Where did you learn all that stuff?

[dbarrow]

“Where did you learn all that stuff?”

I tripped across a blog today with that header and it got me to thinking about it.
It is a question that I have heard asked of me many times over.

Just how do you learn all that stuff? How do you pack all that computer knowledge into your head and manage to retrieve it out of the clear blue?

In my case, I date back to the CoCo64, Trash80, and some of the other pre-computer products that were not much more than a sophisticated calculator you hooked to your TV set. They didn’t do much or come with much and you had to write your own programs, saved on your cassette tape recorder. Those were the days I got hooked on programming and spent many nights watching the sun come up writing a simple little program. It was the beginning of an addiction.

Where to start?

Develop an insatiable reading addiction for tech publications and web sites.
The information is out there, all you have to do is find it and read it!
Make this a routine!
The newspaper is for the bathroom. My first four cups of coffee is for the hour or two a day I spend going through my bookmarks of tech sites and forums. I don’t function until I have half a pot of coffee in me and I have to have something to do while I gulp it down so I read until the tank fills up. I routinely browse 20 or more sites. Where do you think I get all those things I post?

You have to stay current!
The problem with anything related to computers is that it changes daily!
If you are not up to the minute current, you will miss something of importance.
News about hardware, software, networking, wifi, and anything else computer related is falling out of the sky like snow on a daily basis. Get out of the loop for even a month and you fall behind.

I know many people in the IT field. Many of them get locked into their own little world dealing with often outdated hardware and software. Despite being “IT” people, they are often several years out of touch with what is current and what is coming. A few I know, who have to keep current to keep their jobs, often lament the amount of time they have to spend reading and keeping up with current trends. Fall off the wagon, get left behind, and maybe unemployed!

[dbarrow]

2

BUILD A MACHINE

Nothing forces you to get educated in a hurry like building your own!
Sure, it takes all of 30 minutes to slap the parts together and see it breath its first breath, but you have months of research to do before that point in time arrives.

When you start making your parts list, the first chore is to look at the current trends in chipsets and CPUs. You don’t want to build something that is already three years outdated or will be rendered instantly obsolete by what is coming down the pipes.
Do you wait for the newest latest and greatest or grab the current best of the best?
If it is current, will it be quickly dropped in favor of something new due out in a month and parts, service, and tech support dry up rapidly?
Is it worth waiting for a price drop when the new stuff comes out or will it vanish from the shelves entirely?

Murphy’s rule of computers: What you buy today will be obsolete tomorrow!

Winners and losers
There is about a one year “window” where the new stuff shakes out.
Intel or AMD announce a new platform.
Mobo makers gear up for production.
It hits the shelf in about six months.
People start buying it and there is about a six month “shake down period” where it either works or shows a cart load of problems.
Some prove out to be out and out winners and stay in production.
Some turn out to be real losers that just don’t work!
Maybe the mobo maker redesigns or fixes with BIOS updates or maybe they drop the line altogether.

Look for something “within the window” and read, read, read all the forums and support sites related to it. Is it a winner or loser? Time spent in research here is time saved trying to fix problems later. Choose a winner! Choose what other people have said looks like the optimal combination of parts and settings. Avoid anything where you find forum after forum of complaints and problems.

The same applies to all the other hardware on your parts list.

Put it all together
There’s nothing like the day you lay all your parts out, slap them together, and light it up for the first time, until you are greeted with the major “Oh $*#t!”.
Hopefully, during all that reading, you bookmarked all the sites and forums where the various problems were posted and you know where to look to find the answers.
Back to the forums for more research and reading!

Working your way through building a box and solving all the problems to get it functional and working will give you a rapid and very in depth education in a very short period of time!
You will increase your general computer knowledge ten fold in days and weeks because you have no choice! The expensive pile of parts sitting in front of you can’t be ignored and demands you find the solution.

[dbarrow]

3
FIX A PROBLEM

Problem solving demands education!
What is our addiction to hanging out on this bbs and fixing other people’s problems for free?
Justifying the time we invest here certainly does not seem possible with no monetary return, or does it?

Every problem you solve is something you learn!
Sooner or later, you will probably run across the same problem or something similar again and next time, you will already know the answer!
It’s amazing how all these little bits of information manage to string themselves together in the vast library of your brain. The reading and research you do solving even the smallest problems will come back to save you the one time you really need it. That one small mundane piece of information you tripped across may be key to solving a major problem later on down the road.
How often does someone ask you for an answer to what seems to them to be an insurmountable problem and you rattle off the answer without even thinking about it?
It just happened to be one of those little tidbits of information you packed away in your brain while looking for the answer to something else.

