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| Thread ID: 46728 | 2004-07-03 08:28:00 | FAQ. Draft for picking over/on. | Murray P (44) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 249511 | 2004-07-03 08:28:00 | Hi Following another round ( . pcworld . co . nz/thread . jsp?forum=1&thread=48795" target="_blank">pressf1 . pcworld . co . nz) on the topic of getting the right info from posters, I've taken upon myself to write a FAQ that will hopefullymake it easier for people to post questions and for others to answer them . What? who are you calling niaeve? oh! just a blithering idiot, that's ok then . Anyway, have a read and post your comments, flames and rewrites . My main fear is that it is too long or that it may be best as two separate FAQ's but, it is hard enough getting people to the FAQ's let alone fossicking around in them before they have posted there urgent enquery . So, have a crack, it is just a draft and I wont cry, maybe blubber a bit but who cares ;) FAQ # ?? . Getting The Right Answers to Your Questions on Press F1 To help us better help you with you computer problem it is handy to include some information about your computer . Nobody on Press F1 has successfully used ESP as yet but, we are working on it and expect a breakthrough any day now ;) but, in the meantime, if you could take a little time to read the following you will find that the your query is responded to more speedily and the answers you receive are more likely to be applicable to your situation . Some problems are hard to diagnose and virtually impossible to do so without at least knowing what operating system you are using and most probably some basic hardware information as well . Follow the links further down the FAQ for ways in which to extract the information from your computer . So, what would we like to know?: Your Post Topic . What is the issue or problem? A descriptive title (post topic) will get you a speedy and helpful reply . Merely putting “Help!” is not going to help . Everything is “Urgent” so don’t bother, it’s not telling us what is wrong . “MY COMPUTER DOESN’T WORK” will probably mean it will remain in that state for much longer than you want . “Internet Explorer home page hijack” or “Win XP Stop Error, Blue Screen” for example, is more likely to attract those people with knowledge of the subject . What operating system (OS) is installed on your computer? Please include in your query, year of release, version number and any updates and/or Service Packs (SP) installed . For example, Windows XP Pro (or Home) SP1 . “Win XP Pro SP1 last updated 2 months ago”, is an acceptable way of presenting this . What do you think the issue is related to? . Is it the operating system, a programme, hardware or a combination of both? Your not expected to know all the answers to this but, if you can include in your post, what you were doing at the time, what programme you were using (name, year/version) and, if you know, what other programmes were running at the time and what your basic hardware specification is, then help is closer at hand . What error messages are you getting or what is happening? Note down as much detail as you can about any error messages you receive, is the error message in a little pop up dialogue box or is it a full blown Blue Screen of Death error (Windows’ famous blue background with white text error screen) . What happens? Does the computer lock up completely, does it hang momentarily or for a minute or two, does the programme you are using crash (shut down) or does it freeze but other things still work, does everything slow down or stutter? What is your basic hardware configuration? If you can include, Make and model of the computer, year of manufacture, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and it’s speed,hard drive size (make and model would be nice too) and how much free space you have left, amount of installed memory (RAM), CD ROM /DVD drive make and if possible model, video card model (is it onboard) and monitor (if the issue is related to your display, poor playing of games/picture editing), sound card (is it onboard? see previous for video/monitor), USB connections/ports, printer, scanner as applicable . What is your configuration # 2 more detail, hardware and software? If your question is about connection to the internet or a network, please include such things as, your internet browser (IE 6 . 0, Mozilla 1 . 6, etc), your email client (same applies as for browser but please be specific Outlook Express [OE] is not Outlook and visa versa), network cards, modem (internal or external, USB or parallel), DSL/broadband modem (or router) and your ISP (Xtra Jetsurf, Clear Highspeed, Woosh, Pradise dialup, etc) . What have you changed recently? Your new hair do or shrink might be very interesting but, more applicable will be, have you installed or updated some software recently or perhaps you have put a new video card in (or got your friendly local computer tech to do it) . A new tool bar or search bar for Internet Explorer (IE) can be problematic for example, generally you should not install them . You don’t need to include every minuscule detail, very few issues will require that all the information listed above is needed . Just include what you think is relevant initially to keep people from nodding off reading your post but, have more information at the ready . How do I interrogate my computer? Most programmes will have it’s official name, version, and release details in the Help > About menu item at the top left of most menu bars at the top of the programme window . Some basic information can be found quickly in most Windows versions in Start > Settings > Control Panel . Double click the icon for the process, hardware device or service you are wanting to identify . For example, System > General tab, will give you your Windows version with SP, who it is registered to and the registration number, what CPU model and speed your are running and how much RAM you have installed . If you hop along to the Hardware or Device Manager tab in the same window there is even more information on individual devices and drivers listed in there (Warning! do not change anything in there if your not confident to do so without help) . Icons for, printers, modems, monitor, internet options (IE Properties) and software in Add/Remove Programs and much more are all in the same handy place . In fact a lot of your computers configuration and troubleshooting will be carried out from within the Control Panel and it’s components . *For Linux information see <FAQ # 80: How To In Linux> [[Do we need to put a specific Linux basic info gather article here folks?? who would like to write it]] There are some really handy utilities that can help you gather all this information and more into one place . You can even print off a report on your computers specification and configuration . What’s more, these system diagnosis and information utilities come in free downloadable versions . Get your copy of SiSoft Sandra Standard here (ttp://www . sisoftware . net/index . html?