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I would like to learn

D

deadman_uk

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 30, 2003
Messages
2,036
How did all of you learn about computers, is it from a friend, a book, or the internet?

I am not dumb with computers but compared to most on here, I dont have a clue what this means, or that means.

Is there a big website with information so i can learn stuff about...

RAM - timing 2.5-3-3-8

Graphics Cards - pipelines, 400/360 speeds?,

I could go on for hours about stuff I really dont understand about hardware, just wondering how you people learn all this stuff?
 
Experience
Other people
Research

Both experience and other people require time. Research is the way to go. Things are so much better than "back in the old days". I remember scouring for some obscure text, stealing some admins manual, or waiting for hours on the phone trying to find someone with real knowledge, all because those used to be the only options. Nowadays, the best resource is the Internet and Google. Follow the links, read the stickies on all the [H] forums, learn as fast as you want.

I think you might be surprised on how quickly you can pick it up.
 
The golden rule in the tech industry is learn by doing. That's why I never understand people posting for online guides of how to build a PC. Buy a cheap system or upgrade the one you have as a learning tool. Most of us started by upgrading a PC that someone else gave us or bought us, like our parents. Eventually, you find the find the need to build a whole new system. It's the same way you learn to troubleshoot software. Try and fix it, and most likely, eventually, you will.

Too many people post on here asking for immediate help with a non booting system or various other problems. The art of teaching yourself to tinker is become a lost art.....but it's how you learn.
 
patience young grasshopper...lol. just alot of reading reviews, articles, forums, alot of shopping, and hands on. just one thing at a time, what ever problems/questions you run into just research and read up on it, and soon you'll uncover the spectrum of knowledge that applies to you and your PC :)
 
Originally posted by djnes
The golden rule in the tech industry is learn by doing. That's why I never understand people posting for online guides of how to build a PC. Buy a cheap system or upgrade the one you have as a learning tool. Most of us started by upgrading a PC that someone else gave us or bought us, like our parents. Eventually, you find the find the need to build a whole new system. It's the same way you learn to troubleshoot software. Try and fix it, and most likely, eventually, you will.

Too many people post on here asking for immediate help with a non booting system or various other problems. The art of teaching yourself to tinker is become a lost art.....but it's how you learn.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I have a friend who has an FX-53 and SK8N who supposedly knows everything about hardware, yet he can't do jack with it because he can't figure out how to get the Zalman on.
 
Give what you want to do meaning. If you want to learn linux, set out with a goal of setting up a basic web server and learn all of the requirements to make a secure machine. If you want to learn hardware, start researching what you want to build and the best way to do it.

I learned almost everything by FIXING things i broke. Compy stops working, figure out why and the BEST way to fix it. It takes the most time, and the most patience but the end result is a complete understanding of what is going on.. instead of just a solution to that specific problem.
 
We learned by blowing stuff up. :D :eek:

Buy respected brands, and read, read, read.
 
i learned from finding out whats compatible, which is better, and doing it myself. I am only 16 but people that have built their own computers could be much younger. Just try to get the most bang for your buck. If you put together a computer you have a MUCH better understanding of whats going on inside.
 
Hello,

Definatley getting hands on experience is a must. If your afaraid to do something DO IT! It may not be the easiest way but you will learn 100X better than any book will be able to teach you.

When I was younger I was so bent on running a clean PC , I would go into the Resgitry and start deleting keys to try to make my system run faster. When the system failed afterwords I would format , reinstall and start again where I had left off. When you tell a chic you know the windows registry by heart they are like putty in your hands :cool:

One rule you should always remember is never be afraid to ask for help. If you get stuck and are having a hard time with something you just dont know , just ask someone. Usually they will be more than happy to help (Ex - [H] Forum )

I beleive its all a matter of being driven by curiousity and to see what you can and can do with your machine. If your interested in learning im sure youll do just fine. Good luck to you.

Zachary
 
Everyone has good information. The one thing I tell people, and everyone is don't be afraid to break it. If you are afraid of trashing it you will never learn. Of course this doesn't mean you shoudln't be cautious.

James
 
We learned by blowing stuff up.
Click to expand...

