Are you seen as a computer geek, when you're really not?

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One thing that has always happened to me, since forever, is that I'm known as a "computer guy". I don't know why though, unless it is my AS. When I use something, computer or program, I always mess with as many things as possible, until I've learned many new skills. Because of this, people drag me to their computers and ask me to fix them.

The problem with this is 1) I use a hands on-approach guided by trial and error (I just banged a fan into the wall for 10 minutes until it stopped clicking) 2) I'm not great with technology (I always break at least 1-2 computers a year) 3) People want to follow some of my advice, but not all of it. And I suggest they "mess around" until they fix their problem (like i Do), but this seems to come across as offensive
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I've been asked many times to fix people's computers over the years. I know a little about computers but I'm hardly the geek you often see on the internet, even here on WP. It does surprise me, however, the minor problems which turned into major headaches for some people. Such is life, I guess.

I'm currently running a customized version of Crunchbang Linux, with a kernel I compiled myself, on a trash-picked laptop that I got working using parts from another dead laptop, and shortly before I started typing this I was just fidgeting with a USB flash drive. If I'm not a computer geek, then I don't know what the hell I am.

I'm fairly computer literate, but I've lived with some people who properly knew the ins and outs of them. Unsurprisingly I pick up a few tips from them and when I help others with this, some reason people than go on to assume you know everything on that topic. I think a lot of people still just look at computers as black boxes and therefore assume anyone who knows something about the magically internal workings of it understands the whole thing! (particularly if that person is a bit geeky)

I don't know what half those words are

I'm a "computer guy". I'm not an expert, but I can solve many problems and adapt PCs to my needs.

(And I've only killed two hard drives )

Crunchbang Linux, is a variant of the Debian Linux Distribution that uses the OpenBox Window Manager and the Thunar File Manager, and not much else in the way of a Desktop Environment. CrunchBang uses a minimalistic, "less is better' approach to the computer desktop, and works great on old hardware, and absolutely flies on new hardware.

The Kernel that he is referring to is the actual heart of the operating system. Instead of using the supplied 3.2 Linux kernel, he downloaded the source code for whatever later kernel that he is using, and compiled it, IE, turned it from human readable sourcecode, to machine readable binary format.

The advantage of this is that the Linux kernel is a modular kernel, with hardware drivers that are modular. Linux Distributions usually ship with a 'Generica Kernel' that will work with most hardware configurations with the trade off being while the generic kernel will support many hardware configurations, it is not optimised for a particular hardware configuration, so a generic kernel will utilise more memory and take longer to perform any particular task, and take up more hardware space than a kernel that is optimised for a particular system. --A custom Kernel will also boot faster as there is less for the bootloader to load into memory, and a shorter boot checklist at boot times.

Trash picked laptop is obvious. He found a dead laptop that somebody threw away, and cannibalised a (pressumably same model) laptop in similar condition for parts to get a functional computer.

FWIW, I'm also using a customised copy of CrunchBang Linux with a 3.12 Liquorix Kernel on a Panasonic Toughbook /LetsNote CF-T8 semi-rugged ultraportable computer, and no, I don't consider myself to be a computer geek. --I'm more knowlegeable than some, and less knowlegeable than others.

Umm... thanks for the help! But you just described words I don't know... with more words I don't know...

To be fair, the only things I needed to get my laptop going were some RAM, a hard drive, and a power cable. I was originally just going to ditch the hard drive and run everything off an sdcard in the internal slot, but then I discovered that my laptop doesn't support booting from the internal sdcard reader.