SUPPORT RESOURCES


Remember, even when buying from a shop, you do not have a legal right to expect the seller to help you fix software problems. It is very important that you understand the following. You can and would not buy a Car from a Garage and expect the person who sold you it, to give you free lessons on how to drive. Nor fix the car for free for you, should you have a crash in the car. In the same way you yourself MUST learn to use the software properly, this is your own responsibility

I have seen many people buy a PC then telephone the person they bought it from and wrongly complain that it now appears not to work. While all along they have simply allowed their inexperience to ruin the operating system software on their hard drive.

Many shops have became so fed up of this attitude, that they now issue a bootable floppy disk that works in conjunction with the CD ROM and it re-installs the software back to it's condition at the point of purchase. This however means that any personal files are lost. BUT it saves the sales staff at the computer shop much wasted time and effort.

If you buy second hand, or privately, be prepared to pay for any advice on how to use software, this does not come freely with a computer. It is extremely unfair for any person to expect this kind of support.

Sometimes the best thing to do for a computer problem that stumps you is to pick up the phone and call someone who might be able to help. Some people offer this as a service and charge a set amount. If you can afford this, it is well worth the price.

You could get to know some one who has a little bit knowledge of Computers but be certain that they do know what they are doing, as even some computer technicians are lost when using the actual software itself.

ALWAYS ensure that you find out when is a good time to contact them. Do not be a nuisance as a lot of the time the problem will be so simple to solve.

Make a FALSE directory on your hard drive and a PLAY directory copy the content of any disk into one of them. Play with these two directories and experiment moving deleting and copying files between them. NEVER EXPERIMENT with a directory you use.

If the problem is to do with Dos try typing HELP. Look for a file ending txt or read me or doc, it may hold the key to your problem, as these files usually hold such information.

COMPUTER CLUBS

The deeper you delve into computing, the sooner you discover the benefits of joining a user group. The idea is simple: books, tutorial disks and healthy doses of personal computer magazines will only take you so far; sooner or later you need to talk to SOMEONE.

Computer groups once had an image as hacker havens, but have now broadened in scope to provide services as general or specific as you like. User groups offer an informal way to meet and exchange ideas about equipment, software or specialised techniques in certain program areas.