PCs are complicated. Sit down to troubleshoot one, and you’re signing up for an experience that runs a gamut between “Two minutes of Googling and I’m off to play Fornite,” and “Over the past 36 hours I’ve drunk 17 energy drinks, slept six minutes, mapped every single unlabeled UEFI option, and developed a niacin allergy.” Machines of the modern era may be more stable than their counterparts of yesteryear, but that doesn’t mean they don’t break.
It’s useful to have someone to talk to at a time like that. Someone who hears you. Someone who understands.
Unfortunately, you people are stuck with me.
Once upon a time, many pounds ago and when I still had hair, I owned my own PC-service-and repair-business. My work as a reviewer and journalist for the past 18 years has always kept me around the latest and greatest from the likes of Intel and AMD, and I’ve done general troubleshooting for readers, co-workers, and friends on an ad hoc basis for my entire life.
This has convinced some of my friends and family that I like fixing computers. As a general rule, I do not like fixing computers half as much as I think I should like setting them on fire or blasting them out of a cannon, but the Powers That Be didn’t think AMD or Intel would be happy if I started benchmarking CPUs based on factors like stopping power, air resistance, or armor penetration. So, fine. Since I do like helping people troubleshoot problems, I guess we’ll fix things instead. Plus, as an added bonus, I get to talk about things a little more conversationally than I typically would during a story.
We’ll try to avoid this sort of thing. ;)
Got a hardware problem you can’t solve, a question about what to buy, or a topic of interest to discuss? Ask me or put a comment below.
Right now, the goal is to gather responses up during the week and run a weekly Q&A, though we’ll see how things evolve. Troubleshooting hardware can take a few steps and some back-and-forth discussion, so we may have to play with the format a bit to see how we can best show that process. The goal is to create a useful resource for exploring issues and problems other folks may be having as well. Questions about hardware-adjacent topics are also welcome, though my attempts to troubleshoot your furnace may end in mutual tears and recrimination.
Why am I the grumpy PC technician? Because having to deal with broken PCs is intrinsically annoying. I’m much more a Windows user than Mac or Linux, but if you have a question about these platforms I will try to help you find an answer.
Questions? Comments? Drop me an email at GrumpyPCTechnician@Gmail.com or leave a comment here.
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