Some people and computers.. sigh..

[win7]

I have just as a favour agreed to look at a friends laptop as he could not complete the install of photoshop and says the machine is very slow...

Apon looking into it i just remembered some people are completely computer illiterate and had a little giggle to myself wondering just how many badly setup machines there are out there.

The laptop is a sony vaio with a 1.6ghz celeron, 512mb ram, and a radeon mobility 9200, not bad i thought until i noticed the poor speed of the machine, about five times slower than my similar laptop...

They have a 60gb drive in two 30gb partions, with one partion full (like 1gb left), and the other totally unused... why?????????????????? anyway that is problem one solved... can't install ps in 1gb of space.. and the drive being this full is probably the main cause of the speed problems, i haven't even looked to see where the page file is pointing but it can't be the empty drive LOL.....

Then i looked in the add/remove programs, and omg, i have never seen so much CR@P in all my life, multiple versions of random applications, about a million unknown apps in startup...

I am truely shocked at this... maybe its just me but wtf...

And ewwww it has norton on it....

It will be less time consuming to just start again...

Anyway rant over but seriously, i wish people would take better care of there pcs

 

[patio]

If this gets you you may want to stop working on machines now...
Cause you're gonna see alot more of it and worse as time goes on.

 

[johngalt]

If this gets you you may want to stop working on machines now...
Cause you're gonna see alot more of it and worse as time goes on.

Amen. I see it every day - and I have been working on machines since 8086 days....

Although I am betting that the other partition is from another OS- either Linux and / or Windows 7....

Do your friend a favor and move him to W7 - for the specs he has it will be far more favorable to him than Vista will.

 

[angryman]

Yeah its just like cars... most folks have no idea how to change the oil, and with new technology and the fear of damaging something, less will attempt or learn, they'll just pay someone else with a little ticket on the wall that says they can.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
agree with you.

When people were installing the Beta there was a CLEAR message from Microsoft saying Warning - this is BETA software so expect it not to function as the final product and peole were urged not to use it as their everyday OS. However It IS surprisingly stable unless you are a serious gamer (which I'm not).

Even with this warning you still can read on this and on loads of other Forums) such questions as How do I get my Original Vista, XP (or whatever) OS back.


These people shouldn't be ALLOWED to use a BETA IMO.

I'm all for people learning etc etc but such simple concepts of System and Data backup and restore should be so elementary especially when testing a brand new OS I really do feel for support teams having to deal with such a poor level of knowlege. Taking backups isn't a mark of "Geekdom" -- just common sense that saves you a whole host of time and trouble.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[win7]

Don't get me wrong its not a problem for me to fix this i just don't understand why they don't understand why they hasve such problems, it was obvious to me within two minutes of booting the laptop up, also me liking the machine much more than my laptop bar the slightly lower ram kinda riles me up..

If it was my machine it would be running five times faster and i would be playing CS while eating a fry up in the pub each morning on there free wi-fi...

Whats more i am more supprised that whoever sold them this machine, im guessing pc world or similar, wahy they have set two partitions on such a small drive and then why on earth not to have big warning/advice saying to installing everything on the second partition..


I offered to totally re-install win-xp/vista/seven for him and he agreed as soon as he has another laptop (macbook) which he is buying soon so he can still surf while i work on his machine.

I will jusat get rid of the two partitions and set it up as i would my own pc and he will be very pleased, no doubt the drivers and everything else is bang out of date..

Am starting to think i should charge for this lol.. and still am shocked that people don't care as much for there machines as me.. maybe they deserver <50% performance LOL

 

[Barman58]

Am starting to think i should charge for this lol.. and still am shocked that people don't care as much for there machines as me.. maybe they deserver <50% performance LOL

I think you should consider charging that way they will realize the value of the advice you give for free.

Print this off and then offer them a good discount and they'll see what your help is worth

The Tech Guys at PC World - Offering wireless internet installation, computer data transfer and computer repairs.

 

[limneos]

Am starting to think i should charge for this lol..

Yeah, you should start doing that...I do this for a living and it's going fine so far.

