What to do when your high-tech present won't work

It's the day after Christmas and all through the land, one phrase can be heard from those with phones clutched firmly in hand: "Help! It doesn't work!"

Today is the day when you don't want to be working the help desk of an electronics or computer company. Nor do you want to have to call them; you are going to have to wait a very long time.

For this is the day when all those gleaming, nicely wrapped high-tech presents are in various stages of assembly or sitting idly by, useless until someone at tech support can offer help.

Today is the day help desk telephone technicians hate to come to work. It's the busiest of the year, when many call as their Christmas gifts give them grief.

Are you among them?

First, reread the instructions. Second, double-check the cables and connections. There's a third step. Don't get mad at me. I have to mention it because, as any support tech will verify, this is a top issue: Make sure the gadget is plugged into an electrical outlet or has batteries.

Still no good?

Fear not. I can help. Here are my top five suggestions:

1. Google it (www.google.com)

Start by searching for your problem. Type in two or three keywords that describe your issue or whatever the concern is.

Believe me, 9 times out of 10, you'll find your answer here.

I know this from experience. Here?s a little secret. For several years, I did a weekly radio show on computers and high tech. People would call me with questions. As they described their issue, I?d Google what they were telling me.

2. Get a new driver (www.driverguide.com)

Visit the Driver Guide. No, we're not talking about vehicle drivers, but computer driver files, those important little applications that keep our hardware -- such as video cards, modems, printers and the like -- running well.

These little applications are regularly upgraded and updated and making sure you have the latest version of the driver or control program for your PC gizmos is important for trouble-free operation.

After registering for the site (it's free), simply enter whatever hardware you have and search for new drivers. Don't worry about the geek-speak. Beginners get a lot of hand-holding on how to do this.

3. Hit the forums

Look up the Web site for the company that makes your gadget and look under support. Most have discussion areas where users just like you ask for and get help, suggestions and troubleshooting tips. If the forum has a search box, use it, listing the model and the issue. Post your question and use the "subscribe to thread" option available in most forums so when an answer comes in, you'll be notified by e-mail.

4. Check the help sites

For Macs, it's at www.apple.com/support. For Microsoft it's at support.microsoft.com. These are really deep and detailed sites, totally free and filled with up-to-date suggestions and troubleshooting information.

A couple of private sites also are helpful.

Fixya (www.fixya.com) provides free tech support and help for gadgets, electronic equipment and consumer products, including appliances and even automobiles. Use the search box.

For PCs, I like PCMech (http://forum.pcmech.com), a huge forum loaded with technical expertise. For Mac users, I like the forums at Macrumors (http://forums.macrumors.com). Solid, reliable advice from experts and consumers who've been where you are and can help.

Still no good? That takes us to...

5. Give it a rest

Seriously. Don't obsess over this. This is a holiday weekend. Enjoy it and your loved ones. Probably Monday, maybe Tuesday, you'll finally be able to get through to tech help on the phone. Or take the gadget back to the store. Maybe it really is nothing you did or didn't do. It may actually be defective.

Or, very likely just leaving the problem for a few hours, or a couple of days, will give you fresh eyes to solve it yourself.