Important Info about this site - please read...
This site is undergoing major changes. About half of the presentation I recently delivered, (see news link to left), has been posted. More to come soon. Keep coming back - it will be worth it and if this helps you to understand computer concepts a little better, tell your friends - after all, the price is right.
I am trying to give out information I've picked up over forty years in the business and I will be adding new training and info modules on an ongoing basis. There are some diagnostic techniques that will require a little "hands on". ALWAYS disconnect power to the computer completely - with the cord pulled - before following these instructions. Use common sense - I cannot and will not be responsible for failure to use common sense.
Many of the essays are delivered by slides with accompanying audio essays. If you don't have a high-speed connection it probably won't work very well unless you're extremely patient. Some techniques described may require swappable parts or sweeping an infected hard drive on an uninfected computer. Some home users will be able to accomplish these techniques but some won't want to get that deep. In some cases you might not have a good, swappable part to test a diagnostic theory. This is where a fully equipped shop like mine can help.
My intention is to help you become more independent but some things may require a little help. I'm available, for a fee of course. I will take emails with suggestions for improvement or observations but I can't take phone calls unless they may potentially lead to a service for fee. I'm still in business after all.
What I do
For a little biographical information, follow the "About" link to the left. I'm slightly retired at this time, meaning I work often but not full-time. There's only me so it's always best to call and make an appointment before coming - I'm flexible. 80% of the time anymore, a non-functioning machine is caused by operating system corruption, usually as the result of malicious software. I can fix this and can usually save your important files. The rest of the time it's hardware and I can diagnose that and fix it if economically feasible, (some hardware failures will not be reasonable in cost and I will figure it out and tell you before too much money is expended. I used to build a lot of machines and enjoyed it well. There's not much call for that any more with the low cost of quality pc's these days but I'm always up for building a high-end, specialized machine.
Learning Resources on this website
- One of my favorite gigs during a long and varied computer career was the several years I spent as a classroom instructor in computer concepts for the old Burroughs Corporation. I believe that the typical computer user could be a lot more productive if they had better knowledge about the functioning of their computer and how to manage their data.
- To that end, I am improving this website with tutorial information that will deliver the knowledge I think is important for a home computer user. It is free for the taking and the user who absorbs 100% of it could be almost completely self-sufficient. Even if some of the material is TMI - "Too Much Information" for some, assimilation of any part of the information should be helpful in making you a more powerful computer user. An example of this learning material is found behind the link, "Recycle the Pc" to the left.
- Some of the techniques and concepts may require more resources, and perhaps a higher level of skill, than some will have. If that is the case, I still provide services for fee and will help you with more difficult tasks like retrieving data from a corrupted system or re-installing an operating system from scratch, etc.
Computer Training
- Over the years I've been asked, "Do you teach classes?"
hundreds of times. I like to think that the reason is that
I take the time to do a little teaching after fixing a
customer's computer. I think I have enough time to do it
now and to that end I'm asking visitors to this website to send
an email to me if you would be interested. You can get me
through the "Contact" link on the left. Here are a few
potential courses:
- Basic Computer Concepts
- Build Your Own Computer
- Get More Out of Microsoft Office