Using the telephone to reach the customer support desk of a PC manufacturer is often an exercise in frustration. Compaq, Dell, Gateway, HP, and IBM have augmented their telephone support with on-line tools for diagnosing problems and answering questions. If you must talk with a technician, the software forwards the information to a technician in a snapshot (a succinct synopsis of the problem).
The companies are rolling out the services in stages, so not all PC owners can use the on-line support. Unfortunately, the best way to determine eligibility is to call the manufacturer's telephone support desk.