How did you learn about computers?

[rentaspoon]

Just curious as to how many of you gained your knowledge in computers.

I gained it by hands on and online research. However, I feel like I don't know enough to work as a tech even though others see me as one.

Broke them a lot, no Internet when I was growing up

[miyabwah]

Back in 2012 I discovered that PCs were more powerful than consoles. So that's when I started watching Linus. And I joined the forum last year in March.

[b45op]

by pushing buttons until they did something

 

Something like this http://youtu.be/8d4RtvMQp10?

 

 

Really about the same for me, I first got my own (*cough* family) computer to play around on in the 386 days, this thing was awesome, it had an actual floppy drive and could even beep! I learned most things by watching my elder brother and then when he was bored and went outside I would mimic what he had done. Later when I was a bit older and I knew what was going on  started digging deeper into computers, building up my own from scraps and bits and pieces, salvaged off of pretty much everything and I haven't stopped tinkering yet. I once pulled apart the 386's keyboard to see how it worked and forgot where the keys went, that was a good lesson in taking things apart haha.

This all sort of worked as I now work in support and get to play with pc's all day.

[Night]

Hardware: YouTube and friends.
Software: Pushing all the buttons until the thing I wanted to happen happened.

[Ruostunut kokis]

At first learned some very basic stuff when I got my first laptop around 8 years of age (Compaq Evo N800v. Slow POS).

 

Began to learn more about desktop PCs when I got my first desktop PC (before that I've had 2 laptops), back then I've had my Xbox 360 (Elite) for about half a year and I was about 11 - 13 years old. Then I realized that as a gaming platform PC is superior to others.

 

About a year before building my first PC (the current rig) in August 2012, I was learning about PC hardware, mostly what's compatible with each others and what's not.

 

And now I'm here. I've learned a lot about computers over time, but I still have lots to learn, like most of us here.

 

 

An all that with the help of Google and YouTube.

[mr moose]

It just came naturally, I taught myself.

[jscho]

If I wanted to do something, say in Windows. I would click buttons that appeared to be related to what I wanted to do, i.e, change a wallpaper for instance (when I was a first timer), nowadays, I want to do something in a program like Photoshop, I'll click menus and buttons until I get what I want.

If all else fails. Google will be there :wub:

When it came to finding my way around programs and such, I am completely self taught for the most part. Stuff like hardware was YouTube. Linus, Tek Syndicate, NeweggTV, Tiny Tom Logan and the rest taught me everything I know about hardware. Linus includes this forum

[Leonard]

Just curious as to how many of you gained your knowledge in computers.

I gained it by hands on and online research. However, I feel like I don't know enough to work as a tech even though others see me as one.

I got an apprenticeship at the local IBM when i was young, then went to technical collage and took some classed and then had the privilege to get into a university for my BSc. I also learnt from forums and through research.

[matin94]

used them from the age of  7

[Rekx]

Did you manage to burn something with static discharge?

Three of my ram slots won't work. Trial and error, trial and error dude

The things learned of that indecent is that I now have memok bottom on Asus boards

[Stigs]

2 years ago, I got into PC gaming rather than using my console.  I had a Dell computer with a pentium 4 and a Ati Gpu with 256mb of RAM.  I wanted to game, so I did a ton of research and built my own computer. Thanks to Youtube channels like LTT and the rest of the internet, I am able to learn a lot about tech and how it works and how to fix stuff.

[AMD Lover]

Screwing around with them until i had broke so many i finally knew how to do stuff

 

 

 

And HOURS AND HOURS OF YOUTUBE

[Dr_Orpington]

I've always been a tinkerer, one day my friend made a computer, I was hooked.

[PcProdigy]

Trial and error, friends and Internets.

Yup, this was how i learned also.

 

My parents don't know very much about computers so I basically had to figure it all out myself with help from the internet. When my friend first mentioned building a computer, I thought he was crazy. But as I learned more about it, it became less and less of a crazy idea. Eventually, after saving up enough money, I built my first computer and now i am really into this stuff.

[terrytek]

I have a friend who taught me to build my first PC. The one I have right now from 8 years.

[terrytek]

I have a friend who taught me to build my first PC. The one I have right now from 8 years.

[Emjoh]

My dad has always been into tech and computers. And we always had computers in the house where I grew up. He once showed me an old IBM receipt for purchase of ram modules for one of his first PCs. I think it was 2 mb(!) of memory - at a price of around 500 dollars with overseas shipping and taxes
Since then I've had an interest in tech. As I grew older, I picked up more and more knowledge about computers. From friends and later especially from the internet, forums and guides, etc. 

I've always had a "need" to know how the stuff I use functions. I am a bit of a tinker, I suppose. =)

[snes]

i was effing windows up

i had to learn how to fix it

 

This. My dad got sick of re-installing Windows 95 for me at some point. That was also when I finally understood why my dad got mad at me for installing games on the PC.

[qwertywarrior]

This. My dad got sick of re-installing Windows 95 for me at some point. That was also when I finally understood why my dad got mad at me for installing games on the PC.

good old times

install one game

hard drive full

[snes]

good old times

install one game

hard drive full

 

Yep. My dad gave me a 50MB HDD that was a bit effed up. It did work but there were only 20MB available and I think Dark Forces was on more than 10 discs.

 

Edit:

 

But he didn't just get mad at me because of the size of the games. It was more about the fact that they were always messing with the registry and leave a mess allover the place when you tried to deinstall them.

[GunnAthax]

Got inspired by my cousin who studying IT at the time (done now)

I'm mostly self taught, but with some help from him at times.

[Yummychickenblue]

I watched a gamer record himself build a computer (he was bad) and I thought it might be fun and than my old winxp latptop started bluescreening and wouldn't turn on again (I still have it I might go fix it.)  So I specd out a build (the one on my profile page) gathered the money I didn't even use pcpartpicker.

 

and I found linus from one of his build guides.

[WinNut]

I started off messing around, reading, dropping my laptop on the floor (actually did happen), and just tinkering. Read my signature. 

Plus a techie dad.

[Guest]

when I was 2 and picked up a calculator 

[Senor Potato]

I was tired of all the things that made consoles annoying, and decided to build myself a computer.