Learn from the master of computer mistakes

I must have some crazed desire to look like an idiot because I’m going to tell you about some of the mistakes I’ve made while messing with computers. None of this will do me proud. In fact, after reading all this you may end up thinking “and I’m taking advice from this guy?”

Nonetheless, that’s what we’ll do today. Believe me, when it comes to mistakes I’ve made there’s no chance that we’ll run out of material.

What is the point is this for you? Maybe you’ll see yourself in here somewhere and learn from my mistakes. What a deal.

You learn from the mistakes without sitting near the burning hulk of your computer.

Rushing toward disaster

I tend to get obsessed when there’s a computer problem. That can mean that I work faster than I think — which is not hard for me to do. The latest disaster combines several mistakes so you’ll get your money’s worth on this one.

I was installing a new monitor on a computer. It’s not exactly an intimidating job — a 10-year-old could do it just fine. But it is possible to do something as simple as connecting a plug and end up with a total mess on your hands. Let me prove it.

To install the monitor I needed to remove the connector for the old one. So I loosened the screws that hold it firmly in place and pulled.

It didn’t come loose. So I pulled a little harder. I looked at the connector to make sure the screws were completely loose and that seemed OK. So I pulled again. Next thing you know the socket that the connector fit in was not longer part of the computer — it was hanging out the back of the computer. I had pulled the thing completely off.

I hadn’t noticed that one of the screws was still barely attached.

The first lesson here is to never force anything – whether you are working on a computer or a lawn mower. The second lesson is, when something isn’t turning out as you expected — whether you are working with software or hardware — is to stop what you are doing. Maybe take a walk. Then, before doing anything else, slowly try to figure out why your task isn’t behaving in an expected way.

How embarrassing. The Technobud can’t plug in a monitor without screwing

up.

Keep track of things

I recently got a new computer. I needed to add some of the programs I use including Microsoft Office. I pawed through my various collections of disks, couldn’t find it and then went through them again. It was gone. And that’s an expensive mistake. Luckily I did find an older version of Office so it wasn’t a complete disaster.

The lesson is to save any installation discs you own. And when — as is common these days — you buy a program online and download it directly, rather than using a disc — make sure you save the installation program that you download.

Bad neighborhoods

There was the time I decided to poke around some of the hacker sites. I figured it would be educational, part of my job. I had a decent anti-virus program going and didn’t worry. I should have worried. By the end of that tour of the black side of the Net my browser was redirecting me to a variety of websites — mostly search engines and was generally acting nutty.

The lesson here is that wandering in a bad neighborhood — in real life or with your computer — is a fine way to get into more trouble than you can handle. These neighborhoods include hacker sites, X-rated sites and some gaming sites.

The second lesson is that even a good anti-malware program may not be able to handle the worst the Net has to offer. So stay on the sunny side of the street.

Maybe you’ve made some memorable mistakes yourself. It’s only fair — since I told you some of mine — to share the pain. Write me and tell me about it.