5 Computer Management Tasks For New Computer Users

When you provide computer support for folks in your family or friends, you gain valuable insight to some of the frustrating issues new computer users face that you might take for granted. Recently while working with a new computer user to manage their PC and help them understand what is what, I watched them work with their PC. Here are some observations:

1. How Come My Computer Is So Slow?

While watching someone work in Windows XP they kept opening more and more and more and more windows. This particular PC had 500 MB of memory which isn’t a whole lot today since this particular person had Adobe Photoshop (a memory guzzler) running along side Microsoft Outlook 2003 as well, Firefox, their camera file management software and a few billion website pages all in individual Firefox windows. Nice. 🙂

I informed this person that while their PC might be relatively new that they just can’t run all the stuff they want to run all day long. This particular computer user leaves their PC running for eternity.

“I need it available all the time and I need everything open so I can get to what I need when I need to.”

2. Did I Save My File?

While working in Microsoft Word 2003 the File -> Save and File -> Save As… menu selections become confusing for beginning computer users. “I never know whether I’m saving my document correctly or if I’m going to overwrite stuff I don’t want to overwrite.”

I walked through saving a file and the menu selection item Tools -> Options -> Save tab. I explained the backup features and auto-recovery features that Word has and showed the user how F1 gives them a complete listing of the Save tab’s functions and what some of those functions do that ensure the user keeps their document safe from disappearing while they work.

3. Microsoft Outlook Saves a Backup and Auto Archives

This particular user was running Microsoft Outlook 2003 to work with their email. The default settings for running the archive process periodically was set and it annoyed the user because there seemed to be no rhyme or reason for it and it would happen every time they were in a hurry.

I explained the purpose and function of the archive process and how it helps them keep their Outlook running smoothly and the ability to search for old email at a later date. I also pointed them to this link where they can listen about it on their own time and at their own pace. Again, I reinforced the use of the F1 key and quickly searching on a word that pertains to their issue. However, at this point I felt that this person would rather have a Personal PC Assistant around all the time – or better yet, their own help desk available at all times. That is certainly a solution if it’s in their budget.

Somebody had installed a backup add-on for Outlook that is freely available here at Microsoft. The user found this annoying everytime they went to close Outlook. I reminded them of the value and that the annoyance was worth the time it would save them if they ever ran into any corruption in Outlook. I also explained the phenomenon of the longer you work with computers the more they seem to slow down. There is a perception that happens when a new computer user gets accustomed to a specific task that they thought was fast at one time but now is slow to them.

4. Paswords, Password, and More Passwords

Another very annoying task for new computer users is the need to use passwords on their computers. “I’m the only one who will be using this PC. Why do I need a password?” I always say something like, “Well, what if someone comes into your house while you’re gone and uses your computer to send threatening emails to the President of the United States? You’d have FBI agents swarming your home in a second.” Of course after a good chuckle I talk about kids and their friends, family members, good intentions, bad intentions, etc. At least use a password protected screen saver so the password protection gets set automatically. I also show them the Window key and L pressed together will lock their screen when they leave their computer for a long period of time. This is a good habit. Typically the Window key is next to the Alt key, which is next to the Space Bar and it looks like a wavy Microsoft Windows logo.

5. File Management – Yikes!!

File management seems to be difficult to grasp for a lot of new computer users. I don’t know how many times you can use the comparison between a filing cabinet and the Windows file/folder system but for some reason it always takes a bit more time for some folks to grasp the whole concept. But that’s ok. Usually when they really need to learn something related to their computer for whatever reason, the understanding starts to kick in.

I’ve seen hard drives with documents, pictures and all kinds of files scattered everywhere – the Desktop, My Documents folder, external hard drives – the I: drive, USBs, CDs, DVDs, etc.

What I tell folks is to start saving files in an organized fashion on whatever drive they prefer and only that drive, as long as it gets backed up. I highly recommend learning how to save files in organized folders on a new external hard drive you can get for a reasonable price now. So if you buy a 250GB external hard drive, think about buying two of them so the second drive can backup the first drive.

If you just work on Microsoft Word and/or Excel or other types of documents like that, you can save your files in your My Documents folder. Then you would backup your My Documents folder to an external hard drive or a USB drive by simply copying those files.

There are many ways to work with files and folders – by name, by date, by subject, etc. There are many ways to backup your files and folders but I would start as simple as possible. Pick one way that makes sense to you and stick to it for a while.

Finally, I recommended taking some courses at the local community college as well. Technology is ongoing and that means learning will be ongoing.

[techtags: File Management, Computer Management, Password Management]