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Technology for tech-aversed
MOST of the problems are with users and not with computers. They are being used in almost all fields of human activities from simple book keeping to creative purists as well as a mean of personal enrichment. Computers have already proved very useful in increasing efficiency. But what if computer stops working in the middle of something important, particularly when every thing one has is in there? It is very frustrating to say the least, for the most part when a home user does not know what to do next.
Broadly speaking, the home computer users can be divided into two categories: those inquisitive and curious types who keep learning new skills as they work on computers. They acquire knowledge through active participation in their own learning on computers; and by connecting the new knowledge to knowledge that they already possess. They are quick at the uptake. Once they have learned basic computer tasks, they can build upon that knowledge to learn more advanced operations. I personally subscribe to this learning philosophy and employ it into my teaching. In case of any problem these “technical minded” computer users confidently roll up their sleeves and find out solutions to their problems. Invariable they are successful.
With no formal computer training, Iqbal Javed, a banker by profession, has grown proficient at rummaging through his PC's CPU and changing settings to suit what he wants. He has become such an expert that others — some time hard core techies — rely on him for their immediate technical queries. He has the biggest assortment of devices installed into his PC that I have ever seen. “My first trouble shooting measure is always to make sure that everything is connected properly, with no loose wires. I learned this lesson the day I unloaded and reloaded printer drivers and could not figure out why my new printer still did not print. After wasting lot of time and energy I found that the printer cable had come unplugged from the back of the computer,” told Iqbal. Like Iqbal more users find themselves becoming techies, to some extent, by necessity even if not choice.
Then there are those users who are comfortable while working on computers. But the moment there is a minor problem, they simply sit back till some one put their system right for them. They are mystified by all the computer hardware, software, jargon, acronyms, properties, claims, and capabilities. Some users keep tolerating mildly annoying ‘troubles’ in their computers and suffer with the imperfection and low productivity as long as their machines keep working; it finally takes down everything else. Most of such users know this but would rather risk the consequences than look for timely help.
“Technology shy people prefer to stay away from computer and deny themselves the benefits of powerful tool of this age,” says Anwar Ahmad, a teacher of Computer Science, “They think it is too technical for them so much so that some hesitate to touch the mouse. They do not try to learn at all.”
As computers are entering the homes in greater numbers and their meaningful usage is increasing at a steady pace; people have started relying on them for in what ever they happen to be doing. But computer maintenance and support services are still not very efficient and sometime not available at all in our low tech environment. Costly “on site” services are only offered in some parts of big cities. ISPs have helpline for users facing problems in connecting to them. The internet users sometime have to hold the telephone for as long as 15 minutes just to be told that the internet links with international gateway are down (remember internet outage on July 7, 2003). Hence, when users hit some technical snag beyond their skills or need help right away, they have to take the computers to local repair shop where some self taught technician will trouble shoot their computers for them, pay, and bring back the “repaired” machines. Besides cost, the exercise is greatly inconvenient and takes time.
What are the most common PC problems? It may be malfunctioning of any of the parts plugged into CPU, such as modem, printer, keyboard, etc. They may not be properly connected in the first place. Or, the computer simply hangs up, freezes. One universal complaint is of the computer and or the internet being slow. Some time users encounter problems booting PC, or appears to have power and yet nothing appears to happen.
Very embarrassing situation may arise when while surfing the internet, clicking some link, may be inadvertently, results into an undesired icon quietly sitting on the Status Bar (with array of links users may not have dreamt of visiting in Favourite Folder) of the computers or a new bar automatically appearing under the standard Toolbar of the browser. Users hesitate to get help in such cases and the tiny icon or a Toolbar simply refuses to get deleted or uninstalled. Imagine any silver surfer with such a glitch on a family computer!
So what the common home users should do? They should empower themselves with knowhow about the working of computers. Knowing “My Computer” is a good starting point. Discovering what kinds of objects populate that cache, how to move around in it, and what can be used for doing what. Users’ familiarization with System Tools and using then for periodic maintenance may also keep the system healthy.
In case of a trouble, knowing the exact nature makes the solution easier. The real challenge is of fixing it. One does not have to be a scientist to do that. It sounds downright simple but the fact is that so many software and hardware problems can be remedied by a simple “Restart.” Sometime scanning the system with latest antivirus may solve general PC dilemmas. Most situations in Windows environment can be resolved by looking into the “help menu,” Asking question directly or finding a table of contents and searching for relevant section. Advance users can use Restore feature available in some versions of Windows to go back to the configuration when computer was last working properly. Any software or hardware installed after that date will need to be reinstalled to work. There are some rich help sources online. Beginners can keep copy of “PC for Dummies” by Dan Gookin or any other good book on troubleshooting and problem solving for ready reference.
When all else fails, call for professional help. But before calling make sure that you know the nature of trouble or exact error messages if you are getting one. In case the technician is to come on site, all of the original software that came with PC, should be on hand.
“In my fourteen years of computer troubleshooting and repair experience I have found that that 95 per cent of problems are with users and not with computers,” sums up Imtiaz Khan, a professional computer technician who runs a repair shop. Simply knowing own computer may help solve most of its problems, can enhance the efficiency and keep it in powerful condition for longer time without going to repair shops. It is users’ choice!
The writer
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