Do you like fixing nontweakers puters?

I mean folks that aren't into computers. I don't. I have trouble bailing other peoples computers out. This sounds a bit mean spirited, but I don't mean it that way.
By the time I get my hands on peoples puters they're generally so messed up it's not funny. I want to reinstall or do a clean install. But they don't want to back up their data. And they bitch they don't want to set it up again or they don't even have a copy of their OS. And I don't trust them enough if M$ leans on them.
And a lot of these people, I've told them what to do beforehand. So as to avoid these problems. They don't want to put in the effort. So I think they get what they deserve. Hate saying that.
If I fix such said systems they quickly get reinfected & they blame me. But when I tell people about maintenance on their computer. And I recommend an hour a week at least. And that I have at least 5 (probably 10) different programs other than an AV & PF to protect my computer. They look at me like I'm crazy.
So let them throw out their computer once every 12-18 months if they're lucky. And think that it's broken. When I & others know the truth. I'd say way over 50% of the computers thrown out in the US have only software problems, not hardware.

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Originally Posted by zapjb

So let them throw out their computer once every 12-18 months if they're lucky. And think that it's broken. When I & others know the truth. I'd say way over 50% of the computers thrown out in the US have only software problems, not hardware.

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That makes the economy go around though so stop fkin it up by being nice...

:unsure: :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zapjb

I mean folks that aren't into computers. I don't. I have trouble bailing other peoples computers out. This sounds a bit mean spirited, but I don't mean it that way.
By the time I get my hands on peoples puters they're generally so messed up it's not funny. I want to reinstall or do a clean install. But they don't want to back up their data. And they bitch they don't want to set it up again or they don't even have a copy of their OS. And I don't trust them enough if M$ leans on them.
And a lot of these people, I've told them what to do beforehand. So as to avoid these problems. They don't want to put in the effort. So I think they get what they deserve. Hate saying that.
If I fix such said systems they quickly get reinfected & they blame me. But when I tell people about maintenance on their computer. And I recommend an hour a week at least. And that I have at least 5 (probably 10) different programs other than an AV & PF to protect my computer. They look at me like I'm crazy.
So let them throw out their computer once every 12-18 months if they're lucky. And think that it's broken. When I & others know the truth. I'd say way over 50% of the computers thrown out in the US have only software problems, not hardware.

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Hi Zapjb,
my comment to you:
Remember: To most people, the pc represents "Magic"
You are the Magician and Grand Master.

The majority of the people view this object as an appliance. Your requests
for them to "SERVICE" the pc is view with skepticism (me? not my job)

You must accept that your knowledge is special and most will never be
able to fathom your special pc language and terminolgy. So, you will have to take out your frustration with this Forum, as we really do agree and
understand what you are feeling about those you help.

Perhaps ,the younger ones will learn-------That is why I am here and so are you my friend. Keep up the good work.

What gets to me the most is when they don't want to learn anything.

I don't have a problem giving peoples' computers a spring clean; after all, they pay me for it.

I know it gets a little boring uninstalling the mywebsearch, yahoo, ebay, google & msn toolbars and then explaining that the reason IE takes 10 minutes to load is because of these bolted on pieces of shit.
Then, of course, you have to explain that Little Johnny won't find Bearshare or <pick infested p2p> on there and why... then recommend Shareaza instead... and why.
What I like best is mom's face when I show her the list of files found by XsoftSpy & Adaware and she sees hundreds of entries for [email protected], johnny@sextracker[1].com etc.
:D
Of course, she doesn't notice the mywebsearch or coolwebsearch entries because they don't jump off the page like those with 'sex' in them.

I have been to loads of places where the son has been downloading pr0n onto their computer and now it's acting up.
You have to educate the parents and kids.
I always explain to the kids about diallers, trojans, adware, malware & spyware. I also tell them that when a page pops a box telling you that you absolutely MUST click on a link to get what you want, just ignore it. If you keep refreshing you should get what you want, and if you don't get it in 20 seconds, go somewhere else.
Parents usually aren't interested in specifics, so they get a very brief precis of what their hormone-driven son had, together with a reminder that a 15 year old's interest in naked women is natural and probably preferable to them than an interest in naked men.

Lately I've had a few connection problems. Mainly from cheap routers or cheap bulk-purchased-n-sold-on old Dells & Compaqs. Yeah, £50 is a good price for a computer, but an 800MHz Dell is not worth £20 even with the monitor. You can't tell the bargain-hunters that though, cos they just reply with the old 'I only want it for the internet, emails and playing solitaire... about 10 minutes before asking about installing a DVD burner & getting johnny's mate's HalfLife2 to run.


