I have always been very careful when working on building a new computer. There are certain things you must do; however, I missed one a couple of weeks ago. (Geek confession coming up.)
Someone came to me and basically said since I am a geek and obviously quite knowledgeable with computers would I totally rebuild theirs. I do not usually do things like this any longer. Not that I do not enjoy building new computers; I actually very much enjoy doing so. However, over years of being in the business I have found that if I do this, I end up owning all of the problems that arise with that system for evermore. No matter what happens, no matter how many years down the road they come back to me for "free" help. In one case it was so bad I got calls and emails for six months after the build. If they were something that I caused…no problem I was more than happy to fix them. However, the overwhelming number of times it was the user causing issues.
This was a person I know and trust and a good friend so I did it anyway.
He gave me a list of the applications he wanted installed, and original licensed discs for the programs that he still had. Time for a warning to all of you who want to rebuild a computer or get a new one: Make sure you have the original discs for licensed programs or it could be costly. For instance, your Windows installation disc, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, etc.
He also included all of his email account usernames and passwords, so that I could set up his accounts. Another warning here, I do not recommend you do this unless you absolutely, positively, totally trust the installer.
As always you start with the operating system, Windows 8.1, a full reformat of the hard drive, etc.
For Microsoft Office versions there has always been a small issue when you perform a reinstall. In the olden days you had to speak with a live customer service rep for 30 – 45 minutes to get an approval. They had to make sure that you did not have an illegal copy. Today you call an 800 number and punch buttons for several minutes and get an OK. Then you type in more numbers in your computer and you are approved.
Next, the multitude of upgrades.
After about five or six hours I was almost done. For a while I tested, updating some more apps as necessary. Another Windows update or so and done. He was going to install his only data files when I got it back to him so I did not have to upload those. I was finally finished, no big deal…until…
Strange things started happening in the browser. Homepages changing, popups flying and then my brain finally kicked in; I had not installed any antivirus. I now had several viruses running on a brand new computer. One was trying to take over the system entirely.
I could have resolved them one-by-one; however, on a brand new system that is not the way I would do it. So the rebuild began.
Guess what I installed before I got online this time? You better have guessed right – his antivirus software and all was right with the world… another five to six hours later.
What a jerk I am; however, I hope you learned something from my mistake!
