What do you do when your having computer problems?
By ctrymuziklvr
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
United States
July 27, 2007 8:35pm CST
I am not the smartest person when it comes to computer repair. Small things I can usually figure out but when it comes to the hardware part and any of the inside workings I don't know a thing. I know enough to look for schematics and manuals but when I see them I have no idea what I'm looking at!
It's usually expensive to get a tech involved unless your pc is under warranty but then my daughter had to pay even when hers was under warranty. I couldn't figure that one out. I'm lucky in that my brother is good at the inner workings of computers. He's self taught and can take them apart and put them back together again. I usually call him when I have any problems. Most of the time he can help me out. Once in awhile I will call my son or his fiance. They only know a little bit but have been helpful to me at times.
What do you do when your computer has a problem? Can you figure out what's wrong on your own or do you need someone to troubleshoot it for you? Do you have a friend or family member you can go to or do you always have to pay a tech or someone in the business to help you out?
5 people like this
26 responses
@easymoney75503 (1702)
• United States
28 Jul 07
i am lucky i have hubby to do mine. he owned a pc place in dallas before we moved here so i always have him fix my boo boos. which i have to admit is at least once every few weeks. i try to fix them on my own most of the time but usually end up making it worse. if i had to pay someone i would be without a pc. he is always getting on to me like a kid when i say hunny i love you why is it doing this or hunny you are so smart please fix it. lol. you can tell he wants to choke me at times lol.
3 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
28 Jul 07
easymoney you are so lucky to have a hubby that can take care of your pc that way. I'm sure at least secretly he is happy that you ask him when you make your little boo boos!
1 person likes this
@maroussiaf (30)
• France
28 Jul 07
Yeah, I have one of those at home... The trick is to get him to actually do something for you because:
1) he is always SOOO busy
2) this is work and here is home
3) If he has headphones on, it is a lost cause
4) use internet, how do you know I learn the answers?
5) he showed you this a hundred time so you should know by now...
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
28 Jul 07
If I cannot fix it, then I ask my husband who usually has three solutions; You have too many items (correction the hard drive is more than one third full and there are a lot of icons on the desk top), the computer is dirty, take it apart and get rid of the dust, or format the hard drive. Since I do not want to get rid of any programs and since none of the programs caused any problem and since as soon as the program caused a problem, I delete it right away, I disregard the first suggestion. The second, we do the get rid of the dust, and if that does not work, I call my older son, the Computer Geek because solution one and solution three are somehow related and there is only so many time you can put Windows Xp back on my computer.
2 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
28 Jul 07
Oh, to have a son who is a computer geek! You are so lucky!! I go through most of the same thing....delete and dust but I don't know how to reformat yet...that's on my list of things to learn!
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
28 Jul 07
yes, this is quite a problem i face often. i know bit of the software part but as far as the hardware thing concerned, i am as dumb as it gets. i have no idea atall!! i feel, its very important to know basic hardware. atleast knowing little bit about SMPS, graphics card...are important. this could save time and money aswell.
when ever i am in aproblem , i ring up my brother who would instruct me over the phone. this way, i have opened the CPU couple of times but i am not confident atall.
hoping to get the basics lesson soon.
thank you.
2 people like this
@cynddvs (2948)
• United States
28 Jul 07
My fiance and I are the ones people come to when they are having computer problems. My fiance runs his own computer repair business and is very good at what he does. He prices are very reasonable compared to some other local shops and he is very good with his customers.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
31 Jul 07
I think it's awesome that you and your b/f are that computer literate that others actually come to you with their problems!
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
28 Jul 07
You could place what I know about a computer into a thimble, ctry, LOL. Luckily, whenever I have a small problem, my daughter, wh is somewhat computer-savvy, can fix the problem for me. However, my last probvlem just would not be fixed and that is why I have my granddaughter's laptop now. I am debating whether I should buy another one. When I have a technical problem I use a great forum at Worldstart.com. I have been a member for over a year now. They have people on there with years and years of knowledge.
2 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
28 Jul 07
I have just found a great online network of people who know a lot about computers too. I asked a question there and have been getting loads of help. I believe it's called compternet.com but I wouldn't swear to it. One of the members there found the manual to an old laptop I have that I couldn't find after looking for it for days. I'm going to keep them in my favorites list...that's for sure.
1 person likes this
@dayong1113cn (311)
• China
28 Jul 07
sometimes,i can recognize the problem of my pc.if the computer is in trouble with software,the last behavor i can do is resetup the system. if the problems are in darfware,i ithink i must ask my goodfriend to help me,he is a computer engineer.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
28 Jul 07
The problem is that not all computers have the reset option and mine is one of them. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all had computer engineers as friends!
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
28 Jul 07
I have a fairly respectable knowledge of computers, and can usually find the source of the problem whether it is a software or hardware issue. It is probably just as well because there have been several instances in the past when I have needed to replace a part to resolve a problem.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
31 Jul 07
You must be pretty smart to be able to resolve those problems yourself. Good for you!
