Forums - Free Help On The Net

Forums - Free Help On The Net

An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.

They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived. Also, depending on the access level of a user and/or the forum set-up, a posted message might need to be approved by a moderator before it becomes visible.

Forums have a specific set of jargon associated with them; e.g. A single conversation is called a "thread."

A forum is hierarchical or tree-like in structure: a forum can contain a number of sub-forums, each of which may have several topics. Within a forum's topic, each new discussion started is called a thread, and can be replied to by as many people as wish to.

Depending on the forum set-up, users can be anonymous or have to register with the forum and then subsequently log in, to post messages. Usually users do not have to log in to read existing messages.

From a technological standpoint, forums or boards are web applications managing user-generated content.

Technology, computer games and/or video games, sports, music, fashion, religion, and politics are popular areas for forum themes, but there are forums for a huge number of topics. Internet slang and image macros popular across the Internet are abundant and widely used in Internet forums.

Want to test your mettle by fixing your computer yourself? Here are some free sites to get you started. Read a few tutorials or peek at the forums to see if others are having similar problems. But remember, there can be more than one answer, and a little trial and error is standard operating procedure.

WINDOWS AND MICROSOFT APPS

Microsoft's Support Knowledge Base at http://suppart.microsoft.com/search


When Windows misbehaves or you are stumped on how to use a Microsoft application feature, your first stop should be Microsoft’s Knowledge Base. Search using keywords or error messages: Most of the help is great step-by-step advice, but don't expect to find the answer you need every time.

JSI FAQ at www.jsifaq.com

Jerald Schulman offers thousands of no-nonsense tips about the Windows NT, 2000, and XP platforms. Search by keyword or check out Today's Tips and Recent Tips. Detailed instructions help tweak Windows and solve problems. The home page (www.jsiinc.com) includes a link to Microsoft's excellent Windows XP Expert Zone Community.

Inside Outlook Express at http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com

You’ll find news, including bug fixes, update reports, and frequently reported problems. For discussion groups, the site steers you to MSnews, which is Microsoft’s public news server.

Slipstick Systems at www.slipstick.com/outlook

If Microsoft Outlook is your favorite E-Mail program, turn to Slipstick for help. Beginners are welcome, and the site is rich with update information, tips on customization, and articles on how to manage your mail. Like Inside Outlook Express, Slipstick sends you to MSnews for discussion groups.

A BIT OF EVERYTHING

ExtremeTech at www.extremetech.com

You might assume that Ziff Davis's ExtremeTech is too technical, but don't be intimidated. The site offers plenty of straightforward information and advice from experts, hardware and software reviews, how-to articles, and busy discussion forums. Often just browsing questions by topic is enough to find the information you need. It helps to know the configuration of your computer system, because if you post here, members will ask.

PC Magazine at www.go.pcmag.com/solutions, and www.go.pcmag.com/usertouser

The searchable Solutions and User-to-User sections are fantastically useful.

TechRepublic at http://techrepublic.com

TechRepublic is an information and help site for IT professionals and power users. It offers downloads, including printable keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft applications, articles from popular computer authors, and tips for networking professionals. You'll also find discussion forums with useful advice, links to blogs, and white papers.

Tech Support Guy at www.helponthe.net

Mike the Tech Support Guy started this site as an antidote to over-priced technical support. His volunteers include everyday people who love computers and contribute often. The site is very simple to use, but you'll find some irrelevant information. Read the rules, search the forums, and register to post messages. With almost 200,000 members, Tech Support Guy is sure to have a hint or two.

WhatIs.com at http://whatis.techtarget.com

WhatIs is part of the SearchTechTarget universe, a database search portal for IT professionals. Its growing encyclopedia is the place to visit if geek-speak is getting you down. Search by keyword or category, or alphabetically.

Answers to your questions about Windows, Linux, Unix, office software, NetWare, security, and 20 other topics await in Computing.Net's friendly and free support forums. Begin in the Novice Section for buyer's guides and tutorials.

