Computer Problems There is one thing we can be sure about if we use computers, sooner or later we will have some sort of problem. Problems can be harder for some to handle than others and there are even certain computer problems which need the attention of professionals. Not all of us are at the same level of experience with computers. The older generation, pre computer, are having the worst times with computer problems because what is a real problem for them may just be an annoyance which is easily fixed for many of us. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I was called to neighbor’s houses to fix their computer problems and many of the times they were simple to fix. One of the biggest problems they would have, was a virus infection. Some of them ran their computers without any virus protection being active or never bothered to update it. I was able to fix that most of the time, but in a few cases I had to reinstall Windows. This was before Windows had built in protection of its own. Another problem some of the older people had was with their email. Many times, it was caused by the fact they didn’t know how to send it. There were also times when they wanted to use an email program which they didn’t know how to install and set-up. I went to one house and noticed the people had a new computer. These people were about my age. I asked them what happened to their old one, which was not that old. I was told they threw it away because it was giving them problems. What had really happened was they screwed up some of the software and blamed the machine. Sometimes things just go wrong which we have no control over. For example, I had something happen the other day which I could do nothing about. I have my Microsoft Outlook email program set up to receive my Yahoo email among other accounts and it has worked fine for years, but yesterday it would not accept my password through Outlook even though it would through the Yahoo website. I tried setting up the account again several times, but to no avail. I am waiting to see if this problem will be corrected by a Microsoft update. Sometimes unusual problems like this disappear after an update. Recently I had a problem where suddenly my wireless keyboard and wireless mouse stopped working. I tried everything and finally got it to go by doing something very strange. Wireless keyboards come with a USB stick which has the connection software. I ran a USB cable about six feet away from the computer and plugged the USB stick into it and everything worked fine. It took two updates but the problem was fixed by installing a new Windows update. It never pays to panic, for example I could have plugged in my wired keyboard and mouse they worked fine, but I am tired of all the wires. I shy away from trying to fix hardware repairs when things like soldering is needed or complex work. At my age it is just too much trouble and I don’t have the equipment to test anything. I am not one to let a failed power supply stop me or broken hard drive. I have no problem pulling them out of my desktop and replacing them. I don’t replace expensive mother boards anymore because as I said I have no way of testing them, so for that I will get them repaired, which I did a couple of months ago. In all the years I have in computing I have had only two computers which either needed a mother board repair or replacement. The first was my Amiga computer in the late 1980s, it had to have a channel on it soldered. I no longer build computers because the parts are so expensive, it doesn’t make sense unless you are going to build an extremely high end one for many thousands of dollars and even then, I would check out the prices by custom builders first. At this point in time, high end graphic cards are so expensive it might be cheaper to buy a computer with one installed. One time I got a call where an elderly couple asked me to look at their computer because it wouldn’t turn on. I never took any money for helping out my neighbors and I was not in the computer repair business. It was just that I had been involved with computers since the very first home computers came out and had taken computers in college when you had to hope you could get time on the mainframe so you could try out the programs you wrote using punch cards. Anyway, when I got to my neighbor’s house, they wanted to feed me with coffee and cake. I guess they were a little embarrassed to have to call me and ask for a favor. Things got even more embarrassing because the husband was standing over me watching as I checked out the computer. It wouldn’t go on and he said see this is what I mean. I checked the outlet and noticed the computer was unplugged and plugged it in and then tried the computer. When the computer went on I turned to mention it was okay and my neighbor was very embarrassed. I told him not to worry about it and he apologized and I left.
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