IT Services

Computing Support for staff and postgraduate students in GeoSciences is provided by the IT team.  We are a busy team, so please contact us using the methods described below so that we can respond to your request as efficiently as possible.  We are gradually building up answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - it may be worth trying there first.

Undergraduate students should contact the Information Services Helpline at IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk or by phone on +44 (0)131 651 5151. Further information on the IS help services can be found at IS help information.

Contacting IT Support

Email

To contact the team please email IThelp@geos.ed.ac.uk.  This is the preferred way to contact us.  Emails will be entered automatically into the IS Call Management System (Unidesk).  Emails returned to you from Unidesk will come from unidesk@ed.ac.uk with a subject line of the form I110223-0123 - Problem description - please reply to this address and do not change the subject line for further correspondence related to the same issue, so that the whole "paper trail" is kept together. Conversely, please send any new query direct to IThelp@geos.ed.ac.uk to open a new call - do not reply to a previous mail from Unidesk, which will be tied to some earlier incident. Also, please do not contact individual COs directly with problems/queries - if they are the best person to deal with your issue and are available, chances are your call will be passed to them anyway.

Phone and Walk-in

There is normally someone on duty Monday to Friday, 10:00-12:00 and 14:00-16:00 only (please note that the Duty CO may be found at coffee from 11:00-11:30, but is still on duty). Where possible please use email, especially outside the help-desk hours.

The Computing Officers at Drummond Street can be contacted on x509115, and in the Grant Institute on x506426.   Please do not phone individual Computing Officers about general problems.

A walk-in service is available at the times shown above.  In the Grant Institute Room from Room 142;  In Drummond Street, from the office of the individual identified on the Computing Notice Board in the basement. 

Urgent Calls

We realise that sometimes an urgent response is required and the normal procedures won't do.  We will try to respond appropriately in these circumstances, but please think before interrupting us - the helpdesk will usually be open again in less than 2 working hours!  So if, for example, a particular printer is not working, can you wait, or use another one? (But do please email us so that we know about the problem.)

Information Services Helpline

The IS Helpline may also be able to help with some types of enquiries. They can be contacted by email at IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk or by phone on +44 (0)131 651 5151. Further information on the IS help services can be found at IS help information.