Computer rant

[DCWalt]

I don’t really have much of a point to make. I’m just at the end of my rope and need to rant. 

 

For some context, I’ve been into computers since I was very little. I was born in 92 and by the time I became really aware of computers we were in the XP era but I spent a lot of time with commodore 64s and 128s, Osborne and built many windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 and XP computers and of course many state of the art computers over the years as well. I’ve taken apart and put back together almost any kind of computer you can think of. I’ve easily built 20+. I built every one of my personal computers and a lot of my family's and friends' computers, both high and low end.

 

All this to say, I may not be the highest end user but I'm well versed and experienced and play tech support for just about everyone in my life.

 

But the truth is, over the years and because of that experience, I’ve grown to truly hate computers and technology. Rarely a day goes by where I don’t have to fix something, somewhere. Something is always… ALWAYS broken and very rarely is it something simple to fix.

 

I’ve spent countless hours diagnosing endless problems and who knows how much money desperately trying to fix and prevent them. At almost 30 years old I've come to the conclusion that I really, deeply HATE computers.

 

They are chaos incarnate. Whether it’s a computer I've built or a computer bought from the store, they have never been stable for me in any way. Hard Drive failures constantly, PSUs going bad, every… single optical drive dies in a year or two (I use my computer to watch blu rays), same with mice and keyboards. Every time I find a mouse I actually like it dies as soon as they stop making that model. Expensive, highish end keyboards will go bad just out of warranty. Network problem… the never ending network problems…

 

GPUs outdated in a year or two, paywalling me from certain games, corrupted OS’s, corrupted drivers, memory leaks, bios problems. Rarely am I lucky enough to run memory at its rated speed. Games with endless bugs requiring hours of fixing before they’re playable (and let's not even get started on the gaming industry as a whole). Industry software is always buggy, bloated and broken. 5000 passwords to remember and sometimes even knowing your password isn’t enough… and on and on and on.

 

They are an endless source of rage-inducing frustration that I'm forced to contend with because at this point, we can’t live without them.

 

I used to love them and be fascinated by them but computers have worn me down to a soulless nub. I dread having anything to do with them any more. Sometimes even things as simple as watching youtube or checking my email is a day long problem.

 

Endless research and digging for answers that can take hours or days if I ever even do find an answer. They are a time and money vortex that just takes and takes and takes. After nearly 20 years of dealing with computers I’m at the point where I just can’t anymore but I have no choice. Computers are one of my biggest causes of stress and there’s nothing I can do about it. They do little other than remove time and money from my life.

 

I guess I don’t have any greater point. I’m on the verge of losing 15 years worth of project data and I just feel like I'm about to snap. 20 years of problems are colliding in my head and I’m about to pop. I really hate these goddamn things and I don't use the work 'hate' lightly... I hate them and have for several years now.

 

Sorry if this is a bummer or maybe i'm just stupid and don't know what i'm doing but i'm about two seconds away from smashing my head into a wall and needed to blow off steam.

[emosun]

Basically the frustration of modern pc's have got the best of you.

I'm a classic pc enthusiast so I'm well aware of the current "cloud based planned obsolescence" of modern software and hardware.

what I've found that helps me most is either

 

A: buying/using software and hardware that does not rely on cloud services to function. Such as using windows AME or buying a phone with a swapable battery. Also buying server hardware and not consumer hardware as the tolerance for failed hardware in that sector is zero.

B: Accepting that I cannot repair everyone elses devices. Coming to terms with knowing that other people's problems are not my own in the tech world is a huge thing I've had to get over. The problems are easy to fix , but the sheer number of them is staggering enough to make it a full time job. Knowing that I do not need to help everyone is what took a lot of the pressure off. Just worry about yourself and (when you have time and patience) occasionally help others.

[DCWalt]

3 hours ago, emosun said:

B: Accepting that I cannot repair everyone elses devices. Coming to terms with knowing that other people's problems are not my own in the tech world is a huge thing I've had to get over. The problems are easy to fix , but the sheer number of them is staggering enough to make it a full time job. Knowing that I do not need to help everyone is what took a lot of the pressure off. Just worry about yourself and (when you have time and patience) occasionally help others.

