Six DIY Tech Fixes You Might Need

Using the computer is part of our day to day activities. It’s fun and helpful to play with not until we encounter problems. During these times, do we immediately go to a PC doctor or be our own technical support? I’ve rounded up a few websites that can be our first aid in times of great need.

Computer Hope (www.computerhope.com)

Got a problem, but not sure what it is or how to respond to it? This website offers free help by providing a variety of hardware and software listing that will help you figure out what the issue is. It also contains usual computer questions and answers, general tips and tricks, and common terms and definitions that will help enrich computer knowledge.

PhilMug (www.philmug.ph/forum)

This forum is the official website for the Philippine Mac Users Group. Although it is heavy on Mac and Apple information, it also contains helpful contents for non-Mac applications and troubleshooting tips too. Apart from that, it also covers a lot of new technologies that users can talk about.

DLL Downloads (www.dll-downloads.com)

At one point in time, we face the dilemma of missing a DLL (Dynamic Link Library) file. Fortunately, this website keeps copies for us, which is very convenient as a quick fix, just in case we don’t have the software installer disc handy.

eHowTech YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/user/eHowTech)

For people who are more visual, this YouTube channel shouldn’t be missed. It walks us through the step by step installation procedures of popular gadgets, as well as guides us to more esoteric functions, such as overclocking a processor.

FILExt (www.filext.com)

If curiosity kicks in and would want to learn what a particular file extension is all about, simply enter it into the site’s search box. It will definitely be helpful to learn more about the file extensions we normally see and use, so that we know what typical application uses the extension and causes errors in the long run.

Switch 101 (www.apple.com/support/switch101)

Being a new Mac user from a long time PC lover can be quite a challenge. As such, this website can teach us to find out how to adapt our favorite PC habits into the Mac OS in order to get the most out of it. This way, we don’t need to keep on looking around the internet to be familiar with the new toy.

As we always say in TechNews, the Internet has a huge repository of information and guides. Only if we know how to find them and utilize them to lessen the burdens and expenses, then itcan really be beneficial to many of us.

Spend time wisely by reading up on these helpful sites, so that we’ll know how to handle problems the next time our computers decide to go on a day-off from our daily use. It’s always better to learn them early and face dilemmas with a shield on rather than facing it when it’s smacking right in front of us.

This article is my 41^st contribution to Manila Bulletin -- one of the Philippines' leading broadsheets -- published on November 7, 2011 (Monday) in the TechNews Section. You can view the PDF version here.


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