A little while back [I still use XP] I had this problem. After being on the net for around 15 minutes, I'd get an "error" message - "Generic Host has encountered a problem . . . " Two or three minutes later the internet would disconnect and I'd have restart the computer. This got to be pretty annoying but after looking around the net I found something on a blog which helped me solve the issue. Since there's such a wealth of information on the net, isn't it better to find solutions online first before thinking about paying someone to solve the problem for you? Anyone else here been as lucky as me? Got a solution to what you thought was a serious issue, on the net?
I always go to the web and search the forums for fixes...on computer issues as well as DIY fixes for home repairs. I have saved a lot of money and frustrations by being able to repair things myself versus waiting for someone to do the work for me. In fact, several times I've run into a situation where I tried to deal with "professionals" and they couldn't figure out the problem, but a simple Internet search gave me the desired results.
I did that when my Mac 'died' and I used my tablet to try to figure out what to do. After blogs, YouTube tutorials and the apple support forum, no joy. I ended up calling apple support and I did everything he had suggested already. They are definitely worth looking into, except if your laptop dies and you don't have a tablet then it would be difficult to look up things. @Denis Hard , XP? Is it still working? I hope you've upgraded by now otherwise you'll be writing the help blogs.
My stepdad is a computer technician, so if push comes to shove, I can always ask him for help. But he lives an ocean away, and I prefer to fix my problems myself -- so I've used google, forums, reddit and youtube many many times to fix problems. And between my boyfriend (whose PC I actually built myself!) and me, we have enough trouble to fix to keep me guessing. I think the first time I came to this solution of "do it myself" was --- there used to be this noise in my laptop, and I would brush it away but my stepfather said something was wrong with the fan. Since my laptop was still under warantee, we sent it to DELL. Fixed. But the next time the problem came, I was far away, no warrantee anymore, I just looked up dell+fan+rattling noise and found out how to open the back of my laptop and clean out the space and change the thermal paste. Since then, I realized how much easier it was to take care of my laptop than to just wait that it completely fucks up, and so that's what I've been doing.
Definitely. As long as you have an active internet connection, you can troubleshoot practically anything. You may not be able to fix some things - obviously, there will be hardware failures that you just can't do much about - but as far as the software problems go, yeah. I never paid a "professional" to fix my stuff, I always did it either myself or with the help of the internet.
I've had this happen to me a lot of times before and I've fortunately found a fix for many of my problems. There were a few instances where I couldn't find a fix for my problems with electronics but most of the time I do find some articles because the errors I get are mostly common. I prefer to start searching for solutions on youtube though because it's much easier for me to follow videos where I can see what's happening instead of just reading about it.
If you have even the slightest bit of technical knowledge, then you should almost never pay someone to fix software issues. Hardware issues are another thing altogether, though. You can find most of the solutions and answers you need to remedy the problem online, and the average fix is easy enough to perform yourself and save some money in the process.
Embarrassing it is to admit, but I still use XP. I've used some of the newer Operating systems but I never did get to like them. What will eventually force me to ditch XP is when new versions of software I use [like browsers] for example, don't run on XP. But until then I'll stick with good old XP.
Of course. I usually Google the crap out of every problem that I encounter before actually taking it to professionals. The internet is a vast gold mine of information and the best part is that it's for free so only a complete ignorant would look past it. Also, you're still using Windows XP? I don't mean to nag or anything but you probably should take into consideration upgrading mate. XP is like the best OS Microsoft has ever put out but it's getting old and well, you know, problems like that would arise.
There are actually a lot of people who still use XP. It's why there was such an uproar when Microsoft said it would no longer be supporting it. And yes, I definitely go to the internet to look for solutions first. I've been able to fix most issues myself.