Yep read read read read read read try .....blow things up read read read read read read and sucess:D Just don't be afraid to try stuff and remeber if you force it it will break. Don't be afraid to ask questions(just ignore the boneheads)This forum is full of helpful people.



Some people have stuffed animal heads on their wall I got computer things that I stuffed hangin on the wall :eek:


When you tell a chic you know the windows registry by heart they are like putty in your hands
Click to expand...
Thats so true
 
The best teacher for me personally has always been experience. Some actions teach you more than others, though.

For example, for learning hardware the best thing was definitely building my own system. I'd really been in need of an upgrade so I could play starcraft competitively, and decided that doing it myself would save me quite a chunk of change compared to buying a pre-built system.

Even though I had already had plenty of experience doing upgrades (like HD's, CD-ROM's, PCI cards, memory, and even CPU's), building the entire system myself just brought my level of confidence and true understanding of the system to a whole new level.

If yer wanting to learn hardware, building your own PC is a great place to start. And prices now are so much cheaper than they were when I did it, so if you break something it's not all bad :).

Erik
 
I learned by searching online, forums like this, people around me, and just not being afraid to try!
 
http://www.pcguide.com/topic.html

a page (or two ) a day will keep the tech away

when I first started I bought a book,
and built a computer (my first)
got it about 98% right


__________________

lol thanks for the link, I will read it all lol


Yeah experience is the best way I guess, 2 weeks ago I learnt all about the jumpers on a hard drive. The task was to move my 40gb hard drive to primary slave, fitting a new 160gb hd and set to primary master and fitting a new dvd burner to go with my cd burner.

Took a few hours but i got there in the end.



Thanks for the input guys, I will learn from experience!
 
we knoe all this shit cause we are very interested in everything computer. if you really want to know then you will probly eventualy . ask question and read what poeple say . im guessing thats how most of us learned. Most of the stuff that i KNow isnt because i tried to learn 9it, rather i discovered it doing something I already knew.
 
when I first started I bought a book,
and built a computer (my first)
got it about 98% right :p
Click to expand...
Just curious...which 2%? It wasn't that page about the processor, was it? ;)
 
self toaght, reading reviews/froums/asking my sister(which may sound sad, but she started college at 16 and is magering in cs ad welsey[thoguh she is more of a software/mac persone, so she askes me hw questions), and assmosis(sitting on your ass and just absorbing info)
 
Originally posted by Ice Czar

when I first started I bought a book,
and built a computer (my first)
got it about 98% right :p
Click to expand...

That reminds me. Back when I was 11 and my dad went out of town. I took every component out of the computer and tried to put it back together... funny how it didn't quite work =) Apparently I put one of the cables in upside down.

Shortly after that I had my own computer and was told that if I broke it. I'd better be able to fix it.

So the lesson I learned is. Screw up somebody's computer and they will buy you your own =)

James
 
i dissasembeld my first computer in 3rd grade.. it was an old lc3 or somthing, nothing realy...enywhay, i havnt don a compleet build yet(havent had the money till recently, and once i got the money i didnt have the time, so i got a prebuilt from abs, which ive already reworked half of). enywhay, just read reviews, guids, ect. hell i read almost every review they post on the [H], even though i have no reson to, as 99% of it has no baring on anything i do :p, but i gleen alot of knoldge from that stuff
 
these forums... i just built my first computer, and i asked on here about each thing i needed to know, and peoples helped me out... weather it was giving me a link to view or just telling me... and now i'm on my new computer, and it runs great!
 
I'd say thats how most people start out is by taking apart and rebuilding stuff. as far as reading material goes nothign is better to read on the john then a nice 875p mobo manuel :eek: . But after you know how to assemble a PC there is so much more like you said RAM timmings and stuff I'd reccomend Maximum PC the magisine i learned alot from the subscription when i was but a young noob. Like people said alot of the stickies around here make for sum good reading.
 
Experience. That's how I learned, and in my opinion, the best way to learn. Plus, 12 hours a day on these forums and google doesn't hurt.

