I Need Help!

Hey Ron,

Once I saw a disclaimer: We will not be held responsible for the use of this software, By clicking yes, you acknowledge that we the undersigned will not be held responsible for, Your divorce, your house burning down, your kids running away, your expensive new girl friend and last, but not least, your computer crashing and lose of all data. (You use this software at your own risk! )
Thank you for trying……

I think that we must be careful who we give info to but then again we gotta learn. I learned the most the hard way. We just need to stop blaming the other guy.

Kyle

In this case, when a novice doesn’t know what a registry is, noway you can explain these things and get them understand! the best way i would suggest is to send the car to the mechanic or bring the mechanic home(remote assistance).

I go back and forth on this… Part of me says don’t let the newbie do more dangerous things, like using regedit. The other part says let them do it, how else will they ever learn? How did we learn? By letting someone else do it for us? In my past experience, the people who i did everything for never learned anything, and years later they are at the same skill level they were at when they started. It’s definitely a vexing problem. I think forums and getting help on forums is great, I personally think seeking help from a “professional” Is not something I could ever do personally. I know a few people who have brought their computer to a “Pro” and in my opinion been ripped off. Maybe because I’m cheap and couldn’t see paying for it. Nor would I ever charge someone for helping them.

Hi Kyle,
Those disclaimer are a killer.

Hello Badri,
Agree. Thanks for your comments.

Heh Jason,
I hear you. I struggle with the same thing. Most of us have learned computers by trial and error.

Thanks all, Ron

Working with the computer impaired all day, every day is soul and hope killing. I could tell the guy, in a step-by-step, let me hold your hand, manner and he would still screw it up and get it wrong and blame me. It’s easier for me to either remote into his machine and edit the registry or go on site and do it.

Some AV companies have knowledge bases on their site that will give anyone who can look up the name of a virus or mal-ware bug and plug it in, registry editing information. It’s like giving gasoline to a pyromaniac with a book of matches and telling him to just burn the trash. You know what’s going to happen, and despite any disclaimer of responsibility for the stupid actions of others, it’s ALWAYS going to be the fault of the person that knows how to do it, because you didn’t do it for the person in the first place.

That being said, I encourage learning about the operating system to anyone I know. Sure, I take my car to a mechanic when I need a repair. He is the expert. However, if needs be, I can change my own oil, perform a tune up and change a tire.

With thorough documentation of all steps required, giving advanced steps to a n00b is no big deal, except for the hassle if they THINK they know what they are doing, and skip steps, don’t listen/read well enough, or decide that a hard fix is not the best fix when it is. Anyhoo… i’m bitter from working as a consumer and then business DSL tech support agent for Verizon. People who don’t whine, have humility to seek help, and can follow instructions will receive my help everytime. No matter their technical proficiency.

Hi A. Richter and Daniel,
Thanks to you both for sharing your expertise with us. Your comments are appreciated.
Ron

I wish I was half as savvy as you guys but as mentioned above I have learned by trial and error…..mostly errors….Ha…….

I live on the forums and always…always…extend a hand of gratitude…..you young guys that get into the nuts and bolts of the one’s and zero’s amaze me. Let me be one to extend my appreciation for you folks that are so willing to lend a hand…yah made the world a little better for someone’s life…!

So you guys keep up the good work and ‘member…some folks yah can’t hep anyways..right….. …….lol……

Hello Chinookman,
Thanks for your comments.
Ron

remember: good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgement….so there you are…it’s called learning…

Hi kiko,
Good point. Thanks for your comment.
Ron

I agree. Hands on and trial & error is the way to learn. Experiment when you can’t cause any permanent damage. Do your homework before attempting anything critical, like flashing the bios or editing the registry. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice - most people love to give it. I never took a formal computer class in my life, but I’m usually the one my co-workers come to when they’re having computer problems. I always advise them to be gentle with our work machines….they are PRICELESS ANTIQUES!

Hello motherunit,
Thanks for your comments and advice.
Ron

Oh my, the _Registry_ again. Simply put, this abomination from Microsoft is remarkable. Indeed, by not following directions exactly with some degree of understanding, the user can create impossible havoc. But one still questions the rationale behind the registry. Microsoft sought to embed a remarkable amount of information into the registry that has little to do with the machine’s static environment. This adds fluff (recently used documents, etc) that could readily be included in a localized INI file.

I love the MAC OS approach - drag a program folder to the trash and it’s gone. No “registry” effects. Whatever resources that program needed are dumped. Simple.

But within the registry there are hundreds of obscure links. I can and have, removed manually all traces of Symantec to finally shed System Works. But that was a daunting task. I can’t imagine how to explain to the typical user the steps involved, nor do I think I should.

I personally think the registry should be a central place to enumerate the machine’s environment rather than a catalog of every application’s environment which should be maintained local to that application. That would have made the registry fairly simple, and global to that machine’s environment. But that arguement has long been lost.

Indeed, Regedit is both a useful tool and a curse. I use it in a crisis, cursing the entire time.

Hello HarryH,
It is a curse at times.
Ron