Even if your machine(s) run perfectly without ever giving you the least little problem (sure!),
you will undoubtedly and inevitably run up against some problem you need to fix.
Broadening your knowledge base by solving other people’s problems will save you when that day comes, or at least leave you with the right resources to know where to look when the time comes.

Fixing machines for friends, relatives, the boss or anyone else you have a personal relationship with does have a heavy price!
Do a “favor” for someone you know and they may end up hating you!
The minute you touch their machine, you “own” it and are responsible for anything that happens to it … forever!
You fixed it once, therefore, you have to fix it again the next time they have a problem.
They don’t care how much time and effort you expend, you owe it to them.
You will forever be the first person they call for “tech support”.
Even if you move or change your phone number, they will hunt you down!
You told them to buy something and it didn’t work so now it’s all your fault.
They didn’t follow your advice but now blame you for their mess and expect you to fix it.

I think the above is why we all like to participate on the bbs.
Here, we “suggest” and it’s up to the requester to execute the suggestion.
You can take our advice or not.
We are not obliged to continue working on your problem.
Nobody owes anybody anything!
In the process of problem solving, we learn, you learn.
Everybody benefits and there’s no recourse for bad feelings if it does not work out.
We choose what problems we want to tackle and how deep we go solving them.
We learn from each other.

[dbarrow]

4
LEARN YOUR RESOURCES

The first step in computer education is finding out where to go to get the answers.
Coupled with an insatiable reading habit, you want to establish a “library” of sources during your travels through the web.

Bookmark
Whenever you run across a good “source” for information, save a bookmark!
Build some bookmark folders, by category, to organize these bookmarks and store them in a format where you can easily find what you are looking for, ie: if you are working on a motherboard problem for a particular brand and model, create a bookmark folder for it and save a bookmark for any site where you find information on it.
There is nothing worse than running across a problem, and you know you read the answer to that exact same thing … somewhere … but you don’t remember where!

Search Tools
Learn how to SEARCH using the various search tools and search engines.
Many are capable of advanced search options where you can enter a whole paragraph of information or even a detailed question and it will bring back relevant results.
Learn the ins and outs of all the search engines and what they are capable of.

Learn how to search the MSKB, one of the largest repositories of computer information ever established. When it comes to any type of Windows problem, the MSKB is often the first and foremost place I start.
Following the trail of breadcrumbs through the MSKB can be exhausting as the search results will often lead you to page after page of articles. Some may be what you are looking for and others totally unrelated … but interesting never the less!
I keep a bookmark folder for MSKB articles as I often trip across something interesting I may need in the future … whether it is related to the current problem or not.
I have found that a handy reference so many times when I have been able to go right to an MSKB article for some other problem. It would probably take a lifetime to read every article in the MSKB!
If you want to broaden your own knowledge base, or simply have time to kill, go to the MSKB and enter any search term for anything Windows that pops into your head. Spend an hour browsing through the articles the search returns. You will be amazed at what you can learn in a very short period of time.

[dbarrow]

5
NEVER PAY FOR COMPUTER COURSES

They’re all over the place! Every high school night education program has evening computer classes. There are online education courses, books, cds, and a host of other commercial enterprises looking to make money off you.

Before this stuff makes it into print, it’s usually outdated by years!
The people teaching it may have been teaching from the same material for years and may be so out of touch with current that they are irrelevant.
(sorry Fred, that one is not pointed at you!)
All you ever want to know is easily obtainable on the web … for free!

DON’T FALL PREY TO THE LOCAL “GURU”

Local “brick and mortar” computer shops are vanishing faster than VHS players.
You may be fortunate enough to have a local shop where they don’t rape you on prices because they can’t afford to compete with the chain stores and big names.
Even if you do happen to have a local shop where they repair computers, buyer beware!
These guys have to make a living. They are going to sell you what they make money on.
Their “expertise” may be very limited to what they sell on a regular basis.
They are too busy working for a living to stay current in a broad range.
Depending how much you value your time, a few hours of free reading and problem solving on your own may be well worth the investment.
I have often been flatly disappointed when walking into one of these shops and finding my conversation going right over their heads…..

[PeteF]

Bookmark
Whenever you run across a good “source” for information, save a bookmark!
Build some bookmark folders, by category, to organize these bookmarks and store them in a format where you can easily find what you are looking for, ie: if you are working on a motherboard problem for a particular brand and model, create a bookmark folder for it and save a bookmark for any site where you find information on it.