 

I stopped dealing with other peoples computers other than my own and my boyfriend's. most of what i'm complaining about are my own, personal computer problems that just never... ever... stop

[Needfuldoer]

This is one reason why my main PC is an OEM prebuilt and I spend most of my time with a laptop. They just work. 

 

Tweaking every setting you can dig up in pursuit of that fraction of a fraction of performance is the path to madness. You can only be free if you can resist the siren song of your BIOS and the "secret", "hidden" OS settings.

[emosun]

54 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

Whether it’s a computer I've built or a computer bought from the store, they have never been stable for me in any way. Hard Drive failures constantly, PSUs going bad, every… single optical drive dies in a year or two (I use my computer to watch blu rays), same with mice and keyboards. Every time I find a mouse I actually like it dies as soon as they stop making that model. Expensive, highish end keyboards will go bad just out of warranty.

The other thing to learn is REDUNDANCY is the cure for consistency.

 

When you find something you like , buy two of them. When you have a part you know can fail , get another as a backup. REDUNDANCY will always be the superior method for ensuring consistency. 3 crappy hardrives will always outlast a high quality hard drive. A spare motherboard will always be easier and faster to replace than finding a different one later.  Two mice and two keyboards will last twice as long and just one.

I cannot be a classic computer enthusiast without a TON of spare parts for everything. But in doing so , the classic machines have a 99.9% uptime. When anything fails or wears out , it's instantly replaced.

[DCWalt]

3 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

This is one reason why my main PC is an OEM prebuilt and I spend most of my time with a laptop. They just work. 

 

Tweaking every setting you can dig up in pursuit of that fraction of a fraction of performance is the path to madness. You can only be free if you can resist the siren song of your BIOS and the "secret", "hidden" OS settings.

 

I stopped 'tweaking' many years ago. The only time I touch the BIOS anymore is to set the boot order, ensure memory timing is set correctly or to help diagnose or fix a problem. I don't overclock. I just try to set things up as simply as possible and then leave it

[Poinkachu]

16 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

 

I stopped 'tweaking' many years ago. The only time I touch the BIOS anymore is to set the boot order, ensure memory timing is set correctly or to help diagnose or fix a problem. I don't overclock. I just try to set things up as simply as possible and then leave it

I can understand to some extent.

My first PC build was from made by my bro-in-law, never ending problem (Radeon era).
My 2nd PC build was half by myself, mainly just buying parts recommended to me by a trusted builder store. It was... meh.
I forced myself to learn a lot after that, my 3rd build is still running (currently using it for simple browsing), been running for like nearly 11 years now I think.
Had to replace GPU at like 4th or 5th year, but then again I was using an OC version of GTX 470 from some obscure brand (didn't have money for good brands back then). Now running MSI GTX 660 OC
1 HDD fail at 7th year-ish, lost a ton of data, swore to make it a habbit to backup important datas.
Aside from those, so far so good. And hopefully still is for a long time.

Also problematic about choosing mouse that suits me well, since my grip & preference is rather uncommon.
Realised this, then learnt soldering.
Mouse problem basically kinda gone after I learned to do some simple repairs. Most often it's just the switches failing anyway.
But yeah, I still do what @emosun said sometimes, buying a backup of stuffs I like.
Bought a used Rival 500 recently, since new one is non-existent without costing a finger. Repaired the switches, cleaned it inside out. It's usable now.
And I will buy another if there's another person selling.

Keyboard, I just recently switched to mechanical. I chose a hot swappable switches version. So at the very least if it's switch issue, hopefuly I can repair it easily.

Optical Drive... oh boy... I stopped putting any kind of faith on it.

I still own 1 external right now just because some relatives sometimes still give me data in CD form.
Which I then will convert into a damn USB Flashdisk before giving it back.

Things like GPU etc, eh well, I just decided not to follow along the trend too much. If mine still work nicely, then I'll just use it.
Not like I care about 10-15 fps difference.

I still help friend's with their PC sometimes, but only when I have time and bored enough to actually do it.
And only if they agree to my terms. Like, don't expect me to DIY a ton of stuffs that can be easily solved by buying a new or more appopriate cable, and if I say "Buy that one" don't buy others, since it's me they're going to call for help if the brand they chose ends up giving more trouble.

