If I wanted to learn how to fix windows without wiping it....

[flubbernugget]

...where would I start?

[chungy]

a search engine

[Graf Zahl]

Give more info. What needs to be fixed?

[Technician]

Delete your system32 folder.

[flubbernugget]

Just being able to fix a computer in general. The idea is to learn more about the guts of windows.

[Graf Zahl]

In that case: Google is your friend. Just read, read, read a lot. If it's too much to grasp, better let somebody else do it.

[Dave The Daring]

You'd probably have more chance of understanding the inner workings of the Large Hadron Collider, and I'm only being mildly sarcastic.

[Aliotroph?]

Like they said, Google. I found the way to go is to learn how to fix each new problem as you have it. If you do a few for friends and family you'll eventually have them asking you to solve so many stupid things you'll learn all kinds of stuff about Windows.

[Kirby]

flubbernugget said:

Just being able to fix a computer in general. The idea is to learn more about the guts of windows.

You are reminding me of when I had my first desktop. I used to sift through my windows folder and locate malware files that I knew did not being there.

You cannot just say "Teach me to fix Windows" unfortunately. Windows is an amalgamation of working parts. You have to become familiar with the processes and methods of Windows to learn how to trace the origins of problems and subsequently how to fix them. If you need help with a particular problem or error you need to work on identifying the responsible offender (executable, memory, hardware, etc.)

[GreyGhost]

If you're planning to tinker with the OS, first get yourself some partition/drive backup software that'll run without Windows and a decent sized external drive to write backups to, that'll improve your chances of recovering from self-inflicted injuries.

[flubbernugget]

Wouldn't it just be easier to test it in a sandbox?

[Fulgrim]

flubbernugget said:

...where would I start?

Get a study for the CompTIA A+ certification and take the exam when you are ready. It's pretty much the go to entry exam for I.T. and would be a good start.

[Nomad]

A+ is only going to deal with the basics of Windows and more geared towards configuring hardware. An actual Microsoft certification would be the way to go; MCSE I think is the current certification for general Windows knowhow: https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/windows-certification.aspx.

A+ barely matters anymore, TBH. All it tells employers is that you know how to turn it off and on again, though it's certainly good to have. It's probably better, if pursuing an IT career, to go ahead and go for certifications for more specialization like Security+ or Network+ if going with CompTIA

[Fulgrim]

Nomad said:

A+ is only going to deal with the basics of Windows and more geared towards configuring hardware. An actual Microsoft certification would be the way to go; MCSE I think is the current certification for general Windows knowhow: https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/windows-certification.aspx.

A+ barely matters anymore, TBH. All it tells employers is that you know how to turn it off and on again, though it's certainly good to have. It's probably better, if pursuing an IT career, to go ahead and go for certifications for more specialization like Security+ or Network+ if going with CompTIA

He wants to know how to fix a computer. A+ covers basic hardware and software trouble shooting. It's also easy to study for a cheap to get. As I also said, its a good place to start. Meaning it's the first step. No one should try going for Security+ or Networking+ when they don't have the basics down.

[flubbernugget]

I'm already A+ Certified. It covers a little bit of Windows but doesn't do much more than teach you how to fix a few boot errors and use sfc /praynow

[Nomad]

Exactly. I'd suggest looking into the MCSE courses. The digital courses I took for my older version of the cert years ago (MCP 70-270) was through a school that used Testout Labsim and I actually enjoyed it and found it useful. I'm sure it can be acquired without paying 2 grand if you use certain nefarious means; I actually got a grant from the state to do my A+ and MCP certs which was super nice.

[Maes]

The "old fart" way is to just have a love/desire for tinkering, a DIY attitude and not being afraid to get your hands dirty. Start by fixing old/scrap computers or offering to clean up malware for your friends/grandma, then trying to resurrect old PCs found in the trash etc.

One day, you'll get to the point that witnessing just 3 minutes of a PC actually working (and sometimes, even simply looking at the innards, without powering it up) will be enough to tell the "old codger" inside you what's wrong, kinda like a car mechanic who can tell what's wrong with your car just by listening to the sounds it makes.

No shortcuts there, but for a genuine love for tinkering. If you want to learn fixing PCs just to get a job, there are technician schools that teach you basic stuff (enough to land you a minimum wage job as an IT dungeon monkey or Helldesk Imp), but in my experience those monkeys were afraid/incapable of doing the extra mile and really putting in determination/creativity when it was needed the most. I've seen technicians refusing to take up a payed repair job for a buddy (corrupt registry files on startup), which I solved by using the Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows and running checkdisk, in less than 15 minutes.

[reality 2.0]

Technician said:

Delete your system32 folder.

That joke died years ago along with any funny or wit it somewhat had.

[Wagi]

You're going to learn a little bit in a helpdesk job, but after about a year you're going to run out of things to learn. Remember that when you're in that position, you're not usually solving new technical problems, but the same ones over and over again that are perpetuated by the know-nothing higher ups who refuse to fix anything with their system and would just rather have everybody in the company call in to have their completely preventable problem resolved.

For example, the people who write our company's website completely fucked up our login page so that it breaks for just about anybody who's using a home computer. Instead of a normal login page, which just lets you in if you put in the right username/password and denies you if you don't, it often spits out all sorts of nonsense "Session ID errors" over and over again and will refuse to work if you don't clear your cache every three days. So we have to walk a bunch of computer illiterate 70-something year olds how to clear browser cache, which can take up to 15 minutes depending on how cooperative they are.

Needless to say, there isn't much time left in the day for side projects or learning something new.

[Aliotroph?]

reality 2.0 said:

That joke died years ago along with any funny or wit it somewhat had.

Only because Windows 98 went away. This is just the wrong place for it. Flubbernugget appears willing to do his homework. If he wasn't then watching him try and follow that "suggestion" would be pretty funny.