My dad taught me that when I pointed my finger at someone (or something) I was in fact pointing two fingers back at myself. Think about it the next time something goes wrong with your computer.
I recently corresponded with a very irate ACT user. He had tried in vain to install ACT without success. He had hired a “computer expert” who had tried to help him, again with no success. Of course he pointed his proverbial finger at ACT, not realizing that two fingers were pointing directly back at himself.
The first mistake the user made was not to call Sage’s technical support team for assistance. One benefit that comes with your ACT software purchase is 30 days of “Getting Started” support. This support includes phone, chat, and e-mail support for up to 30 days from the date of product registration. I guarantee that had he called the support line, or taken advantage of the online chat, he would have been up and running in a matter of minutes.
The second finger, or mistake, that the user made was not being aware that all the safety mechanisms he had in place to “protect” himself from intrusions from the outside world were also preventing ACT from installing properly. There are three common safety devices that should be turned off, at least temporarily, during the installation of most any software program:
· Anti-Virus Software
· Firewall Software
· The Vista operating system’s User Account Control (UAC).
Ironically, ACT warns you to turn off your Anti-Virus and Firewall software during the installation process. And, a quick Internet search will explain how tame the UAC warnings that drive many users nuts – and interfere with software installation.
Although I wouldn’t categorize my Dad as a “computer expert,” his common sense would have saved this user from a lot of unnecessary aggravation!
For more information about ACT please visit www.techbenders.com or e-mail me at blog@techbenders.com.
