I have always been interested in computers, but in
beginning, I would not venture any further than to software end of learning. However, learning only software side, and knowing nothing about hardware side, can open you up to some costly times at shop.When I was selling peripherals, I happen to ask my immediate supervisor how he would go about learning hardware side of computers. He looked at me and flatly stated, “Like I did -- learn by doing – build a computer from scratch”. Well, that is exactly what I did. And I’ll give you a tidbit of what I learned and problems I encountered.
Lessons Learned
1.I tried to put a floppy drive from my old unit into my new unit. I blew up floppy drive. Lesson learned – do not put outdated computer components into a new system. Duh! 2.Some of old programs are not compatible with new operating system. Did cost me some extra money and time. 3.Don’t build a new system from scratch – it cost more than a manufactured unit, unless you have money to burn, want to learn more about computers, or you are going to repair computers for a living.
What do you need in a computer?
Since you are going to run your business from your computer – you want to make sure you get best you can get, at price you can afford.
1.When money allows, piggyback an additional hard drive onto your primary hard drive for backup. Needless to say, your primary hard drive will not last forever. 2.CD-ROM – (Self explanatory) 3.Hard drive – Make sure your hard drive has enough memory -- I have several 40 GB hard drives. 4.Floppy drive – good for quick copies of an Excel, Word, etc. 5.Printer – A quality printer. When looking for a printer, make sure it is compatible with operating system you have and operating system that is currently out on market. Why? It saves you time – you may have to look for an upgrade for your printer online for new operating system – sometimes it’s free, sometimes it’s not, or sometimes computer will not support printer with new operating systems. They want you to buy a new unit. 6.Power supply – some suggest that computer unit should have 300+ voltage to give your operating system a lot of snap. 7.Fans – The new units usually have additional fans to cool CPU – which will help extend life of your computer. 8.Networking capabilities – you’ll never know when you want to add an additional unit, it’s always good to be prepared – and trust me it will happen eventually. 9.If you have to buy a new operating system, I would suggest going with Microsoft XP Professional. I found it very stable, and less likely to crash.
