PC Hardware

*** also see Microsoft's PC Fundamentals page - an incredible resource, with tons and tons of info !!!

Hardware  -  we all pretty much just rely on it, and for the most part . . . it works.  But it is so difficult to understand.  The sites that describe the many hardware components of your PC usually go into a great deal of detail, and they cover only some of the pieces.  Other sites, such as "How Stuff Works" offer excellent descriptions, but are a bit too basic.

Here we will cover all the primary components, and concentrate, again, only on the important parts.  At the same time, there is enough here to give you a very thorough understanding.  There is some dry reading here, such as bits, bytes, and addressing - but those portions are absolutely necessary.  

False Alarms

Hardware is expensive, and quite often is the first thing PC owners replace when they get stuck.  Oh sure, they muddle around for a couple of hours, just long enough to trash the driver settings, and then, frustrated - they trudge off to Comp USA and replace the offending part, which never was bad in the first place.  

These indications of faulty hardware are usually false alarms - 90% of PC problems are software-related.  Today's hardware components are very stable and rarely break down !!  It can be the simplest thing  .  .  .  and yet if it causes hours of troubleshooting - the owner is likely to start replacing components since there is nowhere else to turn.  

Yet these problems are usually caused by (in order): hard drive errors (lost clusters, etc.), mis-configuration, software that needs to be reinstalled, and rarely but sometimes - a viruse.  It is important to understand both hardware and software, so that you can pinpoint the source.  Infocellar 

Initial Investment for Protection

With all the work and money you put into your PC and your files - the last thing you need is to spend hours every week fighting problems.  So, protect the investment !!  Every PC owner in the world should have, at the very minimum - a set of basic utilities installed, before even using their PC.  Through my many house-calls during my career as "PC Doc" I found that most users either had no antivirus or out-of-date virus definition files, and few had Norton Utilities installed, which is a must.  I would strongly recommend the following, or some variation of - total cost is about 200 bucks : 

Facts of Life for PC Owners  

The fore-mentioned tools will protect you and minimize your problems.  

But you will experience viruses (McAfee will protect you), you will have errors on your drive (Norton will fix those), you will have hackers try to access your system via the Internet (BlackIce will defend you and notify when a hack attempt is made, and give you the DNS and IP address of the attacker).  You may have a drive crash - and if you do, all is lost, and it is certainly worth shelling out the 80 bucks for a drive recovery utility.

These sections are designed to give you a fundamental understanding of Computers, and the cream of the crop of tips - not the reams of tips you can find everywhere on the web.  I have done the work for you, and have spent years reading through them, and trying them.  Only the best are listed here.

The Value of PC Skills

Everything is moving in the direction of PC's.  But if you take the average PC user, most have fairly limited knowledge.  It seems that most have a PC at work, and many have one at home  .  .  .  they do a little web browsing, and answer a few emails.  Ig your job entails computer-oriented projects, you can really excel by simply learning the ropes, above and beyond the basics.  Instead of just typing up a word document to describe your latest project at work  -  you could fill it with a detailed diagram of your project, insert a couple of spreadsheets, and include an org chart of key personnel on the project.  Then the next time you need some info related to that project - instead of a previous 2-page text document, or perhaps a huge 300 page book to search through - you have an well-though-out packet of info to pull from.

Stop in here for a while . . learn this hardware section well - then move on to the software and graphics.  You will get to the point where you can whip up reports, projects, or just know how to have fun on your PC.

You need to know how your machine works so you don't have to wait 2 days for the helpdesk guy.  You need to master the basics and the tricks of the apps.  You need to know how to store and catalog data in an efficient manner.  All easy - so easy - you'll see.

So take your time, and read through these articles   .  .  .  I can assure you, that you will leave with a good, solid understanding of computers, as well as a pocketful of excellent tips ! !  Although I cannot promise you anything, I do firmly believe that solid PC skills results in a more successful career path, no matter what the career is !