Decades have passed since the first home computer was introduced, yet this device still remains a mystery to some. Today, we’re going to clear up some common computer misconceptions and empower people to make wise decisions that will help them get on their way to solving problems.
1: When A Computer Is Slow, It’s The CPU’s Fault
When a computer starts to run slow, it is easy to put all the blame to the CPU. In fact, there are tons of reason why your computer is slow, and the CPU is probably not one of them.
One of the cause could be that the computer have insufficient memory or low-quality memory with a slow clock. Sometime, it could also due to a poorly coded software that constantly take up tons of memory and system resources.
The lesson: have a look at your other hardware and see if that’s what’s causing the issue. Scan your computer for viruses and eliminate any threat before blaming the CPU. Lastly, switch to another software that are less resource-intensive.
2: Windows Made My System Crash
A long-promoted idea among people who dislike Microsoft is that Windows crashes often. When you use a computer, you expect it to do what you tell it to do. Once in a while, this doesn’t happen, and the computer throws a blue screen.
This horrible display of information often tells you a lot about the problem while, at the same time, assumes you understand that information. This is an ultimate failure of Microsoft Windows’ core programming, but it doesn’t mean that Windows is at fault for your crash. In the above image, the problem was due to a faulty driver for a processor. How could you tell? Googling “gv3.sys” revealed this easily. The “.sys” represents a driver. An address fault like this one is often caused by an issue that occurs while the driver is trying to allocate memory.
The lesson: More often than not, blue screens are caused by memory errors rather than errors in the operating system itself. To stop these kinds of problems, keep your drivers up to date and check your memory once in a while.
3: The More GHz A Processor Has, The Faster It Is
This is flat-out wrong. It comes out of the obsession with numbers, leading people to believe that a higher number in a processor’s specification chart means it’s better. This couldn’t be further from the truth. A Core2Duo processor is generally going to be slower than a Core i3 processor of the same clock rate (GHz). This is because of the architecture. This also has to do with the number of transistors that can fit on the dye, which is why semiconductor manufacturers have this sort of vigilante obsession with making smaller transistors. Processor pricing indexes are often very reliable, meaning that you can rely on a more expensive processor being better than its less expensive counterpart (even though the Ghz speed is slower), from the same manufacturer.
4: The Terms “Megabyte” and “Megabit” Mean the Same Thing
Often, this happens to the most novice computer users when they encounter these words and don’t really understand what values they represent. First, one must understand what “bit” and “byte” mean. A “bit” is a binary value of 0 or 1. Eight bits compose a “byte”. So, when you’re seeing a value in megabits, you can divide that value by eight to get the amount in megabytes (i.e. a 100-megabit Internet connection will net you at 12.5 megabytes per second, tops). Often, the notation for megabit is “Mb,” and the one for megabyte is “MB.” Megabytes are often used to measure file sizes and the amount of transferred data. Megabits are often used to measure transfer speed across a network.
5: When My Computer Shuts Down Suddenly Without Turning Back On, It’s Broken.
What happen when your computer suddenly turn off by itself? Some of you will probably think that it is broken. Even the best of us get kind of distraught, caught in the moment, and rip our hair out. It’s normal to feel disappointed. But, your computer’s likely not “broken.” Computers – particularly desktop computers – don’t just “break.” More often than not, a component of the computer just stopped working and needs to be replaced.
When you’re in a panic, just relax and check whether the power chord is attached to its socket and whether all the cables are still connected to the rear (it could have been pulled out accidentally). Try to turn it on again and see if it works. If yes, then it could be a software, likely to be the OS, glitches. Repeat the same thing that you are doing just before the computer turn itself off and see if the same problem occurs.
If the computer’s still not turning on, one of the computer hardware components could be spoilt. it’s time to call a technician.
Discussion
If you see something in this list of computer misconceptions that could be debated, or something I might have unintentionally omitted, please comment below. Also, don’t hesitate to leave a comment if you need help understanding something!
Miguel has been a business growth and technology expert for more than a decade and has written software for even longer. From his little castle in Romania, he presents cold and analytical perspectives to things that affect the tech world.
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
