C O M P U T E R 911
This page provides suggestions for finding help with your computer's hardware and software:
- Help Files
- Free Local Tech Support
- Free Video Tutorials
- Free Tech Support on the Web
Help Files
Almost every software application has an item on the Menu Bar called Help. Those help files are searchable in different ways, and provide answers to a large percentage of questions.
Free Local Tech Support
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The Front Range PC Users Group provides free tech support at the Senior Center Lobby every Saturday (except major holidays) from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
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Or you can send a message to contact@frpcug.org. You won’t receive an instant answer, but we will try to respond to your question.
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And, don’t forget the Front Range PC Users Group monthly meetings, every 1st Tuesday of the month (except August) at the Senior Center. Each meeting has a question and answer period for everyone: members and non-members. Feel free to come to any meeting. These meetings are open to the public at no charge. All knowledge levels, from beginner to expert, are welcome.
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The Front Range PC Users Group website (frpcug.org) can also be a source of help. The newsletter, k-Byte™, is published every month on the website and contains many helpful articles and tips. There is also an index of articles going back to 1999.
Free Video Tutorials
The list of tutorials has significantly increased. As a result a new page has been created for them, the Free Tutorials page.
Free Tech Support on the Web
When requesting help on any of the following websites, you will need to include the following information:
- Operating system and version (e.g., Windows XP/Pro Service Pack 2)
- The name of the application and version that is causing you trouble (e.g., Microsoft Word 2002 Service Pack 3)
- Basic hardware information (e.g., eMachines desktop with a 900 MHz Celeron processor and 256 MB of RAM). This information is available with the following set of mouse clicks: Start/Programs (or All Programs)/Accessories/System Tools/System Information.
You may also be asked to identify any (or all) security applications and versions (e.g., anti-virus, spyware and adware protection applications).
Suggestion: make a note of that information and keep it on your computer and print it out and keep it in a location you can easily access (and remember).
There is one important additional piece of information that is needed—if it is available. If you encounter a problem that results in the display of an error message, make a careful note of that message. Be as accurate and as exact as you possibly can. Include that error message in the question you post to any of the tech support websites.
Google™
And speaking of error messages, you can enter that message (or at least the message title) into the Google search field and see what turns up. If that error message shows up on your computer, there is a good chance someone else has seen it. And that someone may have received a solution from another someone.
This approach will not work for all error messages. Some are too generic. Perhaps the most frustrating error message is the one that says “Word (or whatever program you are using) has encountered a problem and must close.” The more specific the message, the more likely this approach will work.
Note that in this case, you use only the text of the error message (or its title). You do not enter into the search field any of the other hardware and software information.
Tech Support Guy™ techguy.org
You need to register, but the help is free. You don’t always get an answer, but if you do, it is usually a good answer. The forums on this website cover most operating systems and a very wide range of hardware and software.
The Office Experts© theofficeexperts.com
Again, you need to register, but the help is free. You also need to “dig” into the website to find the forums. This website is dedicated to Microsoft Office Products.
Ask Leo!© ask-leo.com
This Leo is Leo Notenboom, not Leo Laporte (another online tech support site). Leo Notenboom is an ex-Microsoft engineer/manager. The few answers examined (and the one answer needed) are good answers. Curiously, to ask a question, you need to scroll down his home page about 1/3 of the way to find the actual Ask Leo link, which is in small type on the right side of the page. You don't need to register, but you do need to provide an email address. And he will need the same info about your computer and your problem that any other online tech support site needs.
ProcessLibrary© ProcessLibrary.com
If you have ever seen an error message with a reference to some incomprehensible file name, this may be the website for you. It is also an excellent reference for the more adventurous computer user that wants to learn more about what is happening inside their computer. This website advertises itself as a ". . . free and comprehensive online library of processes . . . for everyone who needs to know the exact nature and purpose of every process that should, and should not, be running on their PC. . . . Explanations are accompanied by exhaustive advice on whether the processes are important for the stable and secure running of your system. The website also recommends if you should terminate processes or leave them untouched."
In addition to the library, there is also a free support forum, for which, as with other forums, you need to register.
FILExt™ The File Extension Source
If you need (or want) to know what those last three (sometimes more) characters in a file name mean, they are called file extensions. What is a file extension? What can I learn from it? From the home page of this web site is this description: "FILExt is a database of file extensions and the various programs that use them." A search feature is available on the web site. As of August, 2008, the web site claims to have over 25,000 entries in the database.
For a discussion of file extensions, and instructions on how to make them display in your computer, connect to File Extension Information.
The Elder Geek on Windows XP© theeldergeek.com
There is lots of (hopefully good) information on this website that you can browse through. There are also forums similar to those on the websites mentioned above, although they have not been tested by any FRPCUG member.
There is a separate website for Windows Vista, theeldergeekvista.com
Microsoft®
Microsoft has “Discussion Groups” for each product, which operate in a similar way to the websites listed above. You need to persevere in order to find them. Try starting at support.microsoft.com, or support.microsoft.com/select/?target=hub
Microsoft also has a searchable “Knowledge Base,” support.microsoft.com/search, although sometimes the documents can contain a little too much “computerese” for the general consumer.
Application Forums
Most major software companies (e.g., Adobe—professional desktop publishing applications—and AVG—anti-virus software) provide free tech support through user forums, that operate in similar way to the websites described above. These companies would prefer to sell you annual support contracts, but connect to the website of the application manufacturer and explore the support options. You may find something called a User Forum, or something similar using different words.
Almost Free Telephone Tech Support
What do you do if your computer can’t even connect to the internet?
There is one possibility, if you are unable to contact anyone local, and if you are a subscriber to Smart Computing© magazine, smartcomputing.com. You can buy a web-only subscription for $17 a year. And there are various hard-copy subscription options.
Included in any of the subscriptions is free telephone tech support (with a toll free number) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., CST, Monday – Friday.
The quality of this service has not been tested by any FRPCUG member.
Disclaimer
This information is made available as a service. Use of any information found in the websites listed above is at the sole risk of the user. Past positive reports on information received from these websites does not imply an endorsement of the website by Front Range PC Users Group or a guaranty of future success. Neither Front Range PC Users Group, nor its officers, nor its contributors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages resulting from use of information found in these websites. All users are encouraged to report their experiences with these websites (or any other tech support websites), good, bad or indifferent, to contact@frpcug.org