Not to mention, I'm glad to see people suddenly starting taking care of their machines after the charge €.

 

[win7]

Yeah, you should start doing that...I do this for a living and it's going fine so far.

Not to mention, I'm glad to see people suddenly starting taking care of their machines after the charge €.

Really? Do you make a good wage? I really did not realise how little people delve into thier machines until i saw this laptop, its quite funny, i can't stop thinking "but why could you not see the issue its so obvious"...

I spend a lot of time building websites for people but could always do with some extra income and setting up pc's is easy.. and kinda fun unless you get stuck with some 133mhz dinosaur, but surely you could quite simply refuse such machines..

I was thinking about this the other night and my main thought was most machines people want sorting out are old and it takes ages to install stuff just cos of the weaiting time, but you could line up twnety pc's and do them all in roughly the same time with a few more clicks.. mmm

EDIT: and seriously i actually know this guy well, i went to school with him and known him over 14 years and he is very far from stupid.. strange.. some people and computers just don't micx i think, or they are scared they will break something.. im not sure..??

 

[Jac]

I used to work in IT support and was daily amazed at how little people knew about the machines they had been sat at day in day out for the last five years. If a shortcut was removed from the desktop by mistake they would not be able to use their PCs. People minimizing windows and then being completely stumped as to how to get back to their documents.

One particular job remains in my memory.

I'm called to a simple job with some huge middle aged woman. I get there and fix it within 10 seconds to notice that her monitor is refreshing at about 10hz. Thick black bars are endlessly marching up the screen.

How can you work with your monitor doing this I ask. "Oh it's been like that for years" comes the reply. I notice she is wearing super thick glasses. "How are you not on the floor having a seizure" I ask. Display properties, refresh rate set to 100hz - Job done.

The look of amazement from her and the rest of the meat sacks sat around. WTF :shock:

 

[96accord]

I used to work in IT support and was daily amazed at how little people knew about the machines they had been sat at day in day out for the last five years. If a shortcut was removed from the desktop by mistake they would not be able to use their PCs. People minimizing windows and then being completely stumped as to how to get back to their documents.

+1 to that! I work in IT Support now and I am amazed by something different everyday!

 

[davehc]

Another tale. I was called to help some poor people with a computer problem. Their monitor had given up.
The persons concerned were, nice family that they were were, well down on the savvy scale, and without cash.
I opened up the monitor, which was in terrible condition, and managed to get a spark of life out of it. Unfortunately one of the triggers has failed, and the whole screen had a dark pink tinge.
I had quite a few old monitors sitting around and did not feel like wasting time. I popped the computer back with a replaced monitor and installed in situu.
The first remark of the owner was that there seemed to be a problem with the colours, as they had all changed.
When I questioned him, it turned out that he and his family had been looking at the pink screen for about five years, unaware that there was anything wrong!
Believe it or not!!

 

[johngalt]

I run a PC Support business on the side, but I cater to folks that don't have a lot of money - I asses the problem, and depending upon how involved I charge a flat rate as opposed to an hourly rate - it makes me hone my skills better so I know what to look for *and* what to expect in terms of anomalies and unexpected conflagrations.

I won't say how little I charge - but suffice it to say that it is not making me a lot of money....

 

[Joan Archer]

OK so you could put this down in some cases to the people who sell the computers. All they're interested in is a sale so they tell the buyer oh this machine can do this that and the other with just a few clicks, but do they actually tell them or show them the clicks needed, do they explain that the software that is installed is only trial software so it will run out if not paid for or do they tell them just how to keep their machines clean, probably not they just want to get to the next sale :huh:

You probably find that the majority of sales people don't know as much as they think they know.
That's my thoughts I could probably say a lot more but it's time to shut down for the night, goodnight back tomorrow

 

[darkassain]

I spend a lot of time building websites for people but could always do with some extra income and setting up pc's is easy.. and kinda fun unless you get stuck with some 133mhz dinosaur, but surely you could quite simply refuse such machines..

