Sarasota PC Monitor
Tech Talk (04/02)
Where can I find help?
by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D.*
Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc.Every computer user reaches a point where they need help. Telephone assistance can be found from many manufacturers, if you have the patience to navigate multiple telephone menus. It may also require a rather long wait for a human voice. Unfortunately, the level of knowledge of telephone support people is highly variable. Help can also be found on many manufacturers' Websites. Providing you have enough information on the make, model, serial number or version of the software/hardware causing your problem. Many times the help you need can't be pinned down quite that easily. So where do you turn? There are many sources of computer information on the Internet that can be researched for help. There are also several highly recommended newsletters that you can subscribe to (free) and use as part of your learning tools. Two that I highly recommend are Scott's Newsletter http://www.scotfinnie.com/newsletter/default.htm and Fred Langa's LangaList http://www.langa.com/. Both of these newsletters provide a wealth of information and references to Websites that can be very helpful. I'm sure you have noticed information from the LangaList published in the SPCUG monitor from time to time.
If you are looking for help and aren't sure just how to categorize it, there are a few sites that can provide general help. Both CNET http://www.help.com and ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com have extensive help pages, user discussion forums and tech help. Another general help site is http://www.computerproblems.com/. These are very extensive sites and you may have to spend some time searching to find help directly related to your problem. However, when you don't know the exact source of your problem, a search of these sites may turn up some possible solutions.
If you have a specific hardware related problem, then try one of these sites. The first six sites tend to be only hardware related while PC 911 covers hardware and multiple operating system software problems.
Free Tech Help:
http://freepctech.com/index.php
Tom's Hardware Guide:
http://www6.tomshardware.com
Ted's Technical URLs:
http://techurls.tripod.com
The PC Tech Guide:
http://www.pctechguide.com
Motherboards & hardware help:
http://www.motherboards.org
Anand Tech:
http://www.anandtech.com
PC 911:
http://www.pcnineoneone.com
Whenever you visit one of these sites, you will note that some of them seem be related to reviewing new hardware. However, you can generally search the site for information on your specific hardware. These sites can be an education on computers and computer problems if you spend some time with them.
For those who are upgrading a system to Windows XP, finding drivers for various hardware components can sometimes be difficult. The next list includes several sites that specialize in drivers. The WinGuides site also provides a lot more information than just drivers. It's worthwhile spending some time looking it over.
Driverguide:
http://www.driverguide.com
Windows drivers:
http://www.windrivers.com
Windows Tweaks, Tips, Drivers, etc.:
http://www.winguides.com
If you are new to the CD burning game, there are a number of helpful Websites for this topic. Since the site names are fairly self-explanatory, I am just listing the addresses. http://www.cdpage.com
http://www.cd-romguide.com
http://www.cdrwcentral.com
http://www.cdrfaq.com
For those interested in learning more about DVD drives, another interesting and educational site is http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html.
Probably the most common need for assistance needed is related to problems with your operating system. Microsoft does provide on-line help in the form of the KnowledgeBase. The URL to start with is: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?. This site gives you access to the KnowledgeBase as well as other sources of help for Windows and other Microsoft products. Just remember that Microsoft is no longer providing support for any version of Windows older than Win98. Here again, the amount of is so extensive, that you may need to try several different searches to find the information directly related to your problem.information
If you are looking for information on cable modems, network connections or other information like this, try Speed Guide http://www.speedguide.net/index.shtml. Another source which will test many aspects of your PC, including download speed, is PC Pitstop http://www.pcpitstop.com/. If all you want is to test your Internet download speed, then try a speed test at http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/ or http://www.testmyspeed.com/.
If you are interested in setting up a home network with two or more computers then there are sites, which will help you with that. For example:
Practically Networked:
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/
Helmig's World of Windows Networking:
http://www.wown.com/
Home PC Networking:
http://www.homepcnetwork.com/index.htm
One of the hardware problems that never seemed fixable was the printer. In fact, many places will tell you that it is cheaper to buy a new printer than to try to repair an old printer. Well, here is a site that will help you with inkjet and laser printer problems. Check out the links on this page if you are having printer problems: http://fixyourownprinter.com/.
Now, after you have found the site with the information you need, what next? Sometimes the fix may require you to edit the registry. Do you feel skilled enough to do that? Any editing of the registry should always be done with great caution. The wrong change can result in your having to reinstall applications, including Windows. Edit the registry only as your last resort.
If you're ready, first make a backup of the registry. Windows 98, SE & ME maintain multiple backup copies of the registry. You can also run the registry editor and export the registry data to a text file with an REG suffix. This allows you to restore the original registry if you make an error in editing.
Have fun researching your problems on the net. Even if you don't find a solution you will gain some knowledge from your research.
NOTE: all the Web addresses in this article were valid at the time this was written; however, there is no guarantee they will still exist at the time you read this. You may need to do a search for new or revised addresses.
*Dr. Lewis is a former University and Medical School professor. He has more than 20 years of experience working with personal computer hardware and software. He can be reached via e-mail at brian_klewis@hotmail.com or voice mail at 941-925-3047. :
Copyright 2002. This article is from the April 2002 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,300+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.
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