Games, well, if a game has tons of bugs that it's unplayable. Then I'll just play other game until the former is playable.
If there's paywall, and I don't want to pay. Then i'll just play other game. Since one of the reasons I chose to be PC users is the massive amount of games collection.
Back then though I used to get angry about it. But meh, my time and energy is precious, not gonna waste it on an unplayable game.
And it's not like someone gonna shoot me in the head if I don't play a title.

I still get frustated and angry when there's problem with my PC, that's normal I think.
As long it's just in my head and I don't resolve to breaking stuffs intentionally.

The never-ending question in my brain is : "How to make my PC-ing life less hectic & troublesome with the cheapest way possible"
I can't say I regret my decision to be a PC user. It made me learnt a lot of things, even simple arduino & raspberry coding.
I mean, most people around me still struggling to keep up with computer era, except me.

Be it computer, heater, AC, car, bike, dishwasher, even relationship will break down sooner or later, or atleast having problem.
Any hobby can be a money vortex, heck even relationship can be a money black hole.
It's just that computer is the thing you DIY the most, and the one you deal with the most. So it becomes more apparent as the target in your head.
I don't know what had happened recently in your life, but you surely sound burnt out. I can only hope things will turn for the better for you.

[Vishera]

39 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

All this to say, I may not be the highest end user but I'm well versed and experienced and play tech support for just about everyone in my life.

 

But the truth is, over the years and because of that experience, I’ve grown to truly hate computers and technology. Rarely a day goes by where I don’t have to fix something, somewhere. Something is always… ALWAYS broken and very rarely is it something simple to fix.

 

I’ve spent countless hours diagnosing endless problems and who knows how much money desperately trying to fix and prevent them. At almost 30 years old I've come to the conclusion that I really, deeply HATE computers.

If i had 30 people line up at my door with issues that their computers have i would have hated that as well.

Just stop with the tech support if don't want all of that crap.

42 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

They are chaos incarnate. Whether it’s a computer I've built or a computer bought from the store, they have never been stable for me in any way. Hard Drive failures constantly, PSUs going bad, every… single optical drive dies in a year or two (I use my computer to watch blu rays), same with mice and keyboards. Every time I find a mouse I actually like it dies as soon as they stop making that model. Expensive, highish end keyboards will go bad just out of warranty. Network problem… the never ending network problems…

It's either bad luck,incompetence or cheap crap components.

 

I have multiple PCs that are 7+ years old and they are working very well,

I even use a 16 years old hard drive in one of them,a 12 years old one and a 7 years old one...

50 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

GPUs outdated in a year or two, paywalling me from certain games,

I guess it's true if you buy cheap crap.

But if you choose your GPU wisely it can be performant enough even 4-5 years down the road.

 

Here is my GPU upgrade history,which worked very well for me:

2011: HD 6750 1GB GDDR5 > 2015: R9 380 4GB GDDR5 > 2019: GTX 1660

 

50 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

corrupted OS’s, corrupted drivers, memory leaks,

Don't use Windows 10.

I know it may seem unreasonable considering how mainstream it is but linux is good enough for every day tasks like web browsing and printing,

Also gaming made a breakthrough with Valve's proton when it comes to gaming.

So maybe you should consider going Linux.

 

53 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

bios problems.

It depends on the manufacturer,

I know that some Manufacturers have finnicky BIOSes.

From my experience GIGABYTE has pretty stable and reliable BIOSes in general.

 

55 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

Rarely am I lucky enough to run memory at its rated speed.

Well,that shows that you don't know much about memory controllers on the CPU.

The better the memory controller the higher the RAM frequency it can operate in stably,

Also you should look into the memory compatibility with the motherboard you use on the motherboard manufacturer's website .

 

1 hour ago, DCWalt said:

Games with endless bugs requiring hours of fixing before they’re playable (and let's not even get started on the gaming industry as a whole).

That's what reviews exist for...

Look into reviews on steam and don't buy games blindly.

1 hour ago, DCWalt said:

Industry software is always buggy, bloated and broken. 5000 passwords to remember and sometimes even knowing your password isn’t enough… and on and on and on.