I was thinking about this the other night and my main thought was most machines people want sorting out are old and it takes ages to install stuff just cos of the weaiting time, but you could line up twnety pc's and do them all in roughly the same time with a few more clicks.. mmm

EDIT: and seriously i actually know this guy well, i went to school with him and known him over 14 years and he is very far from stupid.. strange.. some people and computers just don't micx i think, or they are scared they will break something.. im not sure..??

your saying a 133mhz is not a monster system?
i still have a server motherboard (you can call it that compared to now [it had 4 pci and 4 eisa i believe]) and it uses the p1 (and long since gone....) the still there because it reminds me of what we have accomplished (and i got it free..)

I used to work in IT support and was daily amazed at how little people knew about the machines they had been sat at day in day out for the last five years. If a shortcut was removed from the desktop by mistake they would not be able to use their PCs. People minimizing windows and then being completely stumped as to how to get back to their documents.

One particular job remains in my memory.

I'm called to a simple job with some huge middle aged woman. I get there and fix it within 10 seconds to notice that her monitor is refreshing at about 10hz. Thick black bars are endlessly marching up the screen.

How can you work with your monitor doing this I ask. "Oh it's been like that for years" comes the reply. I notice she is wearing super thick glasses. "How are you not on the floor having a seizure" I ask. Display properties, refresh rate set to 100hz - Job done.

The look of amazement from her and the rest of the meat sacks sat around. WTF :shock:

well not everyone is blesssed with being able to be computer litterate (since they don't usually need that skill but times have changed and now word like malware and worm are now mainstream)

Another tale. I was called to help some poor people with a computer problem. Their monitor had given up.
The persons concerned were, nice family that they were were, well down on the savvy scale, and without cash.
I opened up the monitor, which was in terrible condition, and managed to get a spark of life out of it. Unfortunately one of the triggers has failed, and the whole screen had a dark pink tinge.
I had quite a few old monitors sitting around and did not feel like wasting time. I popped the computer back with a replaced monitor and installed in situu.
The first remark of the owner was that there seemed to be a problem with the colours, as they had all changed.
When I questioned him, it turned out that he and his family had been looking at the pink screen for about five years, unaware that there was anything wrong!
Believe it or not!!

are sure that wasnt me since i did have a pink colored screen for a few months..
but i replaced it with a acer...

I run a PC Support business on the side, but I cater to folks that don't have a lot of money - I asses the problem, and depending upon how involved I charge a flat rate as opposed to an hourly rate - it makes me hone my skills better so I know what to look for *and* what to expect in terms of anomalies and unexpected conflagrations.

I won't say how little I charge - but suffice it to say that it is not making me a lot of money....

i hear ya and do the same...
i dont usually charge what most do and they say there are happier contacting me that some unknow service that have the possibility to steal info...
(well they know me and they actually refer their friends to me since the price is right (couldnt help it...) and they the peace of mind of getting their machine working...

OK so you could put this down in some cases to the people who sell the computers. All they're interested in is a sale so they tell the buyer oh this machine can do this that and the other with just a few clicks, but do they actually tell them or show them the clicks needed, do they explain that the software that is installed is only trial software so it will run out if not paid for or do they tell them just how to keep their machines clean, probably not they just want to get to the next sale :huh:

You probably find that the majority of sales people don't know as much as they think they know.
That's my thoughts I could probably say a lot more but it's time to shut down for the night, goodnight back tomorrow

lmao
i know such people
one came up to me to to refer me to some pizazz new shiny computer (well i do like shiny [aero anyone?]...) and i asked him one question which i do know he couldn't answer :

i know computer x does this better than your computer y, and your computer is costs more, so what am getting for the premium? the shininess? (most wont say yes [which is the truth] but they wont say no and will go into what software it has [from which i usually point its trial like joan said] and its extra buttons [which i have another keyboard for and even i usually dont use] and so he leaves nerviously and tells me to go and look around their *fine* selection of products and so i did and kept laughing to myself on the inside and then left remembering on how i made him feel picked on...