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_x86&langx=en&a=) or Get your copy of Everest Home Edition here ( . lavalys . com/products/overview . php?pid=1&lang=en" target="_blank">www . lavalys . com) or Get you copy of Aida 32 here ( . pcworlddownload . com/system-utilities/diagnostics/AIDA32-Personal-System . htm" target="_blank">www . pcworlddownload . com) You can also get pro or paid versions of diagnostic/benchmarking software but the ones listed above should suffice for most people . Posting Etiquette? Use your best English and spelling, there is a spell checker for available for the latter where you make your posts for this purpose even if some of the older crustier members of the forum will have trouble understanding amerenglish . txt and 1337 speak is best left for your friends, mobile phones and other forums . You do not need to plead for help . Press F1 is a help forum so we are here to help mostly (see exceptions below) . Please don’t debase yourself and clutter up your post with extraneous text that will get in the way of putting your information across clearly and concisely . If the offered fix or fixes works, a quick post to that effect in the help thread you started would be nice but is not mandatory . If the suggested fix(es) don’t work post back with what you tried and what did not or in part work . More information may be required, be prepared, provide any new information you have discovered . It would be very nice if you were prepared to learn something about your computer . Remember we cannot see what you see or what you or your system is doing as frustrating as it may be . Get acquainted with your Help files, Google, Alta Vista and other internet search engines . They are a good place to start even before you post your question, relate what you have tried to help yourself so that we are not repeating useless information . Exceptions?: What does OT in a post topic mean? OT is Off Topic . It is either not a help question or not a computer related help question . The standards in OT posts are generally not expected to be as high as for genuine computer related posts but, every day rules of politeness and decency still apply . Some OT topics are informative, some humorous and some… . well they’re just OT . Sometimes a thread (a series of posts liked by the same topic) will go OT . If it’s yours you can ignore the OT bits or enjoy them but they should not be a reflection of your abilities or your post so, don’t take it personally . It probably just means that your post has raised some issues of interest to computer geeks (don’t try to second guess what may interest a geek, no one really knows least of all geeks) . If you feel things are getting out of hand, a bit impolite, you can find Bruce Buckman’s email address in the post at the very top of all the posts (the one with the padlock next to it) . He or one of the Press F1 administrators will intervene if necessary . What does the little padlock mean, I hear you ask? It is a locked thread, you cannot post to it for reasons that will probably become obvious if you bother to read it . It usually means that someone has or several of them have been naughty enough to have the thread locked . Please let it not be you . Now, have happy and productive posting and stop hitting the poor machine it really is so silly, if you could see yourself now . The End Cheers Murray P |
Murray P (44) | ||
| 249512 | 2004-07-03 08:40:00 | You don't by chance work in a government department Murray ;) Personally I can't see the point of it to be quite honest. Mind you, that's just my point of veiw. DD. |
dumdum (4965) | ||
| 249513 | 2004-07-03 08:58:00 | You sound like you run the forum Murray_P, or has that always been your aspiration? Sounds like just a lot of rules and regulations that nobody will bother adhering to because even if you link to this FAQ it will still take 1/2 hour to load and I seriously doubt someone with a computer problem is going to wait that long just to read the rules. You had the chance a few months ago to nominate yourself for Moderator, but I think you missed the boat. Rule writing should be left up to Bruce Buckman. |
acorn (5827) | ||
| 249514 | 2004-07-03 09:01:00 | Well, that would surely take all the fun out of the forum. Hook |
Capt.Hook (5586) | ||
| 249515 | 2004-07-03 09:10:00 | Well done Murray. Was it because of that link in Chills post a while back. I see there is a post by someone who is not new here stating in the subject Help and they will get no help from me. |
mikebartnz (21) | ||
| 249516 | 2004-07-03 09:12:00 | Get back in your shell | mikebartnz (21) | ||
| 249517 | 2004-07-03 09:17:00 | nicly done murray. it should be made sticky for newbies to see. however this sort of post/info was discused several times (right back to "candy" days). one thing you have to remember is the people this post is aimed at helping are the people who won't bother reading it ! catch 22 i'm afraid which is why it was never done from day one. |
tweak'e (174) | ||
| 249518 | 2004-07-03 09:25:00 | > You don't by chance work in a government department Murray Hell no, does it look like that, eek! Maybe I need a holiday, edit it quick your version here (pressf1.pcworld.co.nz) ;) >> You sound like you run the forum Murray_P, or has that always been your aspiration? Do I, gee thanks, I'm so flattered. I'm going to rush off and tell mom that somebody in this world finally recognises my talents :x thank you so much :^O Good to see your back, it's been a bit dull. >> Sounds like just a lot of rules and regulations that nobody will bother adhering to because even >> if >> you link to this FAQ it will still take 1/2 hour to load and I seriously doubt someone with a >> computer problem is going to wait that long just to read the rules. Yep, point taken, that was what I was afraid of, maybe tho it will stop the dripping and wingeing if members can point new postees to something instead of getting all hot and bothered and scaring the poor sods off. If they don't want to wait for it to load then perhaps they do't want the help that badly. Just a thought. Hook, see all of the above. Not my intention. If it could be compressed into headings with a few words it would help maybe? Cheers Murray P |
Murray P (44) | ||
| 249519 | 2004-07-03 09:32:00 | > If it > could be compressed into headings with a few words it > would help maybe? > > Cheers Murray P In a nutshell,...yes. Hook. |
Capt.Hook (5586) | ||
| 249520 | 2004-07-03 10:17:00 | Speaking as a reader not a poster i think that info might encourage me to ask questions. thanks Murray Spence |
Spencer (5624) | ||
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