Your dad asks computer questions

[JasonSix78]

I guess I'm lucky, my old man is a computer engineer.

 

[illusion88]

Originally posted by: JasonSix78
I guess I'm lucky, my old man is a computer engineer.

This.
Sometimes, I call HIM when I am stuck on something.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Madwand1

Originally posted by: Jeff7
RedSquirrel, it'll be worse when you move out and are far from home, and have to take him through the steps by phone.

http://logmein.com

Doesn't that do the same thing as Remote Desktop anyway?
How easy is it to get working through a router?

And for what needs to be done to his computer at this point....well, WindowsXP needs to be reinstalled.

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Doesn't that do the same thing as Remote Desktop anyway?
How easy is it to get working through a router?

And for what needs to be done to his computer at this point....well, WindowsXP needs to be reinstalled.

It's pretty painless, and works through routers without any trouble. It's similar to Remote Desktop, but with less hassle and he can see what you're doing while you're doing it, so can learn from that.

As to re-installing XP -- setting up the user as non-administrator helps keep it out of trouble.

 

[Kelemvor]

 

[dguy6789]

I was running the disk defragmenter on the family PC. My mother decided to use the computer.

Her: What's this on the screen?
Me: That's the disk defragmenter, just ignore it.
Her: I need to check my email.
Me: Ok.
Her: So what do I do?
Me: Check your email.
Her: How?
Me: The same way you do every time.
Her: But what about this window on the screen?
Me: Just ignore it.
Her: Do you want me to click the X right here?
Me: No, just ignore it.
Her: Can I check my email while this is running?
Me: Yes, just ignore the window. Check your email like normal.
Her: Are you sure you can do this?
Me: Yes.
Her: Ok, if you say so.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: Madwand1

Originally posted by: Jeff7
RedSquirrel, it'll be worse when you move out and are far from home, and have to take him through the steps by phone.

http://logmein.com

Doesn't that do the same thing as Remote Desktop anyway?
How easy is it to get working through a router?

And for what needs to be done to his computer at this point....well, WindowsXP needs to be reinstalled.

ShowMyPC.com - smaller, better, faster. It's like a bionic web app.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
I was running the disk defragmenter on the family PC. My mother decided to use the computer.

Her: What's this on the screen?
Me: That's the disk defragmenter, just ignore it.
Her: I need to check my email.
Me: Ok.
Her: So what do I do?
Me: Check your email.
Her: How?
Me: The same way you do every time.
Her: But what about this window on the screen?
Me: Just ignore it.
Her: Do you want me to click the X right here?
Me: No, just ignore it.
Her: Can I check my email while this is running?
Me: Yes, just ignore the window. Check your email like normal.
Her: Are you sure you can do this?
Me: Yes.
Her: Ok, if you say so.

LOL that's sooo my dad.

In fact, sometimes the KVM is switched to the server and I forgot to switch it back, he totally freaks out. "what's this login thing?" and he'll try to login directly to the server. (good thing that's disabled for regular users lol)

 

[Red Squirrel]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
RedSquirrel, it'll be worse when you move out and are far from home, and have to take him through the steps by phone.
If it took you 2 minutes to take care of then, it'll take 20 minutes just to get him to consistently differentiate between Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer.


Every support call, at least five times...
"Open up Windows Explorer, navigate to <filename>, and run the program."

".....single click or double click?"

*facepalm, >5x*

"Run it the same way you run every other executable program you've ever opened."

LOL yeah, think I'll setup a VPN server so I can just VPN in and administrate the network lol. I'll probably get a phone call almost daily. At one point I'll just see their number and answer "Helpdesk".

 

[Arkaign]

I was about to post a 'Supernews' thread, but found this one to resurrect instead.

http://www.hulu.com/supernews?c=Animation-and-Cartoons

I seriously love this show, anyone else follow it? I particularly love the Craigslist genie, that's so accurate.

 

[TallBill]

Meh, my dad is smart.

 

[KLin]

LOL yeah, think I'll setup a VPN server so I can just VPN in and administrate the network lol. I'll probably get a phone call almost daily. At one point I'll just see their number and answer "Helpdesk".

http://www.teamviewer.com

Learn it, live it, love it.

 

[LordMorpheus]

Taking notes on a legal pad ... my dad does that too.

My mom's gotten pretty good - she's a photographer and when she moved from medium format film to digital it was a rough couple years for me but now she's got her office up and running pretty well.

 

[Platypus]

I finally bought my father a Mac so he couldn't destroy it and I gave him a one-button mouse so he couldn't be confused by brain bending techniques like right clicking as he can't seem to grasp the difference between the two types of clicks.

I installed Linux on my mother's machine and she's much more savvy with them as she uses computers at work. She uses it for email and office applications so it works well for her and doesn't require much intervention from her at all. On top of this I have a root login if things go wacky on her.

I gave up on Windows for my family completely.

 

[geno]

I remember my dad blamed the failure of my stepmother's computer on me not closing individual windows before closing Windows (3.1) itself and exiting to DOS. I was probably 10 at the time so me telling him that's not going to affect anything probably feel on deaf ears. I forget what the real problem was, but the HD ended up taking a dump for one reason or another but it definitely wasn't related to anything I was doing

 

[Kirby]

Meh, my dad is smart.

My dad is smart in everything but computers. As long as he can do his work, watch porn and play freecell he's satisfied. He has no desire to learn or do anything else. I swear sometimes he plays stupid because he's too lazy and doesn't want to learn.

 

[dabuddha]

RedSquirrel, it'll be worse when you move out and are far from home, and have to take him through the steps by phone.
If it took you 2 minutes to take care of then, it'll take 20 minutes just to get him to consistently differentiate between Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer.


Every support call, at least five times...
"Open up Windows Explorer, navigate to <filename>, and run the program."

".....single click or double click?"

*facepalm, >5x*

"Run it the same way you run every other executable program you've ever opened."

I get the single vs double click question as well as left vs right click question.

 

[lokiju]

OMG the loud nose breathing is my Dad.

But my Dad just started like 2 weeks ago trying to figure out how to use a computer.

So I'm sure I'll be reliving all the years and years of questions I've been through with my Mom already.