Hi There - Computer Hope Community,
I'm interested in learning more about how to manage my home computer (currently using a 2-year-old ASUS laptop). I seem to have little computer issues quite often, so often end up reading about solutions on various forums. Sometimes, I can follow, but often it seems like it's just computer experts advising other computer experts (senior experts advising novice experts, so to speak).
I don't plan on ever becoming involved in the field of repairs or programming or super technical customization, but I'm decently technologically inclined and think it's a good idea to know basics of how things in the world around you work. It helps you get more out of your world/experiences/devices and also decreases time lost troubleshooting obstacles through trial and error due to not understanding the bigger picture. (Like when you realize you can replace your broken side-view mirror at cost by just ordering the part and only a wrench or fix your own toilet by understanding what pulls on what to make it flush or knowing driving laws by actually reading the vehicle code itself).
For computers, I've found several guides out there, but so far, they all seem to be for either very computer illiterate people or for people looking to become actual experts/professionals or they just explain a very narrow topic well or they're just really outdated (1990's).
TLDR Version:
I'm looking to get a decent exposure to what the different parts of my computer (mainly software, but also hardware) do, so I'm not just following step-by-step instructions from forums, but also understanding the bigger picture of what I'm doing and making it easier to learn by having some context hooks.
For example:
What am I looking at when reading a registry key title (as anti-malware software asks me if I want to delete it or not), what processes are normal when looking at my task manager, what do all those tools under "System and Security" do and when might I want to use them (and could I be getting better usage by customizing them), when would a SafeStart be good to use and when would it not matter, why do some programs go through the entire "install process, what are the different folders when I look at my C: drive? (Why is there a Program Files but also a Program Files x86...what is extra junk I can delete and what isn't)?
I obviously really like learning, I'm willing to put in the time to learn about these things. I often look stuff up or try YouTube videos, but it's often disjointed and they assume that since you're working with these things, you must know more than you really do...
Thanks for any advice or direction to resources!
-Anthony
