively with a minimal operating system. The diagnostic software analyzes the state of computer  100 &#39;s operating system (OS). The diagnostic software searches for damaged OS files, based on a priori knowledge about the files. If damaged OS files are discovered, then good files are fetched locally or downloaded, and copied to the proper location in computer  100 . Control is then returned to computer  100 . 
         [0025]    If computer  100  is not in a critical state and is generally operable, then when diagnoser  130  is connected to computer  100 , computer  100  recognizes that a new device is connected, and begins auto-playing the remote diagnostics software residing in diagnoser  130 . 
         [0026]    In either of the above modes of diagnostics, when computer  100  runs the diagnostics software, a connection is established between diagnoser  130  and help-desk  110 . If computer  100  is able to establish an Internet connection, then such connection is preferred. However, if computer is unable to make an Internet connection, the wireless cellular modem within diagnoser  130  is used instead. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the connection between diagnoser  130  and help-desk  110  is a dual transfer mode (DTM) connection, which enables both a circuit switched (CS) connection and a packet switched (PS) session. 
         [0027]    In turn, this enables a conversation with a help-desk representative while he diagnoses and fixes computer  100 &#39;s problem. The help-desk representative instructs a user regarding operations to perform with diagnoser  130 ; e.g., “Connect the diagnoser to the USB port”, “turn the computer off and then on again”, “what do you see on the screen”. Such conversation often relies on the on-board voice communication in diagnoser  130 , in cases where a telephone line is not near computer  100 . 
         [0028]    The help-desk representative is afforded remote control of computer  100 . If computer  100  was booted from diagnoser  130 , then the remote control of computer  100  may be limited to running applications that reside on diagnoser  130 . If computer was able to start its own operating system, then the remote control of computer  100  will include running applications that reside on computer  100  as well as applications that reside on diagnoser  130 . Such diagnostic applications include inter alia anti-virus software and registry scan software. 
         [0029]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 3 , which is a simplified block diagram of diagnoser  130 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Reference is also made to  FIG. 4 , which is a picture of a physical diagnoser  130 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , principal components of diagnoser  130  include a processor  310 , a memory  320  storing diagnostic program code  325  and a prescribed help-desk phone number, a communication modem  330 , an internal power source  340 , a PC interface  350  and, optionally, a user interface including an input device  360  and an output display  365 . Input device  360  and output display  365  may be used to operate computer in conjunction with a remote help-desk representative. 
         [0030]    Diagnoser  130  also includes an audio subsystem  370 , used for conversation with the help-desk, which is generally contemporaneous with diagnostic testing and remote control of computer  100 . 
         [0031]    Modem  330  sends and receives audio signals via a GSM antenna  380  that is connected to a power amplifier  381 . Modem  330  sends and receives digital signals via a wireless LAN  385 . Wireless LAN  385  enables diagnoser  130  to use a Wi-Fi connection as an alternative to a cellular modem connection. Diagnoser  130  also includes a SIM card  390  for GSM connection. 
         [0032]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 5 , which is a simplified flowchart for operation of diagnoser  130 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. At step  505  a user experiences a problem with his PC, which has become afflicted. At step  510  a diagnoser initiates a phone call to a help-desk, using a prescribed phone number stored in memory of the diagnoser. 
         [0033]    At step  515  the diagnoser is connected to the USB or SD port of the PC. At step  520  a determination is made as to whether or not the PC&#39;s operating system is operational. If so, then at step  525  the PC recognizes the diagnoser as a connected device, and begins auto-playing diagnostics software that is stored in the diagnoser&#39;s memory. 
         [0034]    At step  530  an online help-desk representative opens a data connection with the PC and makes a voice connection with the user. At step  535  the help-desk representative remotely controls the PC. At step  540  the help-desk representative runs diagnostics testing tools and configuration tools that reside on the PC or on the diagnoser, or both. The method then proceeds to step  570 . 
         [0035]    Referring back to step  520 , if the PC&#39;s operating system is not operational, then at step  545  the user reboots the PC from the diagnoser, which serves as a boot device. At step  550  the PC recognizes the diagnoser. At step  555  the help-desk representative opens a data connection with the PC, and makes a voice connection with the user. At step  560  the help-desk representative takes limited remote control of the PC. At step  565  the help-desk representative runs diagnostic testing software on the PC, using software residing on the diagnoser. Finally, at step  570  the help-desk representative is able to resolve the afflicted PC problem. 
         [0036]    In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific exemplary embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.