How did you learn about Pc's, components, fixing them etc?

[CostaP]

This is more of a general question and seeing peoples experience of being able to fix PC's. I couldnt really find a 'general' discussion thread so if it needs to moved to a more appropriate area then feel free

How did you learn about PC's, fixing them, removing/installing the components, learning about different components etc?

My Experience

I learnt from my PC having issues, usually once a year!. Each year one component would either break / have issues / or need to be upgraded!! Now sure if this is a good way of learning, because it caused me lots of stress each year, when something would break or a problem would arise.
First 2 years of owning my PC was fine...then it all changed...

1st ever issue (GPU): Graphics card broke, although I didnt know this and paid a PC repair man £60!! just for him to come round on his moped, go to my room, check a wire and say "yup its your graphics card"...£60 down the drain!? Removing the old GPU and installing the new one was really nerve-wracking at the time, but now seems really simple and easy

2nd issue (Fans): PC temp / cpu (I think) would reach around 100ºC when gaming (e.g bf3)!! I had the standard intel stock cpu cooler and 1 pre-instilled fan at the front of my PC. I didnt even know about adding more fans to keep a PC cool. I had to learn about removing the CPU and adding a new one, as well as connecting case fans. This made me slightly more confident with PC's as I applied glue, put together the Noctua fan, got it working etc

3rd issue (Storage) This year it was storage. I had defragging that would take forever, had some errors/issues with my PC so was advised to 'flash' my BIOS and reinstalling Windows 10. As also advised, it was a good opportunity to buy an SSD. So I successfully did all that, after many questions/tutorials/consideration and I think everything seems to be fine now

I have learnt a lot over the years, I cleaned my PC out with air-duster in the summer, and felt confident removing wires/components, cleaning it all and getting stuck 'in there'. I can understand how fixing PC's can be a hobby for people

Now lets see what breaks next year... Hopefully all is good from now on

What are your stories? Does anyone have it similar to me? Would be great to hear!

 

[EchohcE]

My first computer was an original Gateway with Windows 98. It had a MASSIVE 10gb hard drive, 64mb of RAM, and a Pentium III.
We upgraded it to XP, which was a mistake, but it got me really good at optimizing the gui (I could cook a HotPocket in the time it took to load the desktop).

 

[SoggyTissue]

my first pc was a dell ... 486 dx2 ... it had a massive 2MB ram .... first time i opened it was to install a creative labs soundblaster card so i could get good sound from playing x-wing.

second time i opened it up was to put in another 2MB of ram and a network card so i could play doom link up. back then, 2MB ram cost £130 ... you wouldnt even dream of putting that in a pc these days lol.

took up my time re-writing the autoexec.bat and config.sys files to make games play better. dont recall much from those days except for: setting stacks = 50 lol

 

[Neur0nauT]

My first PC was an Amstrad PC1512 It was more like a glorified word processor, but it helped me cut my teeth with DOS 3.2 and Norton commander, then moving onto Windows 95 etc. I was around 8 years old then.

I had various 286, 386, 486, Cyrix clones, Pentiums, AMD CPUs in the following years, and I made a point of learning the ins and outs of general PC repairs, budget upgrades, and diagnosing problems simply because I didn't have the money (nor did my parents) to get them fixed professionally.

Moving on, I think my first dedicated GPU during the nineties was a 3dFX Voodoo which allowed me to play the likes of SVGA titles like Quake in glorious 480p!

I destroyed a lot of hardware during this time through my own fault, but every mistake helped me to where I am today.

Now I'm a full time IT Engineer, and a veteran PC gamer.

 

[SoggyTissue]

LOL voodoo i remember those ^^

 

[Karadjgne]

First pc was a Commodore Vic-20, one of the first pc's ever commercially available. Used an old Sony cassette player for tape feeds. Took a solid 15mins to load Space Invaders, and if the tape jumped/dirty heads, meant starting all over. Been tinkering amateur and professional pc building, modding, fixing for over 30 years now.

 

[Sam Poland]

This was my first computer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Sinclair_1000
I would type out programs that were published in a magazine (PC World I think??) on that mylar keyboard. Then store them on cassette tape.

A few years later I would read: https://smile.amazon.com/Peter-Nortons-Upgrading-Repairing-PCs/dp/0672311402/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506625033&sr=1-2-fkmr1&keywords=Peter+Norton+how+to+repair+computers

Then because my friends and I were all gamers I would go over to their house/s to set up custom autoexec.bat and config.sys files to load/not load TSR's depending on which game they wanted to play. I was also good at using Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager to assign these TSR's to specific memory locations. Some games were very picky about which of these locations were in use or not.

