how to learn about computers

newcavanman

I wonder can any of you computer heads help me? i am a middle aged guy, with a very basic knowledge of computers, ie i can surf the net, edit a few photos and not a whole lot else . Has any one got any suggestions where/how i could go about learning about computers, how to work with them, how to fix them, how to put them together? i know it maybe sounds a bit confusing, im just looking to get a decent overall knowledge of how these things work .

xp90

Hi mate, maybe try a fás ecdl course?

vibe666

the best way to learn about computers is to roll up your sleeves and get in there and start doing things yourself. its not always going to go right, but you'll learn at least as much, if not more from the bad experiences as the good ones.

check out youtube for howto video's and any time you want to find out how to do something or for the smaller stuff just google it and read the first few results and give it a go.

Fanny Cradock

Definitely check out the Fas website for what they are running (example). Another possible avenue might be community colleges. I would imagine that most would offer something of interest. There are undoubtedly a million and one websites out there that will help you to self-learn from how to switch a computer on (your obviously well beyond that stage :pac:) right up to the really technical stuff (example).

mordeith

vibe666 wrote: »

the best way to learn about computers is to roll up your sleeves and get in there and start doing things yourself. its not always going to go right, but you'll learn at least as much, if not more from the bad experiences as the good ones.

check out youtube for howto video's and any time you want to find out how to do something or for the smaller stuff just google it and read the first few results and give it a go.

Have to agree with this. You can start by looking at all the options in something the Control Panel and seeing what they are all for. If you think you're going to do some damage just say no to Windows . You won't do any damage that way. Also take the cover off the box and have a look inside.

bette

What precisely do you want to do and why? IT is a vast area and you should target your preferences. If you fancy building computers bear in mind that it can be a costly exercise. Do you have PC minded friends? Where are you located?

Let's have a more focussed idea of what you want to do and you should get the advice you need.

vibe666

you can't expect someone who knows very little about computers to know exactly what they want to learn since they have no idea what is possible.

start with the basics, keep a note of things you find you'd like to do but can't and then set about educating yourself via the internet in how to do it.

start with configuring windows, changing screen resolutions and wallpapers, using new windows themes, installing applications and understanding how all these things fit together inside windows.

once you're comfortable with that think about doing an upgrade or two on your own PC, say a new video card or more RAM, maybe a bigger hard drive and practice re-installing windows and getting it up and running again.

its a great way to get to know your own PC and how PC's in general work. you can buy a decent sized new HDD for less than €50 and swap it out with the old one so if anything goes horribly wrong, all you need to do is swap the cables back over and you're back to where you started, no harm done.

bette

vibe666 wrote: »

you can't expect someone who knows very little about computers to know exactly what they want to learn since they have no idea what is possible.

Really? I posed some pertinent questions which might help the OP. Your riposte is negative and lacks substance.

When I say target surely that speaks for itself. Doe he want to build machines or just assemble one for fun. Do he/she fancy doing video editing, Photoshop, Excel, DB, programming?

He could learn some practical stuff if he/she were to get involved with some voluntary stuff but that would depend on location.

Suffice to say that everything imaginable is possible in computing. For this reason he/she would need to have some objective rather than a random notion as per his/her OP.

Lets say I want to learn music; what sort of music would be a start. Then what sort of instrument, level etc would also be relevant. Would I join a band, choir, just go for private lessons etc...

5uspect

I agree with the do it yourselfers. Get an old PC. Pull it apart and put it back together again. See what happens when you make mistakes and it won't boot.
Download and run a Linux Live disk. Backup all your data with the Live disk onto an external drive (if its an old PC you got for just mucking about then you won't have any data on this machine to lose) Install a Linux distro like Ubuntu and see what goes wrong/right. See what it offers that Windows doesn't and where you miss Windows. Play with the terminal. Write a shell script to do something pointless. Write a shell script to do something cool!

Reinstall Windows. if it's XP go and see if you can find the correct drivers (this is less of an issue on newer operating systems but you'll learn a lot). Post lots of questions here if you're stuck.

Dual boot the PC with Windows and your Linux distro of choice.

Have a look at a language like C or Fortran (get a good book on the one you pick). Figure out compilers.

There's little point earning how to create a pivot table in excel. If you're good at the fundamentals that'll come naturally.

Fanny Cradock

bette wrote: »

Really? I posed some pertinent questions which might help the OP. Your riposte is negative and lacks substance.

I think that is a little unfair. Vibe666 made some very relasonable points.

bette wrote: »

For this reason he/she would need to have some objective rather than a random notion as per his/her OP

It's not a random notion. Newcavanman outlined what he wants. It might be 5 years down the line the he wants to get into php or whatever but for now it seems prudent for a beginner to start at the beginning. Specialisation happens after the basics have been grasped.