On a more personal level, one of my first uses of forums was when my CD Player in the trunk wouldn’t play some CD’s. Later, I got it to play 9 out of the 12 CD’s that are in it, so the problem wasn’t related to the recent alternator & battery replacement. After working with it for a while and referencing more forums, I finally got it to play all 12 CD’s that are in it, although I had to re-copy some of the CD’s and convert some files to a different format. I got on some forums & learned that many CD Players in cars won’t play CD-RW’s but will play CD-R’s (since mine are CD-RW’s, then I had to hunt up some blank CD-R’s). Sometimes it’s related to the speed used in recording the CD’s - I used the “Record to CD” on the File Menu in Windows Explorer, so I don’t know the speed, but most forums said to use a real slow speed, such as 4X or 1X. Some suggested using a particular program, and I’ve got a Roxio Program that the fellow put on here when he re-programmed this computer a few years ago. I think it has a variation on speed, so I just kept on working on it! I did learn from the car manual I downloaded in .pdf format, that the CD’s need to be in the little carriers UPSIDE DOWN label-wise, which doesn’t make sense to me, but it works! Some forums said that many CD Players won’t play mp3 files, although some are advertised as being able to play them, so I’ll probably convert the files to .wma or .wmv for Windows Media Player, which seems to work for most CD Players installed in cars.

I found the CD Player in my car requirements: Must be in .mp3 format only! No other formats will work, including .wma! Must be on a CD-R only; not a CD-RW! Take whatever music is wanted, run it thru one of the MANY Programs that are available FREE on the Internet (run a Google search) that will convert files to .mp3, copy (NOT move) these files into a separate directory of their own (temporarily), & mass copy them to CD (preferably using “Edit\Copy to Folder” in Windows Explorer! Try NOT to use Windows Media Player to do the copying, as it will tell you that it can’t do it, either because it does not have the “license,” or you need to delete some temporary files because it does not have enough memory to work with (even though the computer shows 1.5 GB of memory FREE)! Once the files are on the CD, Windows Media Player will play them, even though each file may say File01, File02, and such; but if the files are on the hard drive, Windows Media Player will NOT play them, as it will say that it does not have the “license!” Even though I personally bought & PAID FOR the music (from CD’s). Dumb, but that’s the way it is! If ideas and advice are needed, type “forum...” then whatever the question is, into Google, and “Google it” (like the kids say), and it will bring up some forums where this subject is discussed. Read through them, and eventually some teenager will have a similar problem in getting his music copied so that his Ipod (or whatever device) will play it - this is what you want! Follow his advice, and it will probably work! CD-R’s need to be loaded into the CD Player label down! It feeds from the bottom, so the bottom one becomes CD 1, the next one up becomes CD 2, and such! How did I figure this out? By trial and error; also by reading through quite a few pages of forums, where others were having similar problems!

Here are some forums and searches that have helped me recently:

