WHY OH WHY,
It seam as of late people are posting solution or making comments where they truely havent got a clue.

One comment, AMD chips are harder to connect to wireless than a intel... just to name one.. But alot of people are doing the stupidest things...

Like say a question for a Graphics card, " it was working not it having problems" They were asked, what PSU do you have? ISnt it prity clear that if it worked once with would work again. They did have some good ideas that were lower down but still. that sort of questoning should be left for call centre staff.

PLEASE If you are UNSURE or DONT KNOW an answer to a question, DONT REPLY..

Having people runnign around buying new items they dont need to furnish your solutions isnt really a good idea for them or this site.

ON Hardware analysis we have some of the greatest people who can answer the question, OK there is currently 642 People viewing with problems, if they try your wrong advice that about £22470.00 They had wasted, and that could be a realy nice computer system or five..

See it this way also..

This site covers more or less every problem there is, then there is people who think they know every thing there is to know about computer because they have read PC weekly mag for the past two months, Then there are people who work for dixsons group (PC world)..

They come on here, and pray on the stupid and thick, and charge then £50-100 or what ever to fix there system, Then they get it back and it dont work, or two days later they get the same thing wrong....

Then they call me saying, "My friend, who really into computers came out and tried to fix it but its gone wrong again can you help?"

Where I have to go and fix it, when they have mae even more of a mess of their system.....

Take note, lucky there is a disclamer on this site for your bad advice or people would be suing you for it.

Keep in areas you do know.

if you know part of the problem, answer that and nothing else, state i dont know the answer..

LEARN this site has millions of problems answered already, maybe you can find the answer fixed already.. Its good education for you if you want to work in IT areas..

I even have to ask some time, when I dont know or im unsure.. atleast I ask...

Me applauds rabidly.

DITTO,

Well said Rory.

....Dude, if I ever get lippy to Rory, someone send me a PM telling to "be quiet," in so many words....


Sincerely,
The friggin' freaked out Lord Coldfire...

Oh, nice post by the way... *thumps up!!!*

*clap clap clapt* (repeat 10X)

Well said...

Though it's funny, there have been times that I've taken some unlikely advise from here, from someone who didn't really have an answer, but it's been something I hadn't thought of and it's been right.

Really, though, how many in here are actually certified? Certifiable maybe, but I personally haven't got a qualification other than some useless basic computing courses, and a whole bunch of dead hardware as it goes when you're learning how to do it, and I'd trust my own judgement over any PC World 'hello can I help you?' pseudo-technician any day.

oops, better shut up. I really DON'T know what I'm talking about...

Gray

Gray does have a point. But that's why Rory said that if you're not sure, don't answer. I'm not certified. I dn't even work in the IT field. All I know is what I taught myself and what I learned from sites like this one, from guys like Rory. So if I don't have any clue, I don't answer. Then I go back and read what others post and learn from it (hopefully). Sometimes I see a post that goes unanswered for a long time, and I don't know the answer. So I spend some time and research it. Then I give the best answer I can.

No one knows everything.

Good point, Rory. If you have questions those are okay to ask but only post replies if you know what you're talking about, as Rory so eloquently put it:

"Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about!"

thats one thing ive been doing is fixing other "PC Repairers" f**k ups, and i hate doing that.

r u saying that newbies are not allowed

No that's not what is what is being said at all - anyone with the knowledge to aid another user on here should be in a position to impart with said knowledge - it's when someone "thinks" they know where we all hit a rut and it costs a user money unnecessarily.

By my posts you will probably see "What I'd do" or "What I've done" simply because it isn't a wild guess but I have actually done it sometime back.

I have to agree that there are some really knowledgable guys and gals here and they know who they are and there is no need to say that if someone joins HWA today that they will not be able to add to this "Knowledge Base" because that's what it is - if you want solutions that MIGHT work then go to a think tank, if you want 8 tried and tested solutions then come here - these guys and gals have pretty much seen and done it all where PC's are concerned and this rep will only be tarnished if the site gets a name for spitting out crap resolves for people.

