Monday, November 22, 2010

How to Tell Whether It’s Your Fault

During my 20-odd years of helping folks use their computers, I have
noticed one unfortunate and common belief:
People tend to blame themselves for just about anything that goes wrong
inside a PC.
This is not always true, of course. picture recovery tool Computers crash for a number of reasons,
and most of the time it’s really not your fault. Yet, when the computer some-
times does something strange or unexpected, even I catch myself saying
“What did I do now?”
Alas, the sad truth is that with a computer, you should expect the unexpected.
So, before you plan on doing any troubleshooting, please set the proper frame
of mind. Rather than immediately jump to the what-have-I-done? conclusion,
practice saying the following mantra:
Oh, my. The computer is behaving in a random and unexpected manner. I sup-
pose that I shall have to look into this to see what can be done to remedy the
situation.

Computer foul-up terms not worth memorizing

Glitch: Whenever the computer does something
strange or unexpected or behaves in a manner
inconsistent  with  normal  operation,  that’s  a
glitch. Glitches happen to everyone. Often, you
fail to notice a glitch unless it does something
that  directly  affects  what  you’re  doing.  For
example, you don’t notice a sound glitch until
you  try  to  make  your  computer  squawk.  The
sound may have not been working for weeks,
but you notice it missing only when you other-
wise would expect it. Such is the agony of the
glitch.
Bug: A bug is an error in a computer program.
Despite  the  efforts  of  the  best  programmers,
most computer software is riddled with bugs.
Bugs are what cause computer glitches. Bad
bugs can cause a computer to hang or crash.
Note  that  most  of  the  worst  bugs  happen
when you mix two programs together and they
interact in some new and unexpected way. The
term comes from the early days of computing,
when  a  real  bug  (a  moth)  got  stuck  in  the
circuitry.
Hang: A totally unresponsive computer is said
to be hung, or hanged. You could also use the
term frozen, though hang is the accepted term
used by computer nerds for generations.
Crash:   Crash   is  another  term  for  a  dead
computer  —  specifically,  what  happens  to  a
hard drive when it ceases operation. A crash is
typically   recover data  more   sensational   than   a   hang.
Remember that a hang is a freeze. A crash is
typically accompanied by spectacular warning
messages or weird behavior (and may indicate
more  than  just  a  dying  hard  drive).  In  fact,  a
crashed computer may still be teasingly func-
tional.  Only  the  foolhardy  continue  to  use  a
crashed computer.

There. It’s totally neutral, merely an observation coupled with a determina-
tion on your behalf to fix things. With that proper attitude set, you’re ready to
begin your troubleshooting odyssey.
Computers shouldn’t Mac photo recovery crash, of course. They’re not designed to. Really! But
they do, for two reasons, neither of which is really your responsibility:
The software has bugs in it.
There is an utter lack of cooperation.

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