Over the years some urban legends, myths, and untruths have been perpetuated about computers, computer repair, and dog gone it, Computer Repair Techs!
Well first you have to take any myth or urban legend with a box of salt, I mean someone bolting on four Vietnam era missiles to their car and out running a Deputy Sheriff on a desert highway in Arizona does sound kinda far fetched, no?
How about this one for the first versions of the Apple MAC - Never open a MAC, the magic will go away. This is a good one; there was even a cartoon about it in Playboy magazine in the late 1980's.
So I am here to give you some myths about computer repair that I know are wrong, you see I have been a Computer Repair Tech, Systems Admin, and Senior Systems Admin for over twenty years.
I know why these myths sprung up and can tell you the truth about them.
There was a show on the History Channel a few years ago where two guys took four disarmed missiles and strapped them to a car. They made the car remote controlled, not driven by someone. Then they took the car out to a dry lake bed in southern California and lit off those missiles. The car did not attain the speed it would take to out run a real Police car; at just over 90 MPH. So that myth / urban legend is debunked.
Myth: You can not repair your computer.
Fact: It is easy to repair your computer yourself.
This myth comes from the early days of the modern computer. The early Mainframe computers used tubes, not transistors. To repair a Mainframe computer required a degree in Electronics. The technician needed to know how to measure current, voltage, resistance, and wattage. The Mainframe had 'Banks' or 'racks' filled with tubes that switched, controlled, increased, or decrease voltage and amperage while doing its job of running a program. Each tube would now be considered as a transistor, the difference is a transistor in a processor is either on or off, that is it has a positive charge or no charge. Tubes will not work this way, the tube has to have a certain amount of current present to switch the bias from positive to negative. Thus YOU could not repair your Mainframe without a Degree because replacing a tube with the wrong part would fry the Mainframe and maybe you too! When the first PC was introduced from IBM (who made and still makes Mainframes) the tradition of only a Technician/Engineer with a degree and Tie could repair a computer was carried over, for a while anyway.
The four myths of computer repair you should know:
Myth: Computer repair is complicated
Fact: For most repairs it is very easy.
Today's computers are modular in their construction, with the advent of the IC (Integrated circuit) as a package has made the components smaller and more reliable than the old tubes of yesteryear. Anyone that can read can fix their computer. However not everyone can design a circuit or do low level electronic repair, leave that for those with Degrees and Ties.
Myth: Computer repair is labor intensive
Fact: Most repairs only take fifteen to thirty minutes
In the early days of computers this was true, you had to do quite a bit of disassembly and reassembly when taking a failed part out and replacing it. Today with the modular design the job has been simplified, when a part fails normally you would replace the assembly instead of the part. Such as if the IC that controls the spin up motor on the DVD drive failed you would not replace the IC you would replace the DVD drive. A twenty minute job at most.
Myth: You need to be certified to repair a computer.
Fact: Only if you are doing computer repair as a JOB.
For do it yourself or self computer repair you do not need a certification or degree any more than you would if you replaced the brakes on your car or mowing your lawn. However if you are seeking a job most companies will not hire someone off the street, they require proof that you have the knowledge needed to do the job, after all their business reputation is at stake.
Myth: You will 'blow up' your computer.
Fact: Not if you follow the instructions put forth in a good do it yourself handbook.
This one is my favorite, when MAC's were introduced back in the mid 1980's the Apple company had made it very clear that if you broke the seal on the computer they would consider it as having been tampered with and the warranty would be void, thus the myth that if you try to fix your computer you will 'blow the money' you paid for it because no one else could fix the darn thing, they didn't have the parts!
Most repair books on the market today are geared towards the Technician that has had some formal education in Computers. However there are a few manuals that are written for the Do It Yourselfer, some are written in everyday language and the authors have taken the time and care to explain each step in such a way that anyone can do a repair without fear of destroying their computer. And this is my favorite part: With out the Tie!
Visit: www.PCRepairDVD.com