Again, well said Rory.

"r u saying that newbies are not allowed"

I agree with what Ecosse said.

We need more noobs, noobs are welcome in my view. We were all noobs once and none of us know it all, someone who knows a lot about one area may be a complete noob in another.

My self I know nothing about graphics cards, so it's rare I'll ever post in a thread about graphics cards.

yeh agreed noobs are great and we need more.....but not noobs who only post their so called "advice" to the noobs who want to learn....

Yeah, it's importnat to rember that this is a forum, to learn and swap idears, not a place to show off and try and impress poeple by makeing yourself look clever.

Though it is quite funny when some one makes out there a expert in something, then slips up a couple of posts latter and it becomes clear they know nothing.

"I'm a master Hacker.................... Whats C++?"

(This is just a example and is not intended to relate any real person or past threads)

nicely said again rory, ya keep coming up with these posts that make everyone stop and "listen" read for a little bit, im not certified either (wish i was, and trying to make it happen) but i have been fiddling with comps for about 8 years now, another thing that is a bit annoying is people trying to impose there knowledge and superority onto you. though to be fair we are all noobs in some fields, we all cant know everything about evertying thats how this site gets more questions lol. so well done rory and keep the good avice coming people

Too true Rory, too true.

Taken as a generalisation, I’d have to agree that this is a fair comment, however, as I think Dasun’s “r u saying that newbies are not allowed” remark points out, you’re getting into a bit of a hairy area here, in terms of dissuading people from commenting at all, just in case they’re wide of the mark in any one instance, and then get harassed ad infinitum for being a dimwit.

One thing that I did especially like was the way that “PLEASE If you are UNSURE or DONT KNOW an answer to a question, DONT REPLY” has been highlighted. I feel that the blame for posts of that nature can (in many cases, and perhaps even almost exclusively) be laid at the feet of the ‘Total Posts’ counter (Is it time to get rid of that? I don’t think it serves any purpose at all; quantity is most definitely no guarantee of quality). [I’m about to ramble on about my utopian view of what a good forum should be like, so you can skip to the next paragraph now, and get back to the point if you like ] I feel that you don’t have to look too far on this site to find a thread that’s got a perfectly valid, well-written question, followed by a dozen comments of complete drivel and then a viable solution. One thing I was wondering about is if we could have some sort of post voting system, where registered members can suppress the chaff that often appears in threads, by way of, when a post gets three or four “This is rubbish” votes, it is compressed into a single line, with some sort of hyperlink option to “Expand Post” (also, perhaps, there could be an “Expand All Posts” link, etc) just in case you’re interested in seeing what was written there (“Registered members have suppressed this post by John Smith because they felt it was irrelevant – CLICK HERE to expand the post and read it”) . I know that’s probably a lot of work, but I think (perhaps with some amendments anyone else might suggest) this would make many threads considerably more useful, especially to anyone just using the search facility on the site, browsing through threads on a certain subject trying to find a solution. The reverse of all this negativity that I’m spouting here would, as I’m sure many of you have already seen, be a “Good Post” voting system, which could be used to highlight posts that actually get to the point and offer something of tangible viability (with bold text, or some sort of ‘star’ system); *THIS* could then be used as the basis of the ‘Leader Board’, rather than the current system.

I also liked Ecosse’s comments about the strategic use of “What I’d do”, or “What I’ve done”, and I think that a lot of people who’ve never actually carried out the procedures they’re talking about, for themselves, before, should consider highlighting that fact, with comments like “In my opinion…”, “I’ve heard of people trying to…”, etc, or perhaps, if the revised version of the Leader Board ‘score’ (highlighted in the drivel of the paragraph above) were implemented, and this ‘score’ shown in the header of each post, next to the poster’s name (like an eBay ranking), then individuals could be left to actually decide for themselves if they want to follow the advice, or not (again, I appreciate that this won’t guarantee quality, however, I believe it would be a step in vaguely the right direction).