I would also use Norton Utilities to edit my save files to give myself more $$$ in the game. A programmer friend told me I had to look for the hex# backwards...good tip there!

 

[Neur0nauT]

This was my first computer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Sinclair_1000
I would type out programs that were published in a magazine (PC World I think??) on that mylar keyboard. Then store them on cassette tape.

A few years later I would read: https://smile.amazon.com/Peter-Nortons-Upgrading-Repairing-PCs/dp/0672311402/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506625033&sr=1-2-fkmr1&keywords=Peter+Norton+how+to+repair+computers

Then because my friends and I were all gamers I would go over to their house/s to set up custom autoexec.bat and config.sys files to load/not load TSR's depending on which game they wanted to play. I was also good at using Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager to assign these TSR's to specific memory locations. Some games were very picky about which of these locations were in use or not.

I would also use Norton Utilities to edit my save files to give myself more $$$ in the game. A programmer friend told me I had to look for the hex# backwards...good tip there!

Heheh, I remember my father and I programming a few things from magazines too! I was quite young at that time. It was done on a Dragon 32 and later a Dragon 64 PC. (before the 8086s) It took my dad and I days to search through each line of code to make sure there were no typos! One in particular sticks in my head....it was called Cave Fighter, There was even veeeery low quality, and grainy vocal audio at the intro screen. Could hardly make it out but I thought I was in the future! So it had this tiny sprite spaceship you had to navigate it through horizontal tunnels that got more and more narrower and spikier the further you got, (a lot like Flappy Bird now that I think about it) and had these wall bars blocking your path too, which you had to shoot a hole through to get by! It was harder than Dark Souls.

My dad owned a few Spectrums, Uncluding a ZX Spectrum I used to chew the rubber keys off it!

I also recall using Norton to hex edit cheats into dos games as you mentioned! editing the autoexec.bat & config.sys to tweak extended memory and Adlib & Sound Blaster sound card settings! That was a PITA!...I thought I was like that kid in the movie Wargames!

Then when I was a little older, I would have LAN parties and play online Doom, Hexen, Duke3d, Command & Conquer with 56k dial-up internet and 200pings and spend hours sorting out the LAN and other problems.....then play for an hour and we would all be exhausted and not want to play!

All the problem solving just to get playing games is how I learnt....so thanks games!

 

[Sam Poland]

Then when I was a little older, I would have LAN parties and play online Doom, Hexen, Duke3d, Command & Conquer with 56k dial-up internet and 200pings and spend hours sorting out the LAN and other problems.....then play for an hour and we would all be exhausted and not want to play!

All the problem solving just to get playing games is how I learnt....so thanks games!

Yeah, Doom over a 56k modem! My friend and I stayed up all night, we went through the game twice!

O man those early Sound Blasters were such a pain...In the wallet that is! I remember paying ~$250 for one! That was the early 90's.

 

[Kewlx25]

I remember making $30 a pop fixing computers when I was 10 years old. People came to me because they knew I could fix them. So many computer shops would charge 2x as much and not actually fix the issue and take for ever doing it.

There was nothing in particular that I did to start fixing computers, I was just interested and was given some opportunities.

 

[Ralston18]

Started in a couple of mainframe environments: BASIC, FORTRAN, punch cards, etc..

For PC's, I started with an Atari 800. Purchased via a friend who went into the business. Spent a couple of years and quite a few dollars enhancing the Atari as more and more stuff became available. RS-232 interfaces, a homemade light pencil to "draw" on the screen via a Radio Shack flashlight pencil with a light sensor instead of a bulb.... Wired in via a RS-232 port.

Then purchased a used IBM PC-XT from a family member.

Likewise worked with it and enhanced it as technology changed. Modems, larger hard drives, more memory, various adapters and peripherals.

Also had the opportunity to work with a variety of Apple Mac PC's.

Wrote some of my own "apps". Did a spreadsheet one using BASIC matrix functions. Found and typed in a very lengthy word processing program.

People came up with all sorts of applications and utilities. DOS batch files ruled.

Lots of magazines and books in those days that would publish the code - if you were willing to type it all in. Downloading via modems came later.

Overall pretty much just rolled into it all as PC's became more and more popular. Followed along into networking and then some.

