Help Activity refresh/Chapter/Getting Support

Getting Support

One Laptop per Child is an education project, not a laptop project. With connected laptops, learners are liberated to actively engage with others with similar interests in cultures of learning by doing without being limited by time or space. If you are having hardware or software problems with your XO, remember that its design is to encourage you to learn new things by trying to solve problems on your own!

That said, an entire community built this XO and everything on it, and we want to help you with it. Our OLPC global community of volunteers provide software and hardware troubleshooting and support. This section will help tell you where to find Support when you are really stuck! OLPC has proven that volunteer-driven support works, often with far more heartfelt caring than any corporate help desk!

If you have questions about the XO, ask a teacher for help, a friend, or search on the Internet. If you have a question about your XO, there is a very good chance it is already answered within our expanding Support FAQ / RTFM knowledge base:

   http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Support_FAQ

Next try looking at http://support.laptop.org extensive helpful guidance for exploring and fixing your XO, allowing you to solve challenging issues right alongside others. Specifically, check out:

   Getting Started http://laptop.org/start
   Email Lists http://lists.laptop.org
   Live Chat http://forum.laptop.org/chat 
   OLPC Community Wiki http://wiki.laptop.org

If you are still unable to find an answer online, please email help@laptop.org (our OLPC technical staff).

Did you know that our volunteers staff a live Help Chat site 24/7, on the Internet? Click here: http://forum.laptop.org/chat Login with the color-name shown; that's guest ID. Type your question in the chat line at the bottom. You may have to wait for a response as our volunteers come in and out. If you are patient, we can probably help you! To learn more about what Internet Relay Chat (the system that makes this possible) is, click here: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/IRC

We would also like to make special mention of our Support Gang, where an enthusiastic group of volunteers assist XO users all over the world. If you are impressed with the passion and hard work of our volunteers, please consider giving back, by joining our dedicated community. Take a look at the link below. We would welcome your participation! http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Support_Gang http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Support_FAQ Be sure to review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)link above. Many of us join and "learn by doing."

Thanks very much! OLPC Support Gang