I don't have this issue because i always check for this kind of issues before buying software,

I prefer to use open source software with no proprietary BS,

Do your research before you buy software.

 

1 hour ago, DCWalt said:

They are an endless source of rage-inducing frustration that I'm forced to contend with because at this point, we can’t live without them.

 

Seems to me like all of your issues come from ignorance and outdated knowledge of PCs and tech.

[DCWalt]

3 hours ago, Vishera said:

Seems to me like all of your issues come from ignorance and outdated knowledge of PCs and tech.

 

Seems to me like you're the ignorant one if you believe you can size me up and know all the solutions to 20+ years of problems based on 600 words written in 5 minuets

[Poinkachu]

1 hour ago, emosun said:

Basically the frustration of modern pc's have got the best of you.

I'm a classic pc enthusiast so I'm well aware of the current "cloud based planned obsolescence" of modern software and hardware.

what I've found that helps me most is either

 

A: buying/using software and hardware that does not rely on cloud services to function. Such as using windows AME or buying a phone with a swapable battery. Also buying server hardware and not consumer hardware as the tolerance for failed hardware in that sector is zero.

B: Accepting that I cannot repair everyone elses devices. Coming to terms with knowing that other people's problems are not my own in the tech world is a huge thing I've had to get over. The problems are easy to fix , but the sheer number of them is staggering enough to make it a full time job. Knowing that I do not need to help everyone is what took a lot of the pressure off. Just worry about yourself and (when you have time and patience) occasionally help others.

Full time job? I think you mean near slavery .

[Vishera]

3 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

 

Seems to me like you're the ignorant one if you believe you can size me up and know all the solutions to 20+ years of problems based on 600 words written in 5 minuets

I talked about all the issues that you addressed,not all the issues throughout your lifespan...

Also i didn't mean to offend you,that just was my honest opinion.

[emosun]

5 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

 

Seems to me like you're the ignorant one if you believe you can size me up and know all the solutions to 20+ years of problems based on 600 words written in 5 minuets

Yeah there's a reason my block list on here is pretty big , lotta guys convinced they know more than I and just looking for some toxic retorts to.... idk put this girl in her place i guess? lol

[Vishera]

Just now, emosun said:

Yeah there's a reason my block list on here is pretty big , lotta guys convinced they know more than I and just looking for some toxic retorts to.... idk put this girl in her place i guess? lol

Ignoring memory controllers,motherboard compatibility and then complaining why RAM sticks don't work at their advertised speeds is a very ignorant thing of OP to do.

Can you run these sticks at their rated speeds? - Yes,if the particular type of memory controller you have is known to work with those speeds and the motherboard is compatible and validated to run those kits at that speed.

 

Another one is that it seems like OP doesn't do research before buying games and software and then complains about them when there are alternatives that don't have those issues - which is ignorant of OP to do.

 

I have been harsh but my point stands.

[Lord Bloobus]

I've worked refurbishing and building computers for a decade and not experienced any of this. All my old computers, even a GX260 with dual core Pentium from 2002, still work. I've passed on every piece of hardware that runs and still maintain them as I upgrade. I also refuse to do any tech work besides drive upgrades and coordinate backups for family. Every one else pays in some form unless I do it as a passion project or personal favor.

Learn to say no.

[DCWalt]

3 hours ago, Vishera said:

Ignoring memory controllers,motherboard compatibility and then complaining why RAM sticks don't work at their advertised speeds is a very ignorant thing of OP to do.

Can you run these sticks at their rated speeds? - Yes,if the particular type of memory controller you have is known to work with those speeds and the motherboard is compatible and validated to run those kits at that speed.

 

Another one is that it seems like OP doesn't do research before buying games and software and then complains about them when there are alternatives that don't have those issues - which is ignorant of OP to do.

 

I have been harsh but my point stands.

 

Let me put it this way, you saw a guy having endless PC problems and your solution is to recommend that he switch to a different OS with a high learning curve, low user friendliness, Low compatibility with a lot of software and hardware. Not to mention a deeply toxic community that he defiantly would need to interact with quite a lot while trying to learn. And for what? An OS (one of a hundred variations that will need to be researched) that will likely result in even more problems.

 

You may think I'm ignorant, but at least I'm not ignorant enough to recommend Linux to someone so that they have FEWER computer problems.

