Tutorials
- HOME PAGE
- First Days on Computer
- Email Etiquette
- How to use the mouse
- When things go wrong
- Computer Maintenance
- Tips Part I
- Tips Part II
- Burning a CD
- Disk Cleanup
- Add color to your bars and windows
- Use Winzip to Zip a File
- Use Winzip to unzip a file
- Help for Windows 95
- IRC Star mIRC
- Making mIRC Popups
Security
Linux
Legal Stuff
When Things Go Wrong
You have your new computer at home, it's hooked to the internet and all of the sudden all hell brakes loose. You can't click on anything without getting a error message. Your IM shut down on it's own and now your connection is gone. What do you do? Do you have a firewall? Is your anti-virus software up to date? What about your resources? You may have too much running at one time, and Windows shut these programs down to help the resources. You will have to reboot if it's the resources. This is the most common of problems when you first get a computer. Your computer will start shutting down software to preserve resources. This by far is the first thing a new computer owner experiences on their computer. They don't understand it, and when it happens, they get upset. No need to be upset over it though, it happens to the best of us. But what if you don't know what is going on? What do you do if you don't know what the error messages are, and everything but a hammer hasn't fixed it? When you are new to computer and have a problem, it can seem so overwhelming at times. It can about have you in tears.
It's very important for you to know, that even
the best of computer owners have bad days.
Don't feel this only happens to you,
because it happens to everyone at one time or another.
The best way to handle it,
is to walk away, and give yourself a break from the keyboard.
Go back after you
have had time to calm down. When you come back to your computer, keep
this in
mind, most error messages are caused because of the configuration [setup] or the
running of another program that the present program with the error message is
not
compatible with. Try shutting down a few programs. Some think they can run
eight things
at once, like mail, a few Instant messengers, Internet Explorer, a
couple Internet Relay
Chats... Well you get my point.
All computers have
their limits, and that includes your computer. Keep a eye out for your
task bar,
know what you have running at all times, and if you open a program, consider
shutting another program down. If your computer is running real slow, shut down a
few
programs, if this doesn't resolve the problem, then reboot. Settings on some
programs
can be reset, your not stuck with the settings you have. If you changed a
few settings on
your own, then either change those, or see if the program has a
default button. Click
this, and see if that helps. The first month or so it's a
good idea to keep a note pad
beside you. Write down any changes you made to your
programs. That way if anything does
go wrong, you will know what to check out.
Same goes for software you install, write the name of them down, if you get any
error messages, write those down too. Most don't realize you can copy the error
message down and just type it into a search box like this: error: 32 A good utility
to help you sort through error messages is here: Error Messages for Windows
It's best to shut down all programs except the
one your installing/setting up too,
some require you to reboot your computer for settings
to take effect. Also
consider a complete shutdown if something is just causing lots of
problems.
Newbies tend to forget that computers need to be rebooted every now and then.
A
cold boot(shutting completely down) Is sometimes needed. When someone refers to you
that
you need to reboot, (warm boot) they mean when you go to "start" "shutdown"
and select
either the little arrow on the window that appears, and/or select
"reboot" from the drop
down, or from the window that pops up. The computer will
then shutdown and restart at one
time.
But what
other things could you consider? Plenty. First is your drivers.
All computers
have drivers. But don't make the mistake of going to Microsoft for them.
Who
made your computer? is it a Dell, or a Hewlett Packard? Or a Gateway? Look at your
computer, if it's a OEM then
you need to go to their website. Not Microsoft. That
is a mistake many make is downloading the drivers at Microsoft
for a Dell, HP,
Gateway computer. OEMs contain their own type drivers. If you have a custom built,
then you do need to ask
who made your computer if your computer contains any OEM
drivers. These drivers will be for your modem, video card, sound card,
and maybe
even your printer, copier, and or scanner. Please do keep in mind if you do have a
OEM chances are that computer was made months ago, and a lot of things
installed
on it are out dated already. So plan to take a afternoon and update everything
including your drivers, your critical
patches, and then your software. The true
custom built computers you will have to get their drivers at their
prospective
websites. Because they don't contain OEMs. These are your true hardware. Sound
Blaster or Creative Labs is one,
and so is Nvidia. Go here and download this nifty
free software Belarc
Advisor
This software will create a audit of your computer, and let you
know exactly what you have on your computer.