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
28 Jul 07
When anything happens to my pc I also get mad...and at myself because since I'm the only one who uses it it has to be me who messed it up!
1 person likes this
@haji1985 (94)
• India
28 Jul 07
i usually format my computer whenever there is something wrong withit.i am good with computers and know both software and hardware reasonably well to debug my own computer problems
but even then when something is out of hand i call a technician in order to help me
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
30 Jul 07
You are another member who is very lucky. I don't even know what formatting is! I think I'm going to start learning though.
@naadia (828)
• India
31 Jul 07
if something goes wrong i just turn off the computer.i dont know how to repair it.i will call my cousin but sometime he will be very busy.so only thing i can do is on computer....when found same problem shut it down...then i will goto watch some movies or TV...or i just put my ipod on and listen some music!
@collstarx (1177)
• Indonesia
28 Jul 07
When my computer have problem I try to repair myself if I don't can't repair it, I will go to store computer to fixed it.
best regards
@PinayPrincess (554)
• Philippines
28 Jul 07
whenever I got a computer problem, I troubleshoot it myself.. Then I try to fix it myself... Im not a a very good techncian so if I cannot solve the problem I seek for professional help.. :D
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
30 Jul 07
I don't know about you but when I try to fix my pc myself I usually end up ruining it! My brother who knows about computers now has two that I ruined and he fixed.
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
28 Jul 07
When there's something wrong about my pc, I could usually fix it myself. I know how to reformat everything, and if things don't go very well, there's always the 'restart to a previous date'. When worst comes to worst, I ask assistance from my brothers, or from my cousin who works for a huge service provider here in our area.
But somehow over time, he could actually just walk me step-by-step through phone.
=)
Top 10 reasons computers must be male:
10. They have a lot of data but are still clueless.
9. A better model is always just around the corner.
8. They look nice and shiny until you bring them home.
7. It is always necessary to have a backup.
6. They'll do whatever you say if you push the right buttons.
5. The best part of having either one is the games you can play.
4. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
3. The lights are on but nobody's home.
2. Big power surges knock them out for the night.
1. Size does matter.
=)
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
31 Jul 07
That's the cutest thing I've seen regarding computers. I'm going to save it to send to my friends. Thanks!
@angel_of_charm (4134)
• Philippines
28 Jul 07
well its not that expensive to get a tech in here but since i finish vocational courses as a computer tech i am lucky i can manage my own computer..i trouble shoot it and if the problem is still there i get a talk with my tech friends and talk with the problem so we can change ideas on what to do..i don't trust much my computer to different tech as i always thought they just making things worst..haha..silly me to think of those things when i am a tech myself..
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
30 Jul 07
You are one of the lucky ones! If I could fix my own pc I would be thrilled!
@jiffys_frog_woman (4050)
• United States
29 Jul 07
my boyfriend repairs and build computer so when i have a problem i tell him to fix it or it gonna end up out the window . lol
@mikeyaxe (722)
• India
28 Jul 07
wellll i would have loved if i knew how to take care of my pc problems by myself but unfortunately im more of a software guy. welll when it come to some OS error or some app error i can fix it. but man if its hardware then god it really bugs me off. more often or not i depend on my neighbour for some help coz he's an expert in hardware
@mymytri (2030)
• India
29 Jul 07
Ofcourse.I can solve my computers problems myself becoz i have trained in that.Have good idea about hardware,software ,networking and system adimin.I have appointed some boys under me and send them when anybody call me out for help in computer side.We will undertake networinig contracts.(Only samll ventures LOL!).I have done so many OS installations too.I think i can guess computer problems easily and solve them fast.Smiles...
@liyan97 (2127)
• Northern Mariana Islands
30 Jul 07
When I first got my PC I would always take it in to the shop and pay someone to fix it for me but after a while I developed an interest in fixing computers my self. I can fix it myself most of the time. Which I have turned into a part time job on the side, my family actually pays me twenty buck to fix their computer or install a new OS. The tech shop charges a minimum of $75.00 for labor only so they come to me.
Honestly, most of the time I really don’t realize what it is I do to fix it…lol..when I sit in front of the problem, I fiddle with it for a few minutes and then it’s fixed.
alot of times I also go onto the internet and search for tips that can help me.
@Peppersquirrel (437)
• United States
28 Jul 07
I have a computer that is about ten years old. I had taken my computer to the technician three times and had no improvement at all. Now my floppy disk drive does not work, and my CD burner does no cooperate when I want to burn something from my music downloads. The only thing that is working on my computer is the CD installer. Everytime I download the Windows globe logo, it just shut my computer down immediately and start rebooting too many times and never stays on. I have had the same Windows XP operating system installed, but it would not take the processing key that comes with the system--stating that it has been exceeded. I am going to school to take a course in Computer Networking. Hopefully, in the long run I may have to settle with my old computer and save a lot money to get myself a new one.