 

go away

[Vishera]

Just now, DCWalt said:

Let me put it this way, you saw a guy having endless PC problems and your solution is to recommend that he switch to a different OS with a high learning curve,

That was about the operating system going corrupt,in case the operating system is to blame.

Also there are Linux distros that are easy to use and install such as Ubuntu,Manjaro,Linux Mint and more.

These distros are very user friendly and the learning curve is easy for beginners.

 

4 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

You may think I'm ignorant, but at least I'm not ignorant enough to recommend Linux to someone so that they have FEWER computer problems.

Linux doesn't necessarily mean that you will have more problems.

Linux has progressed a lot in the past 3 years.

 

I recommend you to watch this:

 

 

Also you didn't address any of the points i made that you quoted in your reply.

[DCWalt]

3 hours ago, Vishera said:

Also you didn't address any of the points i made that you quoted in your reply.

 

I do not care and I'm done entertaining you. If you require another person to put down to make yourself feel bigger, go find another target. I'm done with you

[Vishera]

Just now, DCWalt said:

 

I do not care and I'm done entertaining you. If you require another person to put down to make yourself feel bigger, go find another target. I'm done with you

I am not here to belittle you or make fun of you nor find it entertaining.

 

It's a misunderstanding.

I am deeply sorry if i offended you or hurt your feelings,i was harsh and should have worded things differently.

Take my criticism how you will,but know that i feel sorry for making you feel that way.

And as requested you won't hear a word from me on this thread again.

[Remarkable_Day]

I would recommend learning something else entirely, as a hobby, just to see how it goes - that removes the tech dependency. Perhaps it is the constant cycle that induces the frustration. Woodworking, timepiece restoration, who knows - of course I'm not aware of your interests. Maybe even something closer, optical drives fail all the time as you stated - what about becoming a god in diagnosing and repairing optical drive circuits. Perhaps after a while, the frustrations you are finding will die as they become less close to your heart, and more a general 'annoyance'.

 

I enjoy stuff breaking and diagnosing, but I've only been doing it for about 10 years. I can see how this could become after 20+ years. I also find it much easier diagnosing with someone else. It can be soul destroying working on an issue by yourself, roping someone in to bounce ideas off can help massively.

[RollyShed]

Born in '92, you're a kid. When you've been in electronics and computers for 70 years, you might know something about electronics.

 

"I’ve taken apart and put back together almost any kind of computer you can think of." - How many PDP-8s have you worked on? Can you boot up one by giving it the binary instructions needed? Or Data Generals? Or mainframe IBMs?

 

"I’ve spent countless hours diagnosing endless problems and who knows how much money desperately trying to fix and prevent them. " - It sounds as if you have actually failed and have introduced the problems, not fixed them.

 

"GPUs outdated in a year or two," - What's the matter with a decade old computer? If it does the job, keep it running.

 

Games? - Oh, is that all you do, play games. I'm talking "work".
Games - Go and play in your sand pit. We're talking computers for work, for doing things.

 

"Hard Drive failures constantly, PSUs going bad," - HDs go bad if you drop them from a great height. PSUs sometimes need capacitor replacement. Quick and easy. The other thing they need is banana sockets fitted to make them, if old, into handy power supplies for running electronic projects.

 

Mice and keyboard failures? What are you doing to them. A new mouse around here would be a decade+ old and will go for another decade.. The ones with LEDs, not a rolling ball.

 

As Vishera says, don't use Windows.
REPEAT - don't use Windows.

 

BIOS - leave it alone and only change it for boot order during installation.

 

"Endless research and digging for answers that can take hours or days if I ever even do find an answer." - A matter of knowing where to find the information. And NEVER use Windows.

[DCWalt]

3 hours ago, R3uben said:

I would recommend learning something else entirely, as a hobby, just to see how it goes - that removes the tech dependency. Perhaps it is the constant cycle that induces the frustration. Woodworking, timepiece restoration, who knows - of course I'm not aware of your interests. Maybe even something closer, optical drives fail all the time as you stated - what about becoming a god in diagnosing and repairing optical drive circuits. Perhaps after a while, the frustrations you are finding will die as they become less close to your heart, and more a general 'annoyance'.