And still following it all I think. Or at least trying to do so.

 

[Karadjgne]

Hah. That's the gimmick about pc's nowadays. Back in the days of DOS, there wasn't anything I couldn't do to a pc. Batch files, optimizing rom, hybrid psus, it was crazy what ppl could do. Now, there's nothing I can do with a pc. Coding is so complex, OS is trying to eliminate user inputs via anything else but what's clickable, it's all so fast that optimization is really unnecessary, even OC has become rediculously easy, change 4 or 5 settings and a 7700k sits at 5.0GHz.
It's almost sad how little the average user needs to know to be able to use a computer.

 

[CostaP]

Wow its all quite interesting how you all got into fixing/learning about PC's. You all seem to have learnt the same way with the tech.

I seem like the unfortunate one, having learnt from things breaking haha

 

[CostaP]

I remember making $30 a pop fixing computers when I was 10 years old. People came to me because they knew I could fix them. So many computer shops would charge 2x as much and not actually fix the issue and take for ever doing it.

There was nothing in particular that I did to start fixing computers, I was just interested and was given some opportunities.

10 years old!? Blimey thats crazy,

 

[Ralston18]

@CostaP

As for breaking things.... I did that as well. Did not really think about it all in those terms. Plus, in those days, when you broke something you could usually fix it or get it fixed.

Karadjgne very much on track with his post. Applies to many things beyond just computers. Too many people just want things to work and they do not care how. And if the "thing" breaks - they just want it fixed or replaced. No matter the cost sometimes.

And so many things can be engineered to break - one way or another. Especially if the reason can be deemed outside of warranty. See too many people literally just tossing their "things" about with minimal care or concern. And then complain about damage or loss of function. And the subsequent costs thereof....

So many generations learned from fixing things with parents, grandparents, friends, mentors, etc.. And some wonderful bonds were created in the process.

Becoming a part of the past. Overall we mostly learn by doing (and sometimes breaking) things.

Good philosophy, anywhere, to learn as much as you can and learn to do as much as you can. Go beyond computers and IT.

 

[sorryboi]

in my preteens i just break my computers without knowing it and since my family is broke we cant afford another computer so i had to do something but my parents know im stupid so i surprise them and i learn

 

[lyingriotman]

My fascination with systems such as physics and chemistry sparked my interest a few years ago. After growing up around so much technology all my life I decided I wanted to know more and I did what any curious kid would do. I researched until self-study brought me to the end. I still don't understand the more specialized or advanced systems, but a basic idea gives me much more satisfaction. My first (And only) build was made just a little over a year ago. I spent months looking for parts and scouring obscure forums, until, at last I had the pieces.

That was the easy part. The looking was so much better than the waiting. I ordered them and waited. And waited. And waited. It really seemed like a long time, even if it was just two weeks. I get the parts from the post office on a Saturday. I don't even wait till I'm back home and open the box. I pretty much did everything to them except lick them. Once I was able to begin building I treated those pieces as if they were the cure for world peace. If it seemed like I was pushing too hard to get them in, I'd stop, pick it up, check for obstructions, and try again.

Everything wasn't perfect though. With the hindsight I have now I realize that I could have waited two more months, gotten a GTX 1080, a smaller power supply, and a better case. I'm still here though and now I have an idea of what I need to fix.

 

[Paul NZ]

1st PC I had was a 486 lol.

Then I went to an Amiga 500. That was fine until the stupid battery in it leaked, and killed it. That was the end of that

Then I decided to build my own. Didnt want to buy a ready made one. Because of bloatware.

I've built 3 desktops so far. 2 socket 775's. Pretty similar systems 6 GB each. One's a dual core the other had a dual core.

I replaced the CPU with a used $20 Quad core, a few weeks ago. Works fine.

The one I'm using is a Socket 1150 with 32 GB DDR3L ram, and an SSD.

I've also done a bit of fixing mobiles lately. Been fixing a few of the mobiles that were given to me / fixing mates mobiles.

Buying replacement pcbs, lcd,s etc.

At the mo, I'm waiting for a replacement PCB, and lcd backplate for a Lumia 820 my sister gave to me. It maybe old but I think it's better than the Android I've got. Pity, it doesnt have a lot of apps tho. I like the features on it (NFC, dual band, 4G)

I also deal with removing malware etc. If I can do it remotely, I'll use Teamviewer to fix it. If it's not too bad