Another thing to consider is
software compatibility. Have you downloaded new software? Did you make sure it
was
compatible with your computer? If it didn't list your computer stats, or you
didn't bother to check then this could be the problem.
If you are running Windows
XP then you may have a little luck on your side it is called compatibility wizard.
But I like the manual method for setting this up for a software program.
To set the compatibility properties for a program manually...
"Right-click"
the program icon on your desktop or the shortcut on the Start menu for the program
you want to run in compatibility mode, and then click "Properties".
Click the
Compatibility tab, and change the compatibility settings for your program. Try
Running it in Windows 98 mode first if your running Windows XP.
Here is a picture
Compatibility Mode
Blue
screens of death are those dreaded blue screens you see that say that Windows has
shut
down, it shut down because,... and then you see a error code, and then it
says to hit any key.
There is no key on your keyboard called "any". Just press a
key on your keyboard and
hope that it works. Most of the time it doesn't. Then
GASP! you have to grab the plug
from the wall. Wait no you don't! Press in the on
and off switch, and hold till it shuts down. Plus you might as well give up on
that work you was doing, its forever gone. But make sure you get that error code on
that blue screen! That will help too sort out the problem.
Then run to your
favorite search engine, newsgroup, or list and maybe even a chatroom and see if you
can get the error solved. Because there are too many of them to even mention
here.
Things to consider to get the help you need before calling tech
Support are online forums, newsgroups, and IRC. You can put a search in
but the
biggest of them all is Usenet. The other is yahoogroups.
You can also visit
chat rooms that cater to tech support. There are thousands of them. Most will say
what type of tech support they offer right in the title of
the rooms, or even the
newsgroups for that matter. Some of the IRC channels will let you hang out and read
the post coming for a while till you get the feel of the channel and then post.
But keep in mind. Where ever you post at
regardless if its a newsgroup or IRC
chat. They want stats from you. They want to know what you are running for a
Operating System.
What program was running at the time of the problem, and if
you had a error message they want that information too. Going into a channel or
posting to a newsgroup that "your computer is freezing HELP!" won't get you a
reply.
Another thing to consider as a last resort is calling, or using live chat for Tech Support. I know some people want to avoid this if at all possible. Especially sense the OutSourcing began to go rapid. Live chat online is better than calling because you not sitting on the phone trying to figure out what the man/women just said to you. Instead you have it in chat, just like you was in IRC and can see what it is that you have to do. But if you can't avoid this please make sure to have info on your computer handy, steps that you have already taken. So you don't repeat the same fixes. Plus be sure that you are calmed down. Remember, these people answering the phones, and the live chats didn't cause the problem. Please don't yell at them. Also certain problems can be caused by several different reasons on your computer. So it could take several tries to find the right fix for your computer. Remember your computer may not look that complex from the outside, but their are several components running in the background to optimize your computer experience.
SPAM
I get lots of questions on how to handle Spam. Not the kind in the can, but the email kind. It is a growing problem right now, with no end in sight. I don't even think our law makers know what to do about it. But let me suggest this. Don't post your email addy anywhere online that is public. That includes websites, newsgroups, etc. Be stingy on whom you give it too. Keep your ISP addy for business only. Then sign up for some free accounts to hand out to friends etc. Don't hand over your ISP email to a website that says they have third party associations. If third party is mentioned anywhere in their service agreement, then use a free email account to sign up with them. Same goes for those EULAs. If they are associated with a third party, then use a disposable email account. When the free account gets real bad with Spam, then all you have to do is delete the account, and start you a new one. Tell everyone not to include you in forwarded emails. Or mass mailings. Tell them to only email you if they use the Bcc instead of the "To" line. That way if they should happen to forward something that you sent them, your email wont be showing. Learn how to encrypt email, and use it.
Last note: Your computer is a machine, you don't learn it over night. Give yourself plenty of time to learn. I know quite a few on computers, some have been on for years, and they still consider themselves learning.
Services
Our Standards:
Security Standards:
We teach others by setting a good example for others to follow. Our standards are high, and valued by many.
Read more »
Cost:
Our service is free, but we do like donations. The cost of the website is rising we update often, and add new pages constantly. Instead of a donation maybe you would like to purchase our ebook? Look above under Featured Services for the link.
Family oriented:
Our website is family friendly. All content is for the general public. We ask that all Teenagers be at least fifteen, and under the supervision of their parent(s) at all times.Read more »
