[TimEricsson]

So it's Friday night and I'm over at my boss/friend's house. I guess she's not really my boss anymore, as I've climbed the ladder quite a bit over the past 4 years, but she was my direct boss for a long time. Of course, now her boss is my direct boss, so it's more like we're colleagues. We're good friends.

So we're waiting for SavantGirl to show up because we all have to go to every girly store in all the malls in all the towns in all the world to find this very specific skirt for a wedding next week. You can imagine my delight. I did, however, make a good time for myself by pissing off all the throngs of saleswomen with my comments. "Hate it... hate it... that's ugly... that's awful... makes you look like Olive Oil... looks like something our clients would wear... it's actually giving me a headache while you hold it in front of me...everything is this store is hideous..." and so on.

Anyway, back to computer stuff.

We we're waiting for SavantGirl and I wanted to check my messages on my friend's computer. Really, though, I wanted to play with the new system a bit because I helped her pick it out online. C2D, 2GB RAM, Radeon 1300, Vista Premium, and a lovely 22" widescreen.

She wanted a new computer because she was constantly complaining about her old system (I think it was a P3). "It's too slow everything takes forever." My mistake, perhaps, was assuming everything was slow when she constantly commented, "It's too slow." I forgot that lots of people declare "It's too slow and old" when it's merely their Internet connection that's slow.

So I asked her how this new hotrod system is. "It's already pissing me off, and it's still too slow."

What?!?!?

Well, she's on cable, and it didn't take me long to realize that the Internet was dragging like crazy. 91Kb downstream, according SpeedTest. 4Mb according to her monthly bill.

She had her cable modem wired into an aging wireless Microsoft router, and then wired directly from that into the system. My suspicion was that everyone in the neighbourhood was probably leeching off of her broadcasted wireless signal. Well, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to access any settings on this Microsoft router, so I asked her why she even had it if all the computer stuff in the entire house was shoehorned into this redesigned room that I suspect was once a walk-in closet. "I don't know," she replies. Good answer! So I took that as the green light to rip out the router.

Now it didn't all go as planned, because I can usually get an XP system online in about 15 seconds, but it took me a good half hour in Vista and even included a call to ISP tech who really wasn't all that helpful. I just couldn't find where to activate the LAN settings.

Well, after that stumble with Vista settings, it all became glorious. 3.8Mb downstream off SpeedTest, and suddenly this C2D system came to life a little bit.

It makes me wonder, though. How many unsuspecting people out there, who don't have wonderful Onion friends, are cursing their new computers because they don't know their Internet signal is operating at 1/30th it's proper speed?

[Percocetti]

I've had the same exp with a friend of mine. There are so many of my firends that at times i think take my computer skills for granted. There are also the times when friends complain about the same thing, internet is to slow. Most the time with them it turns out to be just tons of spyware/adware on the computer with a combination of programs that have no use at all being installed/run and those god awful toolbars being installed. Once when fixing a computer, i opened up firefox to see about 4 of those toolbars installed, because of them it would take ages for firefox to fully start. It's just amazing what people don't know/do that will cause them the problems that they always get.

[Spalax]

It can be a fine line between;

1. The PC is getting on a bit
2. Fresh install/Cleanup would sort it
3. What they actually mean is there internet is running like crap

I have had to sort out so many PC's with slow internet connections which have almost always come down to them having some strange setup, Crap on the PC or the ISP's line is crap and a phone call to them usually sorts it.

Lets face it a P3 would be fine for web browsing but with PC's been so cheap now to build it can be worth spending a bit.

[oxinsnepe]

Well honestly, if she doesn't know how to distinguish between calling her PC slow, vs calling her INTERNET CONNECTION slow, then she's really not that tech aware.

Now, my mom said her PC was slow, and I assumed the same. Well, what was up? Was it her internet connection? Nope. My sis has a laptop connected to it, and the test showed a whopping 10Mb down and 400Kb up.

She actually had her CPU running constantly at 99%, and there was NO process in the task manager (aside from the system idle process, which is fine) that was using processing cycles. So her PC's mouse was barely moving and it took AGES to even bring up a window.

I have absolutely no idea what's causing it and am slating her PC for a format, but if the problem continues, I have to shrug and assume there's some kind of hardware failure.

==============

On a personal note, I have AT&T (old BellSouth) DSL 3Mbps, and even though I pay for 3Mbps, I often average 1.8-2.2 (but for some reason I don't get a 33% credit to my bill) What can you do? Call up and complain to someone who know's 1/10th as much about networks as you do? It's an exercise in futility. These "techs" know just enough to confuse the masses, but can't do likewise to us.

[levitratestimon]

it probably happens to a large # of people... most people dont know anything about computers

[envenonearo]

it probably happens to a large # of people... most people dont know anything about computers

True. I get people all the time come into my work dropping off PC's and only saying "It's slow" when I ask them what's up. Mostly has to do with crappy toolbars and other crap software loading it up with spyware.

Though one thing is for sure, the older they get, the less they know. I just recently had to show an elderly man how to enlarge and move a window around. SO stupid that I didn't even bother charging him. Instead he brought me a bottle of brandy as payment! [thumbup]

The hardest part for me is trying to explain the situation when they ask about what happened/what was done. Can't use too much technical jargon or they just look at you bewildered. Similarly, oversimplifying it has them looking at you like you have no idea what you're talking about.

[TerriLS]

Same trouble with the in laws.
put together a decent rig which covers their needs, but they have a defunct ISP, sort of taken over by another.
Attempts to persuade ISP change or newer hardware are fruitless because that "costs money and it still works"

Who am I to tell 'em what to do, just live with a crippled rig then.

[slimsex]

I wonder if mechanics or other sort of trade says similar things about how people are stupid? I'm sure that there are many out there that know crap all about car engines and stuff.

Perhaps it's because computer nerds were and still are socially picked on and now when people need our help, it's only natural for a nerd to lash out and call these people morons.

[AXGreg]

Yeah. I've come across alot of abnormally slow computers even though nothing is running and it is somewhat modern. New thing i ALWAYS look out for is if the hard drive is running in PIO. Pretty common with maxtor hard drives and intel chipsets.

Man the stuff i come across at work. You know how many times ive seen the Video port RIPPED from the motherboard. TWICE!! Seriously. I look at the back of their pc and all the nodes? are sticking out all over.(I just tape them off and slap in some cheap videocard, but what the hell.)

[envenonearo]

Man the stuff i come across at work. You know how many times ive seen the Video port RIPPED from the motherboard. TWICE!! Seriously. I look at the back of their pc and all the nodes? are sticking out all over.(I just tape them off and slap in some cheap videocard, but what the hell.)

One time, some guy asked me to put a new video card in his son's PC. I stuck one in, then put electrical tape over the built-in video port.

He calls me just as he gets home...

HIM: WTF, there is electrical tape over the video port
ME: That's the old video card, the new video port is below that

He calls back 2 minutes later...

HIM: The port below it only has 9-pins and won't fit
ME: Look down 4-inches for the blue port with 15-pins
HIM: OMG I feel so stupid....thanks!
ME: [muttered] Yeah, you should feel stupid you dumbass

This was after I had a lengthy conversation with me telling him not to get a cheap ass PC with built-in video so he wouldn't need to put another video card in it...