Again Doug, excellent post!
There is a wealth of info in this thread of yours.
You should write a book.

One comment on bookmarking info sources....
I have been bookmarking exactly as you suggest and now have about
3,000 bookmarks in some 200 folders. Unfortunately, bookmarks often
become obsolete, or web pages change, so I found it best to capture
any useful information using cut & paste operations to plain text format.
I save those to a few select folders with very descriptive titles so I
can find the info in the future. Windows SEARCH can usualy find what
I'm looking for. However, I wish I had a better search engine for use
on my local PC. Any suggestions?

---pete---

[dbarrow]

MS OneNote program....
http://www.kickenhardware.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2125&highlight=onenote

Daughter is making heavy use of this for organization and since it now lives on my machine, I see potential in this area as well.

You can store the relevant text as well as the link, and even pictures all easily found with the search functions of the program.
This is one of the best "organization" programs I have seen that makes storing and finding information a snap.

Rather than saving portions of MSKB articles as doc files, I can see copy/paste important sections of the articles, along with the link, into OneNote. Anything in the txt would then be searchable by keyword, across multiple notes.
OneNote is set up with folders and subfolders within the program so you can set up any kind of organization structure you want.
Within that structure, you can also link to any files, txt within files, pictures, video, sound files stored on your machine.

Ie: let's say you want all information related to your motherboard where you can easily reference it.
Create a folder in OneNote, create pages within that folder that link to the PDF manual, links to any articles, links to forums, pics of the schematic, copy/paste any txt from docs, etc.
OneNote integrates with any MS program, and a host of other functions on your machine.
Everything is easily found by organization structure or search in OneNote.

Let's say you are keeping a record about a customer's machine, and any repairs or information related to it.
Do it in OneNote and make a notation for every repair along with links to any information you required for that job. All would be easily found and retrieved at any time.

Very powerful program!
I can see making much use of this in the future.

[photolady]

I happen to work for one of those Local Guru's as you call it. I don't keep a lot of parts on hand. And no, I can't build them cheaper than Dell, Compaq/HP or Gateway, but I have knowledge of newest and best and I offer local support. This is what makes my shop work.

One more thing: I also don't use the cheapest parts either.
I don't gouge my customers. I even take the time to explain what each part does or doesn't do. When the system is finished, if they need me to, I go to their house and set it all up for them. And it's not extra to have me do this either. I've made many friends this way, and more than enough return customers.

[mylanta]

PL,
I do the same thing with the exception I always go to the house as I don't have a shop, but like you I never use crap and I won't repair it or "half fix" it either. I have lost unbillable hours many times trying to repair a spyware or virus wasted system, that I wind up reformatting anyway, and I am hoping to learn how to avoid that in the future and just "cut and run" quicker.
let's face it, the Dells and HPs of the world can hide any crap they want inside, and the average customer will never see or know about it. What you told me about Foxconn motherboards blew my mind as Dell was always known for using only Intel mobos. Gateway was a mobo mfgr, so I knew they knew how to mfgr crap and did. The other thing that makes all of them little value, is the issue of an OS cd and programs. We cannot build without one and that alone adds $100 to what we do, and our clients just have to realize it as most do. I cannot help but wonder if new Dell routines are hiding dumping of illegal software in their systems because the way they do it, why would any program need licensing per machine.

[athomsfere]

Another program that I feel works better then any of the above, Treepad.
http://www.treepad.com/
Download it, treepad lite is free.
Just copy and paste any useful info here, I also use it to find links for people, and I am currently trying to organise all the BSODs.

[Pi rules]

Good post!

I first started learning when some guy near my house gave away free outdated PC parts. I took some, then got a few old PCs at rummage sales and tried new things (while not knowing much). I read a few books and went online to read things. When I had problems, I looked them up on Google and found the best answers on some of the forums I help out at today. I couldn't find some answers, so I joined a few forums (starting with Linux forums (for questions, I still don't know enough to help Linux users), then moving to general forums. I read posts, subscribed to PC magazines, read books, etc. and soon learned a lot about PCs.

Now I'm reading Mike Meyer's All-In-One Guide to A+ Certification and I'm learning even more, especially in my "weak-spots": SCSI, laser printers (the process), and advanced networking (I can setup a home network w/o problems, but I don't know enough about corporate networks).

However, I wish I had a better search engine for use on my local PC.
I tried MSN Desktop Search (not sure what it's called now) a while ago and it worked fairly well (surprisingly). Just make sure to look at the privacy options and stuff to make sure it doesn't communicate with MS servers.