Aside from that, I’d just have to stand on my ‘Free Speech’ soapbox (the Devil’s Advocate version ) for a minute and say that, everyone has a right to comment, and nobody forces anybody to follow advice that’s given on this forum, much of which, even from the pros amongst us, is opinion and speculation anyway (and aren’t they just posh ways of saying ‘guesswork’?) – the reason for this being, and you can ask any professional computer engineer about this and they’ll tell you, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of computer support, once you get beyond those five minute fixes, it’s always easier to fix something if you can actually get your hands on it yourself, because someone else describing symptoms to you will invariable miss something important out, even if that person has more than half an idea of what they’re doing.

Finally, Richard: “We were all noobs once and none of us know it all” <<< Nail – Head – Contact! Can we have this added in large bold letters somewhere in all that blurb which now appears at the top of the page where you add a new post?;)

agree on - dont post unless you are sure you can help , but also some people who work in it , and have " the certificates " can be just as ignorant , the fact is just cos you have a piece of paper saying qualified , only means you succeeded in passing an exam , on a certain day ! its the same in the motor industry where i work , you se people with " certificates" & are" qualified" , that dont have a clue in the real world . in fact those who work in big companies , can easily hide their own deficiencies ! and this isnt directed at anyone in particular ! just cos we have worked with computers for years , doesnt mean that some gifted younger/older person doesnt have the know how to sort a problem . there seems to be a general lack of tolerance towards others , creeping into these forums , and to be frank , we dont need it , we are all interested in the same thing , otherwise this forum wouldnt exist , by the way , isnt a forum a voice for all ????

Thanks for the team sprit guy N girls, ( we do have some girls?)

I think everyone has the point, IF youve done it and its worked, or you know what your on about then by al means share, but pot lucking, has no place.

HWA is world known for its great advice and clear simple answers, In fact I cant remember how many times Ive put jst Yes or No to a book long question.. (like the reply above this)

I would agree that a points system as it stands isnt so hot, unless your shaming some one off here then anyone can post more or less anything.
A voting system would be great. (Mike H)(Sanders)
A simple check box with ( did this help?) would do a world of good, OK not everyone is going to vote even if it did work as there playing the fav game or what ever.

I also think we should Cookie limit the views that people can see on the site to encorage people to register for the site. Its good advice and its free, what more do they want.. blood from a stone..

Its also not about being certified, I have had some great un certified people work for me, being skilled is important, ( like I said to a certain person from HWA who asked for a job)

I started on PCs when they had one called he Zx and the plus 4, left it for a few years, done engineering and then got back into PCs Ive got quite a few certs, but its boring getting more as they seam to repeat over and over. in fact im too qualfied to work in most businesses in any feild (unless its english) whihc i have 3 certs or 6 GCSE's)

As long as we're not messing up doing guess work then your doing fine, I have an advantage of having to fix PCs so I can cut down on the questions as I have a fair guess at what the problems is from the start.. But remember SHUT up if you dont know, or I know that this ... but im not sure on this.. We dont mind that you dont know something...

But if your in doubt, my rates are low, Post in for 3 day turn arounds, laptops about 2-4 weeks dep, builds 3-5 weeks dep/order info/specs. call out as well.. http://gtwcmt.tk hardware not bad prces as well, still needs updating.. theres a website up date soon ish, there is going to be a shopping cart..WOOOO!
Still not taking credit cards but will be soon doing direct debits on line..

Please fee free to visit the site and find all the faults..

But I must draw you to this funny thing now.... Would you have this person fix your PC....http://profiles.yahoo.com/stuartfox
The person owns a company called "Fast fix PC repairs" I couldnt find any thing about him other than music related posts...

Newbies are welcome as long as their posts don't cause other newbies to do something incorrectly because the thought newbie #1 knew what he was talking about.