10 alternatives to mininova torrent freak files
100 templates
1996 Cadilac sedan DeVille trouble anti-theft system
301 useless facts
56 directories to submit to
57ebookarticles.pdf
A guide to the Patriot Act
A virtual library of useful URLs
a squared (a²) free a2 is a freeware anti-trojan
a squared knowledgebase what is riskware
ACLU info on Patriot Act
Add tv to your toolbar
African passenger railways & Africa train travel railserve.com
Anonymous email
Answers fe us.js\Windows Movie Maker will not let me import video files
Anti-malware free
Arkansas television
Article directory read free articles submit free articles articlerich.com
Article downloads
Articles directory free articles
Auto-mixer free software to control audio volume
Autoruns for Windows
Avoiding Internet scams
Avoiding net swindlers
Best of the MIG 29 photos
Bin Laden story
Biography of Pope Benedict xvi
Biz.ly free web hosting - free domain hosting & biz free hosting
Blogarama the blog directory blogs and blog resources
Blogs
Blogs with humor
Borax granular
Breed a larger male dog with a smaller female
Business ethics
Can't connect timeout solutions
Cleaning with vinegar & baking soda
Clogged dishwasher
Computer tips
Convert wma from Windows Media Player into mp3 files
Convert protected audio into a plain mp3
Converting vob files to mpeg
Corporate strategies for addressing Internet complainers
Craigslist scams page
Craziest name of mixes for designer dogs
Create a free web site
Dachshunds
Death of Osama Bin Laden
Dishwasher repair websites
Disk encryption
Dog health ideas
Dog health vomit
Dog registries
Dog feeding
Download freeware & shareware software programs
DVD-RW will not read anything
Educational weblogs
Email
Epublishers accepting submissions
Female dog heat cycle
Fighting consumer fraud
Financial\sting sites
Fleas
Flv file extension
Free advertising forum
Free articles - free article submission and distribution directory
Free domain name
Free ebooks
Free ecommerce website online store builder
Free file sharing
Free hosting for educational weblogs
Free online dictionary
Free software download to analyze sound problems
Free web services
Free web site hosting & most free resources
Free webmaster resources free web space
Free webmaster tools
Free website layouts and website templates
Free Windows video editing software
Free DVD video software download
Free ebooks on Internet marketing
Free marketing ebooks
Freeware
Gamehippo.com game dev free web hosting
Getting rid of viruses
Global web ru
Google & Yahoo to merge survivor will be Goo Hoo
Green cleaning products
History of sewing machine
How to bypass MegaVideo 72 minutes limitation files
How to care for newborn puppies and their mother
How to convert mp3 files to video
How to fix svchost.exe using 100% CPU
How to open pspd files
How to play music & narration at same time in Windows Movie Maker
How to post pictures to blog
How to prepare dogs for breeding
How to remove a trojan
How to remove an installed program from your computer
How to separate audio track only from video
How to take ownership of a file or a folder in Windows XP
How to transfer music files from one computer to another
How to treat burned pots
How to uninstall certain spyware
How to watch tv online for free
How to convert flv (flash video) to avi or mpg
How to install PC speakers
How to use SuperAntiSpyware tutorial
Html tips protect email address from spam robots
Html tutorial
Internal parasites in dogs
Internet resources
Internet scams
Internet virus warnings
Items for blog
Kiva loans
Last.fm faq listen to free music with Internet radio
Library stuff
Linksys router help for WRT54g
List of free domain hosting providers
List of spies from Peer Block
Mailinator.com
Main sources for downloadable blocklists for Peer Block
Major geeks.com
Male or female determines size of puppy
Media Player Classic cannot render file
Metric
Microcredit
Microfinance gateway frequently asked questions
Microfinancing
Microloans
Minicam instructions
Mouse locks up under Windows XP
Movie mistakes
My car won't start
My report to 800 notes about 8102387891 that appeared on my cell phone
My computer says I have no sound device
My mouse locks up when I switch user accounts
New Orleans disaster
Nigerian scams
Old Farmer's Almanac astronomy center
Open directory games developers and publishers
Passwords
PC beginners guides & tweaks
PeerBlock forums
Pet friendly hotels in New Orleans
Photos Mikoyan Gurevich MIG 29 (9 13) aircraft pictures airliners
Photos TU's
Picasa forums view topic how to insert pic to an existing post
PPC affiliate programs
Problems creating audio CD
Record Internet radio using Audacity
Recover deleted history in Windows
Remove geolocation permission for websites in Firefox
Ringsurf.com netring blogs and sites by pets
Scam spam report
Scampage - busted up cowgirl who fought back!
Scams
Search for Cadillac
Send free FAX from the web
Sewing machine problems
Sites that make a teacher's life easier
Slow loading pages timing out files
Small appliance replacement parts
Social responsibilities of business
Socialize it
Software
Solved removing items start bar
Spam & scam report.pdf
Spyware removal
Subject index to literature on electronic sources of information
Tapeworms dog
TeacherTube videos 50 states and capitals
The Super Seal and would-be reporter who got Osama Bin Laden
To rid fleas and pests borates and Diatomaceous Earth are safe solutions
Top free software
Top 20 Micro-Philanthropy sites
Transfer large files over the Internet
Transferring files and settings from another computer
Translation software
Translators & dictionaries
TweakXP.com Windows XP tweaks
Undergoos
US television stations by state
USA Patriot Act Wikipedia
Uses for corn starch
Uses of baking soda sodium bicarbonate
Utility downloads
Vegetable gardening
Video downloader - free download online video with video download capture
Web hosting resource and directory
Webmaster web sites
Website promotion website design tips webmaster forum
Website tools for creating and maintaining webpages make your own free page
What are blogs and why is everyone so excited about them
What is lulnchr
Windows Media Player 12 constantly updating media library
Windows Movie Maker add music & narration
Windows problems & Linux
Windows XP video decoder checkup utility website
Windows Media Player 11 has lots of problems
WRT54g router issues forum
You Tube video on how to delete history.

By reading some of my other blog posts, you will see where I had a problem (such as my car not starting), and where I went to the forums to try to get advice on solving it. Most of the time, the forums really helped. I just had to remember that what works for one person may not work for me, but on the other hand, it may work for me! It’s a lot cheaper than paying someone to “fix it!”


Copyright 2011 by Preston Smith, Walker Enterprises/Silver Dollar Press. All Rights Reserved.

Here’s a good website to check out: “Studio Quality Portraits For Less” - http://studio-quality-portraits-for-less.weblodge.net

Here’s another good website to check out: “Green Cleaning Products” - http://green-cleaning-products.weblodge.net

Here’s another good website to check out: “How To Adjust & Repair Your Sewing Machine” - http://www.silver-dollar.zoomshare.com

Here’s a good Forum to check out: http://dachshund-forum.forumotion.com

Here’s another good website to check out: “Bibles New and Used” - http://www.bibles-new---used.zoomshare.com