Comments for How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

Comment from Mike Morris on 2009-01-18

2009-01-18T14:47:08Z

Another resource for computer help--for all ranges of computer knowledge, from novice to expert--is the Users Group. There are many of these groups throughout the US (and the world). Connect to http://cdb.apcug.org/loclist.asp for a User Group locater from the the national Association of PC Users Groups (APCUG) (http://www.apcug.net/).

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

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Comment from Ben on 2008-02-29

2008-03-01T01:35:41Z

I highly recommend the "Learn ______(fill in the blanks) Visually" series of books for beginners. They are more well organized than the "Dummies" books (and I have a hard time recommending any book that calls people dummies), and have very good examples. They are especially good when a new operating system comes out, or you are trying to learn a new version of Office.

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

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Comment from Ben on 2008-02-29

2008-03-01T01:31:19Z

Jim has a good point. I don't know how many times I have been glad to have a second computer available when one developed a problem. It is always nice to be able to get online to search for answers to problems, or tools to fix them. With the price of broadband, and cheap routers, I highly recommend having two or more computers networked together at home. When you upgrade a computer, think seriously about keeping the old one around for internet access at least.

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-05-27

2007-05-27T17:43:30Z

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Richard: If you're printing from with a web browser, I'll bet it's this
article:
http://ask-leo.com/why_is_only_the_left_hand_part_of_my_page_printed.html

Leo

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Jim on 2007-05-26

2007-05-26T16:47:44Z

First of all, I want to thank the folks who send us those great newsletters. Leo, Kim,etc. I've had a PC at home for about five years and learned the most just fixing stuff on my own. Granted, Its great to be able to visit sites like Leo's and Komando's for ideas to lead me in the right direction. But in the end when I manage to solve
my problem, its a great feeling of accomplishment.
I know how tough it is to fix a PC that's down when its the only one available. I've found the (www.techsupportforum.com)to be a great source of help if your pc still has Internet access. You are instructed on how to submit a post where someone will work with you on solving your pc related problem. My best advice to anyone is to
make sure that you have Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware protection on your computer before its ever put online for the first time. Make sure to have a good firewall in place. Keep the clutter off your machine with weekly sweeps. Defrag if it needs it. You probably have software on your pc's that you've never used. I take them out and dust them off just to see what function they serve and how to use them properly. Trial and error are a great way to learn about your system and along the way you pick up a vast knowledge. It didn't cost you a dime. It doesn't have to be rocket science.

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Dave on 2007-05-26

2007-05-26T07:13:19Z

This kind of problem comes up so often in trying to define new systems - gernally termed requirements elicitaion / user requirements analysis. Its a fundamental part of systems engineering and one of the hardest things to do. If you think about users that want to build some kind of new system but don't know all the details of what the technology could do...
The best kind of ways to think about it is
1. What do you want to DO with the system?
2. How do you see yourselves USING it?

If we put this in the context of the question (which I realise is more about problems with computers), then we should try to frame the question as (noting that most of them end up being like this)
1. I want to DO this with the computer but I don't know how (and what you want to do is the real question)
2. I can see some of a sequence of things to do to solve my problem, but I don't know all of it... can you help with the rest?

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Richard Oblander on 2007-05-25

2007-05-26T04:37:43Z

I am frustrated by the fact that in most print-outs of material on my computer, several words on the right margin are not shown.
What can I do to correct this situation?
Thanks for your time and attention. Any response will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Richard Oblander

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

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Comment from Mary on 2007-05-25

2007-05-25T17:29:44Z

I always tell people I'm a beginner because I still feel intimidated by computers. Shortly after the Ask Leo! Newsletter made its appearance I asked a question. One of the most valuable pieces of advice Mr. Notenboom gave me was to pay constant attention to what I was doing. So I could tell someone, for example, "My cursor just froze along with the hourglass. Just before it happened I did such and such by clicking on this, that or the other. When I tried to exit I clicked escape a few times and that's when everything froze."

Using the car analogy, if you tell a mechanic "it died", that leaves a lot of possibilities. If you say, "I braked for a red light and the engine seemed to slow down then speed up several times. The light changed to green, I stepped on the gas, and that's when it sputtered and died," gives the mechanic something to work with. So maybe this is too simple for a lot of people, but it helped me. Thanks, Mr. Notenboom.

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Mat on 2007-05-25

2007-05-25T09:09:43Z

I'm an IT Manager at work (only one of the hats I wear!) and I get this a lot - it often comes out in questions or statements like "My computer doesn't work." When in fact they mean "My copy of Word has frozen..." Or they'll say "My email isn't working", when they mean "I haven't received an email for half an hour and cannot believe it's because no-one's sent me anything, not even spammers...". Although these kinds of things are relatively easy to deal with - you go and have a look. Harder are the ones where people THINK they know what the problem is, and point you in completely the wrong direction to start with, wasting minutes (or hours!) of precious time while you try to troubleshoot the printing problem, only to realise that their network cable has become unstuck... All part of life's rich tapestry. :)

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A comment on: How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.