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by Gord Routley
http://help.askgordroutley.com/
Everyday, people ask me... "how do I fix this XYZ
computer problem?". If I don't know the answer right off the top of my
head, I simply go online to Google at
www.google.ca and perform a search for the problem. POOF - there
it is in black & white (or red, green, etc.). I then relay the
information to my caller - they THINK I'm really smart. In one sense I
am - I know how to search the net! It's an acquired skill and the more
you use it the better you'll get at it.
If you learn one thing this semester, LEARN HOW TO
SEARCH FOR COMPUTER HELP ONLINE! You can thank me later! This page has
lots of information than you need, and it's a great place to start the
learning process. For a more intensive study of the "science" of using
internet search, Boolean search, etc., there's a ton more information at
www.eldercomps.com/search-engines.htm.
And, if your searches don't give you the help you
need, just go to
http://help.askgordroutley.com and fill out a quick "trouble
ticket". Tell me your computer woes and give me some basic information.
I can help you find the results you need pretty quickly. I've had folks
ask me why I do it. Simple - after a year or so of your question asking
and my answering, I'll have developed a huge compendium of "Frequently
Asked Questions" (also called FAQ's) for a lot of common computer
issues. It will be just another resource from your own computer guru
courtesy of folks just like you. I also challenge you all to become
"Guru's" to others as your skills develop. Pass your experience on -
that's the basis of "Guruism". I've had dozens of Guru's myself in the
30+ years I've been in the computer industry. That’s another reason I do
it – to repay what they taught me.
Wouldn't it be great to tell your very computer
literate 9 year old grandson that you know the answer to a computer
problem that he doesn't! And the more you search for help the better you
get. Plus, if you print-off the results you have a permanent record in
your computer files.
So here's my secret method of searching for help
for my own computer problems and to look like a computer genius. I'll
give you a few actual examples of recent searches I've made myself to
solve problems.
The first thing I do is hit
www.google.ca and type in my question. I try to use natural and
explicit words to describe the issue. I end the question with a question
mark ? (of course). I try to pinpoint the most relevant keywords to
emphasize my issues/s. I also try to eliminate a lot of superfluous
words ... the ... and's, but's, or's, to's, etc's!
I can also "put the sentence in quotations" to
force the engine to search only for that phrase. Internet search is
really quite random otherwise. Remember that the top results may be
"Sponsored Results". In other words, they paid to be there. Chances are
they have no help for you unless you pay for it. Ignore them. After a
while they become invisible. We call that "Banner Blindness". You'll get
used to ignoring them.
You can also use "+" or "-" signs to force a word
(+) or ignore a word (-). For example I was searching for a specific
fantastic medication called Pennsaid to add some information to my Osteo
Arthritis website (www.osteo-arthritis.org).
But the searches kept coming back with pages for Lawyers offering to sue
someone for me. So, I just used the words ... +Pennsaid, -lawyer,
-lawsuit, -malpractice. I then got the product monograph pages I was
seeking. Knowing how to eliminate certain words or phrases is really the
key to finding what you want.
WWWW?? ... the world of internet search engines is
actually WWWW – 4 W’s! It stands for the "searchers credo" of "WHAT,
WHEN, WHY, WHO". Yes, that's the same system reporter’s use. That's the
reason they use it - to find the facts!
Here are some recent Case Studies of my own:
1). An older Pentium III computer won't boot,
monitor won't turn on, computer beeps 1 long and 3 short beeps on
start-up, then freezes. Have to force shutdown by holding the big “on
button” in until it shuts right off. Back to Google and I searched the
following ... "award bios post codes". This means I'm looking for the
answer to the first question "computer beeps 1 long and 3 short beeps"
post code results. POST means the Power On Self Test that every computer
has. I knew it was Award BIOS because I saw the actual BIOS chip on the
motherboard that clearly said Award. You only hear one beep when your
computer starts up normally. I got links to several web pages and had to
eliminate a few because I knew they were just "ad magnets" with no real
content. In the results I got, I quickly saw that it meant either a ram
problem or video card problem. I then removed 2 of the 3 ram chips and
tried to boot up. Nope, same problem. Tried another ram stick. No again.
Tried to remove & replace the last ram chip and had trouble getting it
out of the motherboard because the rear clip was being impeded by
crowding the sound card. AHA!! I read something about both ram and
video cards in the search results I got! I removed the sound card,
buffed its gold contact edges with an art eraser, put it back in and
tried to boot. Hooray it works! Note that I didn't even VISIT the
websites. I got the info I needed from just the page description capsule
of info right on Google.
2). A 2 year old Compaq Presario keeps re-booting
itself. It’s a serious issue that keeps losing the date & time. The
problem started randomly a few days before I had it on my service
bench. So I Googled (yes that's a word now) the words "Compaq Presario
MODEL# loses time constantly reboots XP". I found in the results that I
should replace the motherboard battery. All motherboards take the same
CR-2032 lithium coin cell. Sure enough, I just replaced the little
battery and re-booted into the BIOS. I adjusted the date & time in the
system bios, and then booted ok to Windows. Problem solved. If you don't
know how to replace the motherboard battery yourself just goto Google
and type in ... "how replace motherboard battery"?
3). Here's a typical search example that just
happened today. I was searching the net looking for some "quick tips to
find computer help online" in order to write this article. I kept
getting "sponsored" results, pages with little or no content, and pages
that were WAY too complicated in what they had to offer. Ironically a
lot of Universities have such pages on their websites – still way too
complicated. I already have a lot of the same stuff on my Elder
Computers site. I searched again & again, using ... -not X word, and
+plus Y word ... with little success. So I just decided I'd just write
the darned thing myself. I'll then post it on my FAQ page (http://faq.askgordroutley.com)
and others looking for some basic search tips will find it useful by
searching for it. Guruism again.
I've used these same search engine techniques to
get my own websites into the top 10 search results for FREE. Just goto
Google and type in "End-It-All" or "End-It-All 2" in quotes in 2
different searches. Did you see DoC's Downloads.com in the #1 result?
Yes you did, and guess what - I'm the DoC at DoC's Downloads! I get
over 3000 visitors a day to DoC's Downloads.com looking for my freeware
downloads. It's also been online a very long time. I'm one of the
grandfathers of free download websites. Now just type in End-It-All or
End-It-All 2 without the quotes like before. Did you get DoC's Downloads
in #1 place again? Yep. This is called "Search Engine Optimization" (SEO
for you fellow geeks), and I'm one of its pioneers. I even have a
website to help other websites get these same results (www.fastwebsubmit.com).
Also don't forget that when you need free downloads of freeware programs
that contain no spyware,
www.docsdownloads.com is THE place to find it.
So in sum, just keep trying to find the answers
yourself, and if that fails just remember to visit
http://help.askgordroutley.com and fill out a quick "trouble
ticket". Like I said, tell me your computer troubles and give me some
basic information. I can help you find the results you need pretty
quickly. I will ask you if you searched for the solution yourself. I'll
get back to you within 24 hours (usually less). Happy hunting!
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© Gord Routley - September 2007
www.pcmedixwebs.com
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