@ Newcavanman

Your name would suggest that you're not in Dublin, Belfast or Galway but on the off chance that you are maybe you would think about heading into Carma for some volunteer work. They refurbish old computers to be sent out to disadvantaged areas to help aid education. While you are helping you are learing. What could be better?

vibe666

bette wrote: »

Really? I posed some pertinent questions which might help the OP. Your riposte is negative and lacks substance.

you're having a laugh obviously, because it is very difficult to take your comments seriously.

your questions were far from pertinent and of very little help to the OP since he has no real idea what is possible and you're pushing him to make a decision on what he wants to do with no idea of what that might actually be.

i hope you don't run a nursery school because you'd probably want all the toddlers to have their university forms filled out before they start. :rolleyes:

he just wants to learn more about computers and the best way to do that is to use them. once he starts to learn more about them then he can think about leaning in a particular direction, but for now nothing beats hands on experience to build up your knowledge

the_syco

Yo,

For the basics, do the ECDL course, and get the cert. It shows you've gone out, and learnt about computers. If your knowledge is basic, it'd be a nice stepping stone.

If you think you're beyond the ECDL, look into doing the CompTIA A+ cert. Waaaay more advanced than the ECDL, it's also more focused on the PC itself, but is a better cert. It'll tell you how to fix the PC, and gives you a better understanding of the hardware and software aspects. Even if you don't do the exam, just reading the books for the course will give you alot of info.

If you do do the exam, I'd advise you to do the hardware and software exams separate, as it's easier to do so (in my opinion).

bette

vibe666 wrote: »

you're having a laugh obviously, because it is very difficult to take your comments seriously.

your questions were far from pertinent and of very little help to the OP since he has no real idea what is possible and you're pushing him to make a decision on what he wants to do with no idea of what that might actually be.

i hope you don't run a nursery school because you'd probably want all the toddlers to have their university forms filled out before they start. :rolleyes:

he just wants to learn more about computers and the best way to do that is to use them. once he starts to learn more about them then he can think about leaning in a particular direction, but for now nothing beats hands on experience to build up your knowledge

I must bow out to your mighty wisdom. You sound like one who might be running a nursery school!

If you read the OP you will see that this person is already using a computer surfing the net and PHOTO EDITING!. Now my questions were asking what he/she envisaged learning. With your advanced intellectual capacity you may have noticed that the OP has not come back to his topic so one might deduce from that that he/she is not overly enthusiastic.

Perhaps when the OP comes back for some dialogue we migh be able to help him/her.

vibe666

bette wrote: »

I must bow out to your mighty wisdom. You sound like one who might be running a nursery school!

If you read the OP you will see that this person is already using a computer surfing the net and PHOTO EDITING!. Now my questions were asking what he/she envisaged learning. With your advanced intellectual capacity you may have noticed that the OP has not come back to his topic so one might deduce from that that he/she is not overly enthusiastic.

Perhaps when the OP comes back for some dialogue we migh be able to help him/her.

feel free to continue being a total dick, but you really aren't helping anyone.

you may feel that his description of 'photo editing' is using advanced CS5 techniques to improve his portfolio, but being as he lists his other PC limits as 'web browsing' it's a fair bet that all he's talking about is cropping pictures and a bit of colour correction in MS office picture editor or Picasa.

but by all means continue to plan out this guys future career for him, i'm sure he'll find your ideas very helpful. :rolleyes:

bette

vibe666 wrote: »

feel free to continue being a total dick, but you really aren't helping anyone.

you may feel that his description of 'photo editing' is using advanced CS5 techniques to improve his portfolio, but being as he lists his other PC limits as 'web browsing' it's a fair bet that all he's talking about is cropping pictures and a bit of colour correction in MS office picture editor or Picasa.

but by all means continue to plan out this guys future career for him, i'm sure he'll find your ideas very helpful. :rolleyes:

Let's wait to hear from the OP and in the meantime you might modify your language.

vibe666

bette wrote: »

Let's wait to hear from the OP and in the meantime you might modify your language.

funny, i was thinking the same thing.

also, if you could modify your dickishness that would be great too.

CSU

newcavanman wrote: »

I wonder can any of you computer heads help me? i am a middle aged guy, with a very basic knowledge of computers, ie i can surf the net, edit a few photos and not a whole lot else . Has any one got any suggestions where/how i could go about learning about computers, how to work with them, how to fix them, how to put them together? i know it maybe sounds a bit confusing, im just looking to get a decent overall knowledge of how these things work .

vibe666 wrote: »

the best way to learn about computers is to roll up your sleeves and get in there and start doing things yourself. its not always going to go right, but you'll learn at least as much, if not more from the bad experiences as the good ones.

check out youtube for howto video's and any time you want to find out how to do something or for the smaller stuff just google it and read the first few results and give it a go.

