Lots of newfangled computers, peripherals and software will find their way under the tree this holiday season, and intrepid do-ityourselfers may humbug the idea of paying a pro (and waiting a couple of days) for installation. Here are a few tips to help the amateur techie in the house get things running, and keep them that way.
• Double-check cables to make sure they're going from where they're supposed to, to where they're supposed to, and make sure connections are solid and tight. Colorcode them with rubber bands, tape a Sharpie, or whatever.
• While the USB cables now used to connect most peripherals are hot-swappable (meaning you can plug in a camera, printer or CD burner without rebooting your computer), connect your accessory and let the computer recognize it before opening any associated applications. When you're done, reverse the process and close everything out before you pull the plug — this is especially important with digital cameras.
• Avoid overloading USB hubs (interfaces that allow you to simultaneously plug in more peripherals than your computer has USB ports for). Some peripherals, like outboard CD burners, suffer performance loss when connected to a hub, or won't work at all.
• When buying accessories, don't assume they're compatible with your computer. And don't take the salesguy's word for it, either. Do your research. Pay attention to system requirements.Your kid's gonna be pissed if you get him the game he actually wanted, but it's for the wrong operating system.
• Buy good anti-virus and anti-spyware programs (particularly if your operating system is Windowsbased, as opposed to Mac), install them posthaste, and update them frequently. Don't assume you're protected forever once they're installed. Hell, most of them even tell you when you need to update, and offer to do it for you.
• Don't underestimate the healing power of a Restart (reboot). Don't be afraid to do it if things get hung up while installing new software — you can't hurt the information encoded on that CD. Just start over. If problems persist, however, you may have systems conflicts or insufficient memory, and those are probably problems that should be addressed by someone with more know-how.
• Cables aren't the only places a loose connection can wreak havoc. Corrupted or unfound files could mean your hard drive isn't seated firmly, or that one of those little bars of RAM memory is sitting wrong in its slot. Depending on your machine, you may have access to checking both of these things, but working on hardware may be further than a novice is willing to go.
• Avoid installing bootleg software. Sticking it to The Man is cool and all, but you don't really know what's in the code on that CD-R, or if it will work well in concert with all the other stuff on your hard drive.
• Once you've got everything running smoothly, keep it that way by clearing out digital clutter. Graphics and audio programs use a lot of memory, and all applications are constantly writing little temporary files and hiding them away. Defragment your hard drive regularly, and take the time to learn various programs' destination folders. Explore your hard drive, dig around a little. Housecleaning applications like Norton Utilities are invaluable, because they're designed to hunt down all this stuff, streamlining and optimizing your system with a few clicks of the mouse.
• Almost everybody knows somebody who's "really into computers," and most of those somebodies are happy to help out those who are less advanced — don't be afraid to make a phone call and ask stupid questions. Just don't overdo it (pestering someone at work or calling their home in the middle of the night is generally considered overdoing it), and make sure you let them know you appreciate their time and efforts. Thanks to geeks (not Geeks) Martin Rice, Jason Smith and Mark Warren.
This article appears in Dec 22-28, 2004.