Sometimes the only solution is to have someone look at your machine.

I got a question from a friend this morning that boiled down to
something like that.

I told my friend that it was questions like this that are the
hardest for me, and the most frustrating. I really, honestly want to
help – but…

Well, here’s my (slightly edited) response, and you’ll see what I
mean.

As you can see, my answer so far has been pretty useless. All I’ve
really said is that it could be something serious, or not, and if there
is a problem it could be trivial, difficult or impossible to fix.

I continued:

Really, the only solid piece of advice here was to backup in case
the worst happens, and regular readers will know I’ve been preaching
that for a long time, no matter how well things seem to be working.

The last point, though, is one that’s been in the back of my head
for a long time. The fact is that there are classes of problems –
typically suspected hardware problems – where the only way to diagnose
is to see the machine, in person. To “lay hands on it”, as it were.

And, given the nature of Ask Leo! – that’s pretty frustrating.

I can’t see the machine.

Sure, in a situation like this sometimes with a clear enough
description of the problem I can make some educated guesses, but that’s
all they are – guesses. This class of problem is frequently impossible
to diagnose properly from a distance.

So here’s my advice to the average user: have a hardware backup
plan. That might mean a backup machine, but more likely it means to
seek out a good, local, and easily accessible technician or computer
guru. Someone who, if you have a problem, can physically look at your
machine and help diagnose it. It can be a family member, a friend, an
acquaintance, or even a local business specializing in computer
repair.

Unfortunately, in my friend’s case, while it’s not out of the
question, the distances involved are long enough that it’s not that
trivial for me to be that resource.

For the record, this is a situation where many Apple users have a
leg up on things. Since Apple’s hardware is proprietary (by and large
available only from Apple), Mac owners have been able to take their
machines to Apple stores and visit the Genius Bar for – literally –
hands-on help with their systems. Apple users within range of an Apple
store have a pretty good thing.

I do wish that something similar were more broadly available for
other systems as well.