What vibe666 said - get yourself a cheap old PC, a cheap new PC, a cheap laptop and a decent set of tools. Don't be afraid of it! Whats the worst that can happen!

When 'fixing' notebooks, Google for their dis-assembly tutorials as often there are one or two tricks involved to get things open without breaking something.

When buying parts always check and double check model numbers and compatibility!

You'll need a shedload of patience too!

RachaelVO

vibe666 wrote: »

the best way to learn about computers is to roll up your sleeves and get in there and start doing things yourself. its not always going to go right, but you'll learn at least as much, if not more from the bad experiences as the good ones.

check out youtube for howto video's and any time you want to find out how to do something or for the smaller stuff just google it and read the first few results and give it a go.

I thoroughly agree with this answer. Experience is the best teacher. The best thing to remember is, is that your computer will pretty much only do what you tell it, and if you're in doubt CANCEL! Especially with windows now, they always ask you if you're sure you want to do something and tells what will happen if you do. I'm guessing you want to be more computer savvy, and it's really the best way. And youtube have thousands upon thousands of videos that can help you, not to mention a million and one forums with advice and instructions.

If you're looking to learn more about say excel or word, you can find tonnes of free information online. Good Luck

aidan_walsh

Lets leave the handbags at the door and get back to trying to help the OP, ok folks?

RachaelVO

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Lets leave the handbags at the door and get back to trying to help the OP, ok folks?

HERE HERE!!! Couldn't agree more!

Tails142

OP - sounds like you are into the hardware end of things moreso than the software.

tomsHardware.com has always been my go to source.

Here is a good basic guide on building your own PC http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/building-pc,511.html

There's really no better way to learn than to do it yourself.

If its a qualification you're after, you could try FAS as other posters have suggested. Maybe look in DIT Kevin Street, they do part time courses, or if you have the time they do full time courses. http://www.electronics.dit.ie/programmes/dt079/

bette

The non response from the OP is rather telling.

Fanny Cradock

How so?

bette

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

How so?

Someone comes along with a vague request and doesn't follow it up. That's not serious.

Fanny Cradock

The thread was started was 3 days ago! I'm not sure what you expected to happen in this time. Maybe the OP is on holiday, maybe he is off thinking about how to best apply the advice given in this thread, maybe all the handbag batting has scared him off.

I tell you what. We'll give him another 2 working days to reply. If no word is received in this time well will then send him a strongly worded PM outlining our disappointment at his lack of response. I am, however, undecided what to do in the event he does not reply to this PM.

bette

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

The thread was started was 3 days ago! I'm not sure what you expected to happen in this time. Maybe the OP is on holiday, maybe he is off thinking about how to best apply the advice given in this thread, maybe all the handbag batting has scared him off.

I tell you what. We'll give him another 2 working days to reply. If no word is received in this time well will then send him a strongly worded PM outlining our disappointment at his lack of response. I am, however, undecided what to do in the event he does not reply to this PM.

We are confused about the use of the first person plural;

We means you, not me. But that's a capital idea. Kudos.

vibe666

bette wrote: »

Someone comes along with a vague request and doesn't follow it up. That's not serious.

maybe he's too busy editing photo's to check the thread?

bette wrote: »

We are confused about the use of the first person plural;

We means you, not me. But that's a capital idea. Kudos.

wow. just wow.

bette

vibe666 wrote: »

maybe he's too busy editing photo's to check the thread?

wow. just wow.

It's photos not photo's. That apostrophe is to signify possesive or for a missing letter. E.G it is can be abbreviated to it's. Stick to your handbag disputes. :cool:

vibe666

bette wrote: »

It's photos not photo's. That apostrophe is to signify possesive or for a missing letter. E.G it is can be abbreviated to it's. Stick to your handbag disputes. :cool:

good to see you're sticking to what you're good at.

pretty sure it should be "e.g." tho, but who'd be enough of a dick to bring something like that up? :rolleyes:

bonzodog2

You gotta love the oul GrammerNazi bitch-fight .. sorry ladies .. but OP , get an oldish PC for cheap and a couple of hard disks, download a couple of versions of Linux, try that too. Maybe get a boot-fromCD-live one to start with. Look at all the parts of the Control Panel and Device Manager. Learn to find drivers and install them.

etc ...

Good Luck !

vibe666

bonzodog2 wrote: »

You gotta love the oul GrammerNazi bitch-fight .. sorry ladies ..

I'm an ally, the nazi is over that way. ^