'New' Computer and Electronics Section Ready to Serve
The computer and electronics equipment and software used at NIH can assist you when it's operating well or drive you up the wall when it's not. The computer and electronics section (CES), part of the reorganized Scientific Equipment Instrumentation Branch, is at your service to keep your equipment and software humming along.
CES has a staff of six technicians experienced in working with NIH's wide variety of equipment and software. The section has instituted new services and expedited response time when you call for help. Its goal is to arrange the most convenient, cost-effective way to allow you to resume normal operations. When you call CES with a service request, it will respond (by phone or visit) within 24 hours or less for nonemergencies and within 1-3 hours for an emergency. In order to reduce your downtime, CES will do as much of the repair work as possible in your office or lab.
If CES has to remove your equipment for servicing, it will do as much of the work as it can in its office in Bldg. 13. The section maintains a stock of commonly needed parts like hard drives, floppy drives, power supplies, keyboards and mice. Unless it has to order nonstock parts for your work, CES can normally return the equipment to you within 24 to 48 hours. If CES has to send the equipment offsite, it will work with its network of vendors to obtain the least expensive and most dependable service.
CES has a loaner program of monitors for both Apple and IBM-clone systems to keep you operational while your own monitors are serviced or repaired.
CES offers a broad range of services, including: design and build specialized power supplies, signal amplifiers, transducers and interfaces between computers and other scientific equipment; work on equipment from six major manufacturers (Apple, Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and SGI), and, coming soon, Gateway computers and Tektronix printers; service both computers and computer peripherals, including CPUs, monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, and internal and external storage products (like hard drives, optical drives, cd-roms and tape backup systems); do hardware repairs, upgrades, and new hardware installations for Unix-based workstations including Silicon Graphics, Sun and computers serving as Linux workstations; upgrade and repair older computers as well as newer models; set up new computers and peripherals, including data transfer from your old computer if you wish; resolve hardware conflicts (e.g., a network card that conflicts with a SCSI card); determine if a problem is related to hardware or software; isolate problems in multi-element equipment configurations (e.g., a spectrophotometer that sends data to both a computer and a printer).
To request service call 496-4131, or to speak with John Olguin, supervisor, CES, call ext. 237. CES' office is in Bldg. 13, Rm. 3W57, and hours are 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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