some people should not have computers

[hoppy]

There is a guy in my work who overheard me talking with another workmate about how shite Vista is. (just my personal view all Vista lovers)
He spoke to me on Wed saying that he had a Vista lappy and that it was crap and takes forever to boot up and his browser is helluva slow.
He asked if i would put xp in it or find some way to speed it up so i said bring it into work and i will look at it.

So he brings it in today and at lunchtime i fired it up.
Straight away i knew something was wrong as it took 10mins to boot up.
When i finally got it running i took a look at his start up programs which had a total of 37 programs listed, most of which were crap and not needed.
His security was a good one, Windows defender and nothing else.
His utilities were even better, none at all and he had never heard of disc fragmentation.
When i checked one of the 3 browsers he had loaded it had every toolbar you can think of loaded in it.

The end result is i gave him a book about the basics and told him to never switch his pc on again until he reads it from cover to cover then to bring the lappy back in and i will re install Vista for him.
He took the hump and said i was a techno snob and that we are not all computer geeks.
I said im not a mechanic but i know that it takes some general knowledge and common sense to run a car and its the same as computers.

Is it just me or does anybody else agree that im being snobby?
Why are some people so ignorant about understanding the basics of a pc ?

 

[Exclusive]

Sorry mate think your being a snobby

Not everyone has interest in a computer..

He may have very good knowledge in something else and you may not know nothing about it,

so people have there own skills in their own areas they are interested in...

 

[harrykhan05]

ha!!ha!!!! erm your ok mate should have givin him a pratical lesson on what to do aswell.

 

[hoppy]

Sorry mate think your being a snobby

Not everyone has interest in a computer..

He may have very good knowledge in something else and you may not know nothing about it,

so people have there own skills in their own areas they are interested in...

Nah that's fair enough fella i did feel a bit guilty after i said it but if i paid nearly 400 quid for something i would learn how to maintain it.

 

[HibbyDave]

Snobby barsteward.........:roflmao:

I've got a lot of mates like this, they think I'm here to fix all their computer prob's and to be honest I'm getting a bit pissed off cause they never learn and keep making the same mistakes and just expect me to fix them, so feck them mate. roud:


:Cheers:

 

[Captin]

I have the same problem with the mother-in-law. She expects to turn the thing on and for it to do what she wants and then turn it off again, thats the extent of the knowledge she wants.

But why is it when you tell them it's not a good idea to have all these things running, with lots of toolbar's and addons, that they get the hump.

 

[jb6801]

Snobby barsteward.........:roflmao:

I've got a lot of mates like this, they think I'm here to fix all their computer prob's and to be honest I'm getting a bit pissed off cause they never learn and keep making the same mistakes and just expect me to fix them, so feck them mate. roud:


:Cheers:

Same here mate.

All i get from my mates, dad, sister, father in law.... is "why should i try and learn about computers when i can just ring you!"

I don't mind the major faults but a little basic knowledge solves most of their issues.:Chainsaw:

 

[chookey]

Its' the way things are Hoppy, some people believe that a computer has intelligence. They can't see that they need to be educated to get the most from it.
There are pc literate, savvy, geniuses in every pub, every town you could think of.
They can stand there all smug and knowing but would never dream of telling the person what they are doing wrong. Honesty is the only way mate and if that upset him then tough, he will always have problems with his setup.

Chookey

 

[pks00]

Similar situation as others, got lots of non pc literate mates. Any problems then they always give me a shout. Even when it comes to simple modding like the Wii.

Hoppy, my cousin had his laptop in a similar situation. He knew all about downloading using limewire and stuff but lappy was full of viruses. Took me damn ages to clean it up. No amount of education helps as sometimes it falls on deaf ears. They don't seem to comprehend anything.

I guess thats why the non techy "the tech guys of pcworld" can make lots of money.

 

[Rodbouy]

I agree with you hoppy 100% people just think, get a computer and turn it on and the world is great. They don't get just how a computer could be their worst nightmare if you don't have suffice security.

You dont have to be a geek to know you need security to be online.

I get fed up to with basic ignorance even when you tell them. Every one needs to learn and understand the basics of anything they use not just press a button and turn it on.

My Brother in law is 20 but acts like a fucking idiot. Now I have the avast running on his machine, and every fucking time I goto the house, he has it turned off yet does his online banking. I end up losing the plot saying why ? why turn it off? the answer !!!! it lags. so you tell him **** UP and leave it alone. But he does it every time. So i gave up and tell him I wont touch it again, if it fucks up fix it your self.

 

[J]

ur a..........................

 

[havelln]

i know how you fell i always get people bring old pc's round i had one person bring and old celeron 300mhz with 64mb of ram runing xp he wanted me to make it faster i told him to chuck it in the bin and just go buy a new pc for 150 pound
he well looked pissed off

the best one i get though people phone me up saying the game they just bought dont work i ask them what spec does the game need to run and they haven't got a clue

 

[hoppy]

I agree with you hoppy 100% people just think, get a computer and turn it on and the world is great. They don't get just how a computer could be their worst nightmare if you don't have suffice security.