Seriously, make a list of everything you want to know. Then spend some time on google, and look it up when you have some spare time. That's what I do, every time I see a phrase or something I don't understand, I write it down on a notepad next to my computer. Then when I get bored a week later or something, I look all of it up. It's actually kind of fun... Maybe I'm odd. :D
 
80% here is self taught. And many late night reinstall of windows.:D and lots of internet

The worse thing I did was copy a windows 3.1 directory into a windows 98 directory and it would blue screen with 0177:BFF7DF77 every time you tried to start windows:rolleyes:
 
1. Upgrading own computer.
2. Burning up own computer. :eek:
3. Rebuilding own computer from scratch.

Probably in that order, some times random and some times other peoples computers. ;)

You break and you learn. If you always ask some one to fix it for you, you'll never learn to do it the [H]ard way. :D
 
originally posted by mosin
Just curious...which 2%? It wasn't that page about the processor, was it?
Click to expand...

the part about RAM compatibility
I bought ECC and since it was the bleeding edge of PC2100
cross parting was extremely limited (it kept testing fine, but the boards kept testing bad), finally it got sorted out, only then I got some more incompatible RAM (though it was technically correct)
all told quite a bit of time and money (not to mention some pissed off vendors) :p
 
Hands on experience is the best way to learn. It does help to have someone around that knows what they are doing to make sure you don't do anything catestrophically wrong, although that is usually hard to do if you use some common sense.

Forums like this are usually a good place to ask a question. Google is also very good for finding information. All I ask is that before posting a question on here, try to figure out what is wrong on your own first and maybe do some googling to look for the answer. More often than not you will find the answer on your own. I don't ask that because I'm sick of any "help" threads. It's just that you will learn a lot more by trying to figure it out yourself. If you can't figure it out yourself or don't find it by googling, then ask your question. You will probably know a bit more about the problem and be able to describe it better than before. That will allow people to help you quicker and give a better solution or possible solutions.

I just wish google had been around when I was teaching myself to do stuff with the computer. I'd probably know a lot more than I do now. I probably would have figured out some answers a lot quicker too.
 
I remember saving enough money to go out and buy my Voodoo2 Black Magic card. I was shaking trying to get the thing in...heheh that was my first hardware upgrade... Before that I had like 4 C64's that initially sparked my interest in Computers. Also calling tech support for fixing crap I broke and sometimes picking their brains (funny cause now I work for ISP tech support and I get little kids doing the same to me heheh). Having a mentor never hurts either - if you have a friend who is good with PC's never stop asking them questions - pick peoples brains who have been in the business... Also remember everything you learn heheh.
 
This post reminded me of a company called Heathkit. They were great! I got a remote control (for models) from them. You had to put every thing together, from the servors to soldering transistor and stuff to the pcb's.
They had everything,TV's, amplifiers you name it! And it was good stuff. Thats a great way to learn from the ground up.
Try finding a simple robot kit,you'll come to appreciate the working inards better.
 
one day i got a new video card and i had to open up my pc for the first time to put it in. then i was like 'woah... this stuff looks pretty cool in here' (aside from all the dust). so i took the whole thing apart one day and put it back together and it worked.
not too long after i built a new one using the knowledge i had gained by putting my old one back together. it all went from there, as i found a new peice of hardware or anything i was interested in i'd go online and learn everything i could about it. forums help too :)
 
If you want to really pick up alot of knowledge on a wide array of things quickly there are about 3 steps i would suggest.

First i would frequent sites like www.pcstats.com www.anandtech.com www.tomshardware.com and any other site that posts articles and actual guides to hardware and common tasks on a regular basis. PCStats.com has a TON of really good beginners articles on all different types of subjects.

Here are a few they have.

