Tech support forums

[Rageaholic]

When ever I end up with a computer problem, I use google fu to find the solution (either on this computer or another). My search usually brings up tech forum threads from other people who have had a similar problem. On one hand, this is good because it means there's likely a solution, but more times than not, the solution is complicated. Like today, when I was stuck on the restart screen, and had to force a shutdown, a lot of people were saying that this was a sign that the hard drive was failing (WTF I just got this laptop 3 months ago!). The proposed solution was a hard reset which involved removing the laptop battery. This wasn't the first time when a suggested solution involved taking apart the computer.

Then there's the questions. No matter how specific you are when describing the issue and the model of their computer, the people answering will always find more questions to ask. Several months ago, I was locked out of my student email. I posted on one of their forums explaining the problem and my laptop as specifically as I could. Yet, the first person to respond still needed more specific information. The most facepalm inducing question was (paraphrased) "What do you mean when you say 'student email'"?.

In the end, I can usually find the solution, so I can't hate these forums completely, but there's a lot of BS to wade through.

[jackfaire]

I am totally with you. Another problem is when your problem is different but has similar symptoms. Post after post will be "try original solution recommended in this forum"

The best example I had of this was that on one of my computers the Recycle Bin vanished!

Now the solution I found was a series of commands to tell the computer to put the recycle bin back on the desktop. Great except that wasn't the problem my computer wasn't just not showing it the computer didn't think it existed.

I would tell them "my computer doesn't think it exists" I would go hopeful when someone would say something like "Oh so it...okay I understand your problem yeah ignore those other idiots here is the solution what you do is (insert exact same solution everyone else swore would work)"


PS In case anyone is curious or wonders what happened. My computer stopped recognizing the Recycle Bin as a legit program. I solved it be being a smart ass. Being frustrated I went into the address bar on Windows Explorer and gave it Recycle Bin that brought up the file labeled Recycle bin that even a file name search hadn't brought up. I was being a smartass and was shocked when it brought up the file my computer still wouldn't "see" "Here this is the recycle bin let me use it" "Uhm no it's not that's just some random file" grrrrr so I created a desktop shortcut to that "file" and it would let me delete things from that file to permanently delete them. Every function of it still worked except for the Interface.

Essentially it was like if my computer suddenly started popping up "Monitor not Found" "but you're using it that's how I am seeing this error message" "Nope Monitor not found connect one"

[Rageaholic]

I am totally with you. Another problem is when your problem is different but has similar symptoms. Post after post will be "try original solution recommended in this forum"

Even more annoying is the canned copy pasta responses. Like when they copy and paste a specific part of a policy even though it's clear that it doesn't apply to your situation. If they're complete assholes, they'll just keep reposting that answer ad nauseam in response to any objection. Very few people do this, but the ones who do...

[wolfie]

Sounds like tech support forums (fora?) are the computer equivalent of:

"The clutch in my car is slipping"

"That's what happens to you if you don't change the automatic transmission fluid according to schedule. Try changing the ATF and see if that fixes the problem."

[HYHYBT]

Extra details are only useful if they're the things the person trying to answer wants to know, either to clarify the problem or to see if an idea they have about what might work will fit. It's pretty well impossible to avoid consistently, unless you want to risk giving answers of the ATF fluid in the clutch variety, or else not respond at all.