Anyway, I find the best thing is to always take along a CDRW disc of the latest versions of your favourite AV, Anti-Spy, Defragger & system cleanup tool (Ace Utilities! Yay!) and install them. Set the machine to AV scan and defrag once a week.
It's not a bad idea to have a document on your CDRW disc with instructions in it for keeping a PC healthy with the tools you've installed and why they should do so... then you can copy it to the middle of the customer's desktop for them to 'discover'.

Reminds me of my PC support career in the Old Dos days !

Great reading !

Its funny computers are easier to use now, but they do require a lot of maintenance. Please tell my wife that when she nags at me to get of it !

Regards
Digby

I agree, I hate fixing people's computers that are like that.
I hate even more when they tell me there's nothing wrong and wont let me fix it, that makes it even harder to tell them to keep it maintained properly. :blink:
Of course then when I'm alone on their comps I fix it up and they come back and say i'm a genious for making their comp faster. :happy:

I don't mind fixing ppl's puters. I enjoy seeing the change from molasses to a nice clean setup that's speedy. It's the getting ppl to pay me that usually doesn't come easy. I think ppl feel if u can do it so easily why should u be paid. Or, if they know you you just have to do it. *sigh*

Do like I do, install Remote administrator on their PCs. At least that way you dont have to get up off the chair or anything. :lol:

"Zapjb", I totally agree,
some times you go trough a lot of truble, even half a day fixin and trying things.
and then next week the call saying that theyr comp is doing strange things a gain, and they even dare to imply that you are to blame this time.
What ta', I mean, that doesn't feel good.
And you can't mention music download cus they literally get freaked out and
start telling long tales about when they got a virus from Kazaa,
damn you people,
I don't even bother anymore with explaining the proper p2p programs or the anty virus situation, its useless.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by worldpease

"Zapjb", I totally agree,
some times you go trough a lot of truble, even half a day fixin and trying things.
and then next week the call saying that theyr comp is doing strange things a gain, and they even dare to imply that you are to blame this time.
What ta', I mean, that doesn't feel good.
And you can't mention music download cus they literally get freaked out and
start telling long tales about when they got a virus from Kazaa,
damn you people,
I don't even bother anymore with explaining the proper p2p programs or the anty virus situation, its useless.

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Perhaps it's the way you tell them LOL

I know what you mean. The woman that lived next door when I was with my wife asked me for advice on a new comuter, then ordered an online one (could've been worse though, it wasn't Dell, Time or HP), then asked me to look at every damned little thing - from where her icons were going, to why there were so many things called "New folder" when she wanted to save a document.
The most exasperating was being told her brother-in-law had been printing on it the night before and now it was invalid. I took the floppy out.
After three months she came to me because even with a fucking great picture poster showing how to change ink cartridges, she couldn't manage it.
She is now the manager of a care home. I dread to think what will ensue when an event occurs that she hasn't got specific written instructions for. God help them if there's a fire.

I totally agree. It pisses me off, when I clean up my dad's PC or whatever, and then a week later he's on the phone "What did you do to my PC, now all this bad stuff is happening" that is completely unrelated to what I did... Same with my father-in-law's and my brother-in-law's...

As soon as you touch their PC's, then everything else that happens is somehow your fault. :angry:

i get itchy when i see one of those machines
but i have given up trying
unless they beg and allow me total freedom

I don't mind it that much, tho I do from time to time mind when people bring their home PCs into work for me to look at. Not that I mind fixing it for them, I just wish they'd at least take the time to clear their cookies and or hide their porn first. I mean please, I really don't want to know that your son is gay and your husband likes dogs waaaay too much (sadly, I'm not joking on either one).

And yes, I know I don't have to check, but let's be honest, it's impossible not to ;)

Its very rare for me to find a problem with a computer I'v tweaked for a friend , the odd problem yes but I blame it on the operater ! :) Uesualy its a supsciption from Norton that has expiered and I think ........ shit did n't I give them the Corp . version ?