 

[SqdnGuns]

You should see some of the people that drop off their rigs in our shop. They believe everything they see on the Internet and really trust a web site that tells them they need to install 360 Pro and Antivirus 2009 because they are infected..............I'm tempted to tell the next person that comes in that I have a bridge in New york to sell them for cheap.

 

[DiamondNRG]

Ok I have a story for you...

So my mom has a friend with a POS dell that can't handle an idiot user so it always got all screwed up and too slow to do anything. Well I redid it for her and then I moved out of town so after a few years she decided to get a "Mac" because hers always screwed up, so a Mac must be a gift from God or some worthless crap like that.

So finally one day I hear through my mother that the lady wants me to fix the machine again so she can give it to her parents to video chat with them. I laugh to myself thinking this machine isn't going to do crap for video chat, and it should be real fun watching her try to do it to a Mac at that.

So I fix the machine, I take it to her parents, I hook it up. They want to see how to use the internet. So I ask them... what kind of internet do you have? They tell me they had dialup for the old computer. Ok, well what happened to the phone cord? So they unhook their living room phone (mind you the only phone they have)... Ok so I hook it up and configure it. It won't connect. Ugh... I hate dialup. At this point I am pissed that I offered to hook this thing up for free (I got paid for redoing it, hooking it up got tacked on after I was paid!) So it turns out their dialup is not active anymore, so I leave, to come back when they have it setup.

I get a call and go back about a week later. Ok cool so this time I brought a different monitor that I convinced the friend to buy for her parents and swapped that out and went to go setup the internet.... Does it work? No. Now I am pissed. I ask to see the phone, so the guy hands it to me .. which of course reminds me about the cord, so I look, yup it wasn't on the computer anymore. (Oh not to mention I had to plug everything back in as he unplugged everything). So I try the phone, no dial tone. I ask what is up with the phones... he said the phones don't work, the computer must have broke it so he unhooked the computer but it still doesn't work. I tell him "no the computer was off, like it has been all week, it did NOT break your phone lines" So here I am 20 miles from home and I just drove here for FREE to hook up dialup for someone with no working phone lines. So then he wants to call them to get it fixed... he asks me if he should do it now or after I leave.... I didn't even feel like explaining that you can't call anyone if your phone doesn't work so I just said, after I leave... let me know.

That was like 2 weeks ago, who knows where they are at with the project now or if I will ever here from them.

I fix tons of computers for lots of people, and I am going to start being more picky about who I fix them for, no more 70+ year old people. I just can't take it.

 

[black dog]

A guy i used to help but finally gave up on, told me that he had gotten into an argument with the support guy he got when he rang his ISP( Telstra) for help. . The guy apparently called him a ****ing idiot and hung up on him. Chances are, the guy had had enough and probably resiegned soon after.

 

[XeRo]

LOL, I have my main desktop and an HP laptop. I have also got an old Dell dedicated to running ONLY my magic jack and a P4 Compaq desktop running a Linux server and a bare bones desktop. Well, I bought my gf an iMac a few years back and today she finally finished moving in with me. I went to set her iMac up and she yelled at me saying I will just mess with it and that if I do set it up it should be far away from my stuff. I lol because I have all that hardware to play with and she is worried about her iMac....the only reason I am eager to set it up is so I can have my computer(s) to myself and so I can get rid of all this rap music.........

 

[XeRo]

Another tale. I was called to help some poor people with a computer problem. Their monitor had given up.
The persons concerned were, nice family that they were were, well down on the savvy scale, and without cash.
I opened up the monitor, which was in terrible condition, and managed to get a spark of life out of it. Unfortunately one of the triggers has failed, and the whole screen had a dark pink tinge.
I had quite a few old monitors sitting around and did not feel like wasting time. I popped the computer back with a replaced monitor and installed in situu.
The first remark of the owner was that there seemed to be a problem with the colours, as they had all changed.
When I questioned him, it turned out that he and his family had been looking at the pink screen for about five years, unaware that there was anything wrong!
Believe it or not!!

:roflmao: THAT! made my night.