Beginners Guides: 101 Tips and Tweaks for Windows
Beginners Guides: Annual PC Checkup
Beginners Guides: RAM, Memory and Upgrading
Beginners Guides: Cloning WindowsXP
Beginners Guides: Burning CDs and DVDs
Beginners Guides: Decrypting Document & File Passwords
Beginners Guides: Encryption and Online Privacy
Beginners Guides: Ergonomics and Computers
Beginners Guides: Firewalls and Internet Security
Beginners Guides: Forgotten Passwords & Recovery Methods
Beginners Guides: Hard Drive Data Recovery
Beginners Guides: Installing Windows XP
Beginners Guides: Little Known Features of WindowsXP
Beginners Guides: Optical Drives & Recording Formats
Beginners Guides: Spyware Protection and Removal
Beginners Guides: Assembling Your Own PC
Beginners Guides: Installing RAID on Desktop PCs
Beginners Guides: Diagnosing Bad Memory

After that i would subscribe to as many PC gaming and hardware magazines as you can get ahold of for free. You can get these subscriptions for free from places like www.slickdeals.net and www.fatwallet.com. You may have to actually pay for MaximumPC but i would strongly suggest getting a subscription right now. I got mine from a magazine vendor for $4.99.

Next like others have said, frequent these forums, especially the General Hardware forums, as much as you can and read through as many different topics that involve the area you are trying to learn more about.

If you have satellite, TechTV is a good tv show to watch.

Best thing you can really do is just find yourself about 10 good hardware sites, add them to your bookmarks and visit them daily reading all the guides and reviews that you can.
 
I went to school. Surprised no one else has said this. I learned a ton and it gave me a great foundation to continue my education in the real world. Of couse geeking out for hours and hours at home helps too.
 
Originally posted by elation
I went to school. Surprised no one else has said this. I learned a ton and it gave me a great foundation to continue my education in the real world. Of couse geeking out for hours and hours at home helps too.
Click to expand...

I'll be finishing up my networking degree next year most likely and then i will move on to major in computer engeneering or something related to that. You'll learn quite a bit going to college but it will just be in your area of expertice. And the people that teach you alot of the time are usually older and dont spend alot of time online so they are behind in the newer hardware technology. I can walk into most any computer repair store or a place where there is a licensed technician on duty and sometimes they know quite a bit and other times they dont know hardly anything at all. And they are rarely up to date on the latest and greatest on the hardware scene. You can pick up the greatest amount of knowledge online but you need the schooling for a strong foundation of hands on training for the area you specialize in.
 
for the do it yourselfer (which is its own skill set)
in the OS field (for Windows), pickup an MCSE study guide

but probably the greatest skill you can develop is advanced searching
the ability to form multiple queries and refine them, to glean returns for additional terminology, and qualify the most promising quickly, thats the trick
 
i purchased several large (1000+ page) books, and read them cover to cover. i like to spend a couple hours a day researching and learning about computers.
 
Thanks for the help people, and thanks everyone for the links you gave me. I know anandtech, tomshardware but thanks.

I will continue to look at these sites and the news one you give me. I am actually studing a computer course at college right now, AVCE ICT Advanced so far ive done spreadsheets, internet, ICT in business and a few others things, what I also did was hardware but I was so dissapointed because all we learnt was to install a cd drive from scratch and insert some new RAM, which I knew already.
We were suppose to install a hard drive (which i can do now) and a cpu (intel p200) but there was no time.
 
Originally posted by OPUS1
This post reminded me of a company called Heathkit. They were great!
Click to expand...
my parents still have an old Heathkit ham radio, vacuum tubes and all...they don't use it though.
 
Deadman, I know how you feel, I started the same way, they wanted $40 bucks to replace a video card that cost $40. <this was many,many years ago> I have learned alot about computers from various sources, reading books <lots of them> finding a mentor that is willing to explain things to you, and by breaking my stuff and then learning what I did wrong. Oh, I almost forgot a lot of trial an error. This board would be a great place to start and most of the guys are extremely helpful. I know someone here would be willing to teach you the ropes. If you have a question email me and I will help you the best I can.


~Novensu
 
Heheh... I remember my first computer, some old Compaq POS. I was running like two instances of VB, Paint Shop, some IE windows, and a bunch of other stuff... on a 233mhz processor, mind you... and the thing started turning itself off every so often, making me lose everything I'd been working on. So, my friends and I decided we should try and o/c it. Reboot, fiddle around in BIOS, reboot, load up VB, and *BAM* there's a loud pop and the room starts filling up with smoke.

Basically, the best way to learn is by experimenting, although this is most certainly not the cheapest route. However, a lot of things can't really be answered from experience, like what RAM timings actually mean, and that's why God invented [H].
 
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