 

I enjoy stuff breaking and diagnosing, but I've only been doing it for about 10 years. I can see how this could become after 20+ years. I also find it much easier diagnosing with someone else. It can be soul destroying working on an issue by yourself, roping someone in to bounce ideas off can help massively.

 

Computers are not my hobby and haven't been for a long time. They are a necessity. I play bass, I collect movies, I'm a photographer and filmmaker and I actually do do woodworking to a small extent. I try to stay away from computers as much as possible. even my photography, I keep analogue when I can but the reality is, I need a computer. I can't edit video without one, I can't edit my digital photos without one and I can't record and produce music without one. Computers are not my hobby, they just entirely facilitate my hobbies and profession

[DCWalt]

3 hours ago, RollyShed said:

Born in '92, you're a kid. When you've been in electronics and computers for 70 years, you might know something about electronics.

 

"I’ve taken apart and put back together almost any kind of computer you can think of." - How many PDP-8s have you worked on? Can you boot up one by giving it the binary instructions needed? Or Data Generals? Or mainframe IBMs?

 

"I’ve spent countless hours diagnosing endless problems and who knows how much money desperately trying to fix and prevent them. " - It sounds as if you have actually failed and have introduced the problems, not fixed them.

 

"GPUs outdated in a year or two," - What's the matter with a decade old computer? If it does the job, keep it running.

 

Games? - Oh, is that all you do, play games. I'm talking "work".
Games - Go and play in your sand pit. We're talking computers for work, for doing things.

 

"Hard Drive failures constantly, PSUs going bad," - HDs go bad if you drop them from a great height. PSUs sometimes need capacitor replacement. Quick and easy. The other thing they need is banana sockets fitted to make them, if old, into handy power supplies for running electronic projects.

 

Mice and keyboard failures? What are you doing to them. A new mouse around here would be a decade+ old and will go for another decade.. The ones with LEDs, not a rolling ball.

 

As Vishera says, don't use Windows.
REPEAT - don't use Windows.

 

BIOS - leave it alone and only change it for boot order during installation.

 

"Endless research and digging for answers that can take hours or days if I ever even do find an answer." - A matter of knowing where to find the information. And NEVER use Windows.

 

great, another one. yes, you are better than me. go about your day knowing how much better you are than the 30 year old "Kid" and windows peasant 

[RollyShed]

12 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

 

Computers are not my hobby and haven't been for a long time. They are a necessity. I play bass, I collect movies, I'm a photographer and filmmaker and I actually do do woodworking to a small extent. I try to stay away from computers as much as possible. even my photography, I keep analogue when I can but the reality is, I need a computer. I can't edit video without one, I can't edit my digital photos without one and I can't record and produce music without one. Computers are not my hobby, they just entirely facilitate my hobbies and profession

Computers? Electronics have been my trade.

Instruments? Ukulele and harmonica, folkmusic.

Photography? My mother and grandfather were the ones serious about that. Otherwise, a camera is used for recording things, illustrating things.

Computers? Yes, the tools do do things with. Music, photography, information sourcing, website construction, publishing. Plus making it easy for others to do the same things too by fixing their ones.

[DCWalt]

3 hours ago, RollyShed said:

Computers? Electronics have been my trade.

Instruments? Ukulele and harmonica, folkmusic.

Photography? My mother and grandfather were the ones serious about that. Otherwise, a camera is used for recording things, illustrating things.

Computers? Yes, the tools do do things with. Music, photography, information sourcing, website construction, publishing. Plus making it easy for others to do the same things too by fixing their ones.

 

good for you?

[Arika]

OP you need to calm down, every reply that hasn't agreed with your post has resulted in you getting waaaay too defensive and antagonistic. Which tells me you didn't even want a discussion, you wanted to either just post this and have no replies to it, or you want an echo chamber.

 

Just because people disagree or have had different experiences, doesn't mean they are insulting you. 

 

People can only go by what you have typed, in which, you do seem to have way more problems than would be considered normal without other factors.

If you hate them as much as you make it out that you do in your original post, then you need to stop using them. Maybe not entirely, just cut back usage significantly, find new hobbies that don't involve PCs, if nothing but for your mental and physical health.