HP Brio ba410 hp kayak xm600 series 2, hp brio ba410 pcs, hp e-diagtools versi - Page 42

8 Virtual Call Assistant The Virtual Call Assistant The Virtual Call Assistant Currently under test and evaluation at HP, the Virtual Call Assistant (VCA) is designed to provide a valuable e-DiagTools diagnostic aid for Help Desks and Support Providers. It is a resident software program on the Help Desk PC (not the managed PC) capable of automatically detecting and recognizing audio warning signals emitted by the e-DiagTools Pre-Boot Diagnostics Capability. The encoded signals from the remote PC indicate the nature of a failure state. A warning buzzer signal from an embedded diagnostics microcontroller on the motherboard of the HP PC (Vectra VL400 or later models) contains encoded information on the state of the PC. When the end-user calls to report the problem, the signal is transmitted by telephone from the buzzer on the motherboard of the emitting PC. It is picked up by the diagnostics PC at the receiving end of the telephone link, via a DynaMetric decoder fitted to the telephone receiver, and connected to the microphone input of the PC's sound card. The DynaMetric Inc. web page provides decoder information. Helpdesk End User The Virtual Call Assistant at the Helpdesk or Support site records the modulated signal emitted by the PC buzzer, then analyzes this sound to detect the frequencies which correspond to encoded binary data. The data is then decoded to obtain information including: • The model of PC • The PC Serial Number • The type of failure detected. The structure of the Virtual Call Assistant system is shown in the figure above. 40