Why nerd mentality won't get you out of a bad crash

Nothing concentrates the mind, said Dr Johnson, like the prospect of being hanged in the morning. Well, yes. But a computer crash comes a pretty close second.

A week ago, I noticed that my laptop appeared to be running slowly. On investigation, I realised this was probably because I was running an unreasonable combination of large programs - the poor machine was simply running out of memory. So I took it to the dealer and requested extra RAM. He installed it, handed back my machine, parted me from money and that was that.

Back home, I loaded up my software working environment and resumed where I had left off. After a few minutes, the machine froze. Puzzled (because this generally doesn't happen with the current Mac operating system), I did the only thing possible - a hard reset. On rebooting, I began launching programs one by one to see if any particular one was causing the problem. Again the machine froze. Again I rebooted. This time I was confronted by an alarming spectacle. The computer had returned to its factory-set default state - one with no user accounts. A device that had been my closest working companion, which held every document I've ever written, every digital photograph I've ever taken, every music CD I've ever owned, was suddenly denying all knowledge of me.

Of course I had back-ups. My documents are copied on to an iPod and another external hard drive. But documents are just the tip of an iceberg. A working environment like mine has dozens of specialised programs, each with its own registration keys and installed updates and preference files. I could reconstruct this environment - but it would take days of effort.

So I called a colleague who has forgotten more about this stuff than I will ever know. He was puzzled because none of the normal Unix tools could repair the damage (caused by a faulty memory chip, by the way).In the end we bought and downloaded a terrific program called DiskWarrior which, after much whirring and clicking, sorted the problem and gave me back a machine which now deigned to recognise its owner.

The next day, I overheard another technically adept colleague patiently helping a relative sort out a computer problem over the phone, and I suddenly realised that there are two kinds of computer users: those who have technologically sophisticated friends, and those who have to rely on dealers, anonymous tech 'support' lines or their own meagre resources.

There is, in other words, another 'digital divide' - between those who can get personalised, courteous, knowledgeable, sensitive help with their computer problems, and those who do not have access to such riches.

People who work in large organisations can generally get relatively competent technical support. But the average person who buys a PC for home use is at the mercy of clueless, box-shifting dealers or impersonal (and expensive) tech-support lines. So when a hard drive or a power- supply fails, or a virus corrupts the machine, or valuable files are damaged, there's nobody to turn to.

This is a huge problem worldwide. Computers - especially PCs running Windows - are fantastically complex devices. Most computer users haven't a clue about how they work. (Nor should they - for them, a computer is merely a means to an end.)

But because complex devices inevitably malfunction, their owners are generally unable to comprehend either what's wrong, or how to fix it. I know of people who have had their PCs seriously damaged by viruses. In the end, they have taken them back to the dealer, who has helpfully re-formatted the hard drive - erasing everything on it - and handed the machine back, on payment of a hefty fee.

So the absence of tech support for 'ordinary' people is a big problem. But could it also be an opportunity? Is there a business in providing sensitive, tactful, knowledgeable support for non-technical users? After all, people make a living out of assembling flat-pack furniture for harassed Ikea customers.

The business model would be that you pay an annual subscription - say £100 - to mypersonalgeek.co.uk. In return you get a guarantee that you can talk to a sympathetic, knowledgeable adviser whenever you have a problem. Ideally, the company would need to know things about you - how you work, what programs you use, how familiar you are with the technology, so that when you phone for help the adviser knows the context in which the problem arises. Other services could be built on top of that relationship: regular back-ups of your files online, virus-scanning, spam-blocking, forwarding of email when you're away... The possibilities are endless.

Please accept this idea with my compliments. Personally I've decided that instead of buying a yacht when I win the lottery I'm going to hire my own, personal techie.

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