I find it fun and certainaly a challenge with some of my buds , it keeps me up todate with a lot of things tho. :)


I could write a book with some of the goofy shit I'v seen from friends computer upgrades . Two video cards (he installed two one did n't work ) was one of the best or wrong memory purchases . You have to have pateince tho or why even help ? :)

most of my friends don't own computers, so i'm usually the most knowledged around them. i fix my relative's, neighbors, and co-workers machines often. sometimes it was just upgrading pieces or installing drives. didn't really mind at all; just wish they could've paid me or something.... :lol:

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Originally Posted by lee551

most of my friends don't own computers, so i'm usually the most knowledged around them. i fix my relative's, neighbors, and co-workers machines often. sometimes it was just upgrading pieces or installing drives. didn't really mind at all; just wish they could've paid me or something.... :lol:

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Just mention " Beer money " . Works every time ! I'd do it free but time is money . :D

My four biggest gripes...

People come into the shop asking about a hardware upgrade and haven't the slightest idea what kind of PC they currently have. No clue as to any of the specs, but I'm supposed to figure it out from their description..."It's beige" or "It's a Dell".

PCs that are so filthy that you need a tetinus shot before opening them up.
"OMG! So that's where Fluffy's been!"...

Most people think a computer is a computer...there is no difference between a $300 POS and a $2000 custom build. They won't spend the money to buy what they really want so they just bitch endlessly that their used Win 98 Compaq "seems slow" and can we "speed it up".
No fuckwit, we can't, time for a new PC.

The internet.
Oh God, don't get me started.
How many PCs have I sold only to hear a few hours later that they can't "get their email".
"Who's your ISP"
"AOL"
"What do they say?"
"Dunno, didn't call them, I called you."
"I'm not AOL tech support".
"Can't you just walk me through it?"
"Sure, I have nothing better to do with my life than wrestle with the crappiest software ever invented."
"Seems a bit harsh."
"OK, do this...
Unplug your PC and put it in the closet.
Write letters to your friends and enclose all the cute My Kitty photos you want, it's a lot easier than figuring out how to do attachments.
Buy a deck of cards...all you're ever going to do on your computer is play Solitaire anyway...that is, when you're not shivering in terror that a "hacker" is invading the PC trying to get your "personal data" that in fact you're too simple to have entered in anyway."
"You're mean".
"Yes, I am, have a nice day".

Yout after-sales service leaves alot to be desired... :dabs:

Yes it does...have a nice day.

I had to fix someone's computer that had AOL installed on it. I uninstalled it and told them to get a proper ISP. They paid me £30. True story.

Edit: Mmm, for some reason I thought I was in the Lounge...:blink:

You know I like helping someone young or old to get back on line but I don't blame Clocker, as some people don't listen . My best line was I can fix your cdrom with a screw driver and credit card , I take out your old one and throw in the trash ,you take your Visa card and buy a new one . :D






Hey can I add how many times have you added memory you had just lieing around gathering dust anyway, or installed a better psu just because your covering the bases and found a problem ? The old sdram pc100 or 33 . I mean not all of of my friends have upgraded yet . :O

*fkdup laughs his ass off

I like workin on PCs, so I don't bitch too much
but some things are just beyond reason

I posted about this in the hardware section the other day,
my boss, a hell of a guy really, and an ace mechanic, just not too computer savvy,
wants to see about getting one of these up and running again
I laughed.
me & a co-worker were talking about it before I looked up specs on it,
I didn't think the thing could even run a GUI based OS,
co-worker looked at me and said "you can't talk to him about GUI, text mode, etc. he'll get lost"
I laughed again.

can't really blame my boss though, he's an ex-NavySEAL-turned-grease-monkey,
and I think it was his immediate boss that brought that dinosaur Mac out of the grave

still funny though
and to think I used to laugh at people for wanting to upgrade Intel socket 370s :pinch:

and at least he listened to me about how worthless that old Mac is
I thought I was the only one that attracted all the stubborn asses until I read this thread
they never listen about the hardware obsolete-ed-ness,
never want to hear anything about the umpteen million startup services and why the pc takes 18 hours to boot up,
most of all...they....won't.....stop....browsing....FUCKING PORN...sheesh :lol:
not that I have anything against porn, to each his/her own,
but doing shit like that with an expired-2-years-ago-NAV....and windows firewall....and IE 5...
oh boy.

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Originally Posted by peat moss

Hey can I add how many times have you added memory you had just lieing around gathering dust anyway, or installed a better psu just because your covering the bases and found a problem ? The old sdram pc100 or 33 . I mean not all of of my friends have upgraded yet . :O

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LOL
I have done that so many times!
It was only recently that I got about a tenner on ebay for a huge great pile of old crap accumulated upgrading peoples' computers... 72-pin and 168-pin RAM, 3 CDROMs, CPUs, heatsink/fans etc. The parcel weighed over 10 kilos.:rolleyes: