If your car sputtered and coughed and began to emit smoke, you would know that something bad was going on with the car and it was likely to get worse. So why is it that computers just shut down with no warnings at all? Aha, that's just it; if you don't recognize the early warning signs of a computer that's having trouble, most any expensive problem can sneak up on you. While there will indeed always be problems that are too advanced for the common user to detect or repair, more problems exist that are detectable by that same common user.
Viruses, adware, spyware and 'botnets' all result in a host computer behaving strangely. Low air pressure, low coolant and bad gas all force strange behavior in cars. Most people would fret themselves silly until they saw a mechanic for the car's benefit and their own peace of mind. Computer glitches should also warrant such fret. Here are some terribly common warning signs you should be aware of:
* Let's begin by accepting that Windows should not freeze or tell us to wait (with that blasted hour glass) for insufferable periods of time repeatedly.
* When we turn our computers on, we should see the screens and application windows that we've specifically requested run with Windows start-up (either through installation settings or Start>[All] Programs>Startup Folder).
* Computers do not yet crave our attention. When new application windows randomly appear with any kind of message, something other than you is working to bring them up. Learn which application is responsible.
* If you have your speakers ON all the time, it is unacceptable to only sometimes or occasionally hear the start-up music and other times not hear the start-up music; you should always hear all sounds. For some reason, audio drivers are often the first to exhibit inconsistencies when something is wrong.
* If you could previously install a program at any time, you're an Administrator with full privileges; if Windows spontaneously revokes privileges denying access to vital Windows components like the Control Panel, your problem is already worse than you know.
* Finally, they have not made computers that should smell of hot dust or melting plastic; it's not a marketing gimmick. These flavors have proved unsuccessful in the ice cream market and actually indicate BIG trouble inside your computer.
When caught in time, most viruses, adware and spyware problems and 'botnet' instructions can be eliminated and their return can be prevented. Recognizing the warnings signs is as easy as using a computer often enough to familiarize yourself with its regular behavior. This provides a baseline. If the computer varies significantly from the baseline behavior often enough, note in what way the computer is acting strangely.
Physical symptoms typically indicate physical problems; if any four of your five senses can pick up on a computer's odd behavior, you might be looking, smelling, feeling or hearing (please don't taste your computer) the need for a physical repair. Behavioral problems tend to indicate software problems.
Computer problems come in two 'flavors': Hardware and Software. Hardware is a physical issue that might add the cost of a new piece of hardware. Software problems mainly involve labor costs which no technician should be deprived. Saying, "it's just slow," isn't a clear enough diagnosis. Clicking hard drives and 'you do not have permission' Windows indicate two totally different problems though they can both be tied in with slower performance.
Hopefully you can use some of this advice to help your favorite technician better diagnose growing problems and keep them from getting too far out of control.
Bryan fixes dozens of computers and has tutored nearly a hundred users privately for Dinarius, Inc. He writes to make smarter users of us all and completely different content on completely different topics is available for your eyeballs and brains at http://www.dinarius.com Knowledge is Wealth.
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