It’s almost impossible for any one person to know how to answer every question related to hardware, software, networks, servers, etc. As a result, we all need help in resolving some of the problems that inevitable arise over time.
Where do you do to look for help? One suggestion that I had made in an earlier post is to use the Experts Exchange site (www.experts-exchange.com). It is an excellent site, but it has an annual membership cost of about $100.
What if you want some expert advice but don’t want to pay a membership fee? One good technical support site that fits that bill is Tek-Tips (www.tek-tips.com). To use the site, you first have to register (I.e. enter a user ID, email and password). After that, you can read through the forums or search for discussions about specific topics.
There is one advantage that Experts Exchange has over Tek-Tips. While you can search each site for answers to your technical questions, Experts Exchange shows you an icon at the top of the discussion that tells you if there is a “guaranteed” answer to the problem within the discussion thread (which is also highlighted in the thread). The Tek-Tips site doesn’t do that. As a result, some of the threads discuss a problem but never offer a solution to it – you just have to read through the postings and try the advice.
