System and method for providing network-based technical support to an end user

A method in a system for obtaining customer support, the method comprising:

• gathering, by a t least one computer processor of the system, parameters specific to an end user product in response to an end user using the end user product to log in to a technical support services architecture, the gathering including:
• reading, by at least one computer processor of the system, a registry of hardware and software components residing on the end product;
• and
• querying, by at least one computer processor of the system, different hardware and software components of the end user product to obtain details about the components;
• storing, by at least one computer processor of the system, the parameters specific to an end user product into a configuration file;
• in response to the gathering of the parameters, transmitting, by at least one computer processor of the system, the parameters specific to the end user product to a network-based application, the network-based application operable to dynamically generate a web page instructive of a solution to a problem associated with the end user product based on the parameters;
• in response to the transmitting the parameters specific to the end user product, receiving, by at least one computer processor of the system, configuration difference information in a form of a difference file, the received configuration difference information indicating a difference between the transmitted parameters specific to the end user product and a last most recent system configuration of the end user product prior to the transmitting of the parameters specific to the end user product;
• in response to receiving the configuration difference information, using the configuration difference information to generate a prior configuration file including hardware and software parameters of a prior system configuration of the end user product;
• displaying on a graphical user interface of the end user product, by at least one computer processor of the system, a current system configuration of the end user product and the last most recent system configuration of the end user product based on the received configuration difference information, the current system configuration of the end user product and the last most recent system configuration of the end user product being presented in a window pane that is positioned next to a chat window pane that has an active chat session occurring with a technical support technician in an integrated graphical user interface window;
• receiving an interactive link to the dynamically generated web page providing the solution to the problem associated with the end user product;
• the solution to the problem associated with the end user product having been identified by the network-based application based on filtering one or more determined possible causes based on the configuration difference information;
• and
• browsing the dynamically generated web page by selecting the interactive link.