You dont have to be a geek to know you need security to be online.

I get fed up to with basic ignorance even when you tell them. Every one needs to learn and understand the basics of anything they use not just press a button and turn it on.

My Brother in law is 20 but acts like a fucking idiot. Now I have the avast running on his machine, and every fucking time I goto the house, he has it turned off yet does his online banking. I end up losing the plot saying why ? why turn it off? the answer !!!! it lags. so you tell him **** UP and leave it alone. But he does it every time. So i gave up and tell him I wont touch it again, if it fucks up fix it your self.

He he he, sounds like how i felt today fella.
Thanks to everyone for your replies they all made sense to me as i feel the same way with regard to fixing friends and friends of friends computers only to get them back a few months later.
I have no problem showing people how to do things or explain the basics as long as they listen to what im telling them.

When i said to the guy at work about security and utilities he gave me a blank look and was convinced it was Vista at fault and not himself.
So i thought what's the point, have a read of this and give me a shout if you want me to reinstall Vista.
I didn't see any point in me doing a format and giving him a nice fresh oes for him to feck it all up again.

Anyway im glad im not alone as it looks like a lot of you have been through the same shit..

 

[HappyH]

My 'mate' brought a laptop his gf had given him & asked me to look at it as it was running slow. XP took just over 10 mins to boot up ffs, I wiped it & did a fresh install, updated it, stuck NOD on & got it running sweet - certainly damn quicker than it was. A week later I asked him how it was running, he said I've no idea my gf took it back as it was running so nice........
HH.

 

[hatab]

In the end you just have to sort out who you will help for free, whether its family, friends or people on a forum.

All the rest you charge an hourly rate (no exceptions) the more they have stuffed it up the more they have to pay.......it is surprising how quickly they learn, when it cost a few bob to put right rather than a free fix.

 

[Jackel]

You can tell people that many times it just goes in one ear and out of the other, i am forever telling friends and family, to do regular scans, to crapclean, defrag etc etc 3months later you are back to square one.

So yes know where you are coming from there.

 

[srgberian]

agree,some people will never lesrn how mnay times you show em.

 

[Firemouth]

There is a guy in my work who overheard me talking with another workmate about how shite Vista is. (just my personal view all Vista lovers)
He spoke to me on Wed saying that he had a Vista lappy and that it was crap and takes forever to boot up and his browser is helluva slow.
He asked if i would put xp in it or find some way to speed it up so i said bring it into work and i will look at it.

So he brings it in today and at lunchtime i fired it up.
Straight away i knew something was wrong as it took 10mins to boot up.
When i finally got it running i took a look at his start up programs which had a total of 37 programs listed, most of which were crap and not needed.
His security was a good one, Windows defender and nothing else.
His utilities were even better, none at all and he had never heard of disc fragmentation.
When i checked one of the 3 browsers he had loaded it had every toolbar you can think of loaded in it.

The end result is i gave him a book about the basics and told him to never switch his pc on again until he reads it from cover to cover then to bring the lappy back in and i will re install Vista for him.
He took the hump and said i was a techno snob and that we are not all computer geeks.
I said im not a mechanic but i know that it takes some general knowledge and common sense to run a car and its the same as computers.

Is it just me or does anybody else agree that im being snobby?
Why are some people so ignorant about understanding the basics of a pc ?

Oh so familiar. I'm not sure on if they should know how comps work, prior to getting one. after all, if you watch the ad's, you get the impression, a 5 year old can run one. But those who ask, and then, ask again, then again, (the same questions) do my head in. going into computers blind, seems, par for the course. keeping them shut, after purchase, really get my goat.

 

[Diddy]

Ive basically given up with my family and their pc's/laptops. We are now at the stage where I have installed NOD and malwarebytes on all of them and informed them all to not bother trying to touch their pc's on a Sunday evening after 11pm as they will find that they have an incredibly slow experience if they do......because from 11pm onwards I have set up scheduled tasks to run 1. Virus scan...2 Full system malware scan....3 Disc Clean up....4 Disc Defrag....5 Auto shut down as soon as disk defrag is complete to be followed by a boot time defrag when the bugger gets switched back on. Funny thing is the now tell me how fast their pc is on a mon/tues lmfaoroud:

As for "Friends" I just charge them now as TBH it was getting beyond a joke and i was even getting calls from drunk mates at all hours telling me this/that wasn't working. I mean even at 11pm even midnight sometimes so I eventually started loosing it with these types and charge them £20 for every hour I spend "fixing" their stuff. Fook em they cant be arsed to learn then I cant be arsed being a real mate and will charge accordingly.