The Prescription For Your PC Problems

I was reading an article on AOL that had that title: The prescription for your PC problems.
They are advocating a "health care plan" - some sort of paid-in advance plan to have your PC under coverage for when something goes wrong.

Here is the list of potential problems:
"For example, here’s a list of computer repairs and tasks many people will do over the course of a year:

- Add a new printer
- Remove a virus
- Install and troubleshoot new software
- Improve your computer’s performance
- Add and configure a compatible device – for example, a scanner or webcam"

I'll take it from benb's perspective in order.

Add a new printer. Are you kidding? Adding a new printer is EASY, even if you don't get the software that comes with it. You can ALWAYS find the software online, it is a very simple process, I would NEVER pay to have this software installed.

Remove a virus. DEFINITELY something that has given me problems. There are lots of programs available online to scan your computer's memory and find viruses. I have Avast. Today, Avast stopped a Trojan Horse in it's tracks. It wanted to infect my computer, Avast said not and got rid of it without my having to do ANYTHING. Avast has changed it's modus operandi, apparently. It used to be a screen would come up and would ask you what you wanted to do with this virus, now it deals with it by itself, tells you that it dealt with it and that you have nothing further to do. BTW, Avast is FREE for home use.

I have had viruses in the past, however, that I could not do anything about. The first time, I paid a guy to come over and fix it. His fix? Reinstall Windows. I lost all of my data. I quickly learned how to reinstall Windows and all the software myself.

Install and Troubleshoot new software.
Well, if your new software is installed with a disc, you shouldn't HAVE to troubleshoot it. Usually, troubleshooting comes down the road when something happens to it. KEEP all of the discs that come with whatever you have installed. ALWAYS. When there is a problem that you can't fix, simply uninstall the software and then reinstall with your disc. Simple, effective and free.

Improve your computer’s performance
Look, if you have a computer, you are going to have to learn how to do this on your own. Do you want to pay to have someone come out every week? I didn't think so. Yet, I meet people that have computers, have had them a long time and yet know nothing about deleting the history/cache. They know nothing about running a defrag program. They don't know how to go through your programs and weed out junk that has automatically installed itself with other software that you installed. Or compress files. I learned through a lot of irritation, a LOT of time - at least hundreds of hours (I did not grow up with computers and learning how to deal with them was VERY irritating and STILL annoys me to this day, even though I can deal with any problem to whatever extent I have to deal with it effectively and efficiently at this point) and now have some experience how to get the thing to run at the same speed when you first install the Windows software.

I still get messed up at times. My recent ordeal is proof. My computer started running VERY slowly and I went through every thing I knew what to do. This went on for weeks - I was at the point of reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows. I could still USE the computer, so I uploaded onto internet sites my pic and videos I didn't want to lose, the rest of it I didn't care. I could have simply attached all that stuff to an email and then downloaded it to my computer again after the fact - but I didn't have to. I had forgotten to do an internet speed test. After doing half a dozen, it was obvious the problem: my Qwest provider was giving me LESS than ONE megabyte per second of delivery versus the 7 I am paying for. I hate myself sometimes, lol. WHY didn't I do that to begin with? A lesson I won't be forgetting anytime soon, I'll tell ya that.

- Add and configure a compatible device – for example, a scanner or webcam
The computer configures this stuff for you, you don't have to know html code or whatever to install a scanner of a webcam. The experts have made computers relatively easy to use. They HAVE to, they know people like me are using them. I don't WANT to learn all of that stuff. I shouldn't have to, a computer - computes - it should be able to do that junk itself........and it does!!!

Take the time to learn. Trial and error if nothing else. That's what I did - for a long time -yes. I did it because I can't pay $100 or more every time the thing starts acting up. I wouldn't be able to OWN a computer if that were true. If you are a total novice like me - even if you have been using computers for years and years, the VERY least you should learn is how to back up your files and how to reformat your computer and reinstall Windows. Installing Windows is actually pretty easy once you get beyond the "boot" issues - how to get to the installation process while the computer is booting.

Just make sure you keep your copy of Windows in a safe place where you know you can find it. There is nothing more disconcerting than to sit in front of a useless computer and not be able to revive it. You CAN learn, you don't HAVE to go to school to do it, and you definitely don't HAVE to pay ANYONE to fix your problems.