A printer can be six feet from your computer, with the light on and paper in the tray, and your computer will still tell you it can’t find it.
I see this on house calls around New York City. By the time I sit down at the kitchen table, somebody has usually turned the printer off and back on, tried printing again, and started wondering how much a new computer costs.
I get it. You were trying to print one page. Now it’s half an hour later and you’re reading a message about a driver. You didn’t plan to learn about drivers today. You had a form to fill out.
So before I touch anything, I ask one question.
“Can you show me what happens?”
Give them the mouse
If your mom or dad says, “I think I need a new computer,” pull up a chair and let them show you what they’re trying to do.
Maybe they open an email, click the attachment, and get all the way to the print screen. Then nothing comes out. Now you can look at which printer the computer is trying to use. It might still be trying to send the page to the printer they got rid of two years ago.
You’d miss that if you sat down and printed a test page your own way.
I know it’s tempting to say, “Here, let me do it.” You can probably get through the menus faster. But once you’ve figured it out, hand the mouse back and let them print the page themselves. If they want to write down a step, give them a minute. “Pick the printer that says Brother” is a perfectly good note if it gets the job done next Tuesday.
And if you’re the one getting help, you’re allowed to say, “Hang on. Let me try that myself.” I’m always glad when someone says that to me.
Sometimes it really is time for a new computer
If the computer freezes every time you open your email or can no longer get security updates, replacing it may make sense. Before you shop, write down what you want to be able to do on the new one the day it comes out of the box.
Open your email. Find your photos. Print a page. Get into the accounts you use every week.
That little list gives you something to check before you put the old computer away. A new laptop can turn on beautifully and still leave you wondering where ten years of photos went.
With Black Friday coming up, I’d give the computer you already own five minutes before spending an evening comparing deals. Sit down and try the thing that’s been giving you trouble. If you’re helping someone else, watch them do it the way they usually do.
You might still end up buying a computer. Or you might finally get that one page printed and go make lunch.
What’s one thing on your computer you’ve been working around? Tell me. If you’re in NYC and want someone to sit down with you and take a look, reach out to me at Boomernology.
