[Telaneo]

I've found Windows issues to be just as usage-blocking.

I tend to have better luck with google-fu when it comes to Windows problems, just though the user base being so much larger, so it's much more likely that someone's written a guide or an explanation of my exact problem, while on Linux, it's much less likely that someone's written an exact guide, but general knowledge goes further (but you need more of it to fill in the gaps).

One additional issue I've found is that in the cases there is a guide or a Stackoverflow question regarding my exact problem, the solution is 6 years out of date and may be non-functional or less than ideal, while on Windows, that solution would still work.

[nsvd2]

I usually find the exact opposite, where for Windows I can sometimes find a few SEO optimized pages with vague instructions, but for Linux I'm much more likely to hit a wiki or forum with in-depth technical information to solve my problem.

[wormius]

"Hi I'm Mohinder from MS MSP, MSVP, SUPERSTAR ASSIST, Can I have you restart your computer... once you do that, please report back if that fixes the problem"

ms.com "support" pages.

Meanwhile, Archi Wiki? That is like... the best thing and should be a national treasure.

[Telaneo]

> I usually find the exact opposite, where for Windows I can sometimes find a few SEO optimized pages with vague instructions,

It's been a while since I've had to look up Windows problems to be fair, so my experience on that front is a year and a bit out of date (and probably more, since most permanent issues would have been solved on my desktop install years earlier).

> but for Linux I'm much more likely to hit a wiki or forum with in-depth technical information to solve my problem.

That's part of the problem, at least in my experience. When I ran Windows, I'd find someone's article called 'Solution for $Error in $Program when doing $Thing', or a forum thread or whatever else along those lines, and it would in the best case be accurate and fix my problem, and in the worst case help me figure it out from there.

On Linux, that wiki page or forum won't have a solution for my exact problem, but it will help me figure it out. Linux's default case has often been equivalent to Windows's worst case when looking for solutions, but both of them very rarely ended in a true worst case (not finding a solution at all). Linux's solution will more often than not be transferable to other situations, so the knowledge gained is useful, while on Windows, the equivalent solution is bespoke and won't be useful in any other case.

[vrighter]

"run sfc /scannow"

"that didn't work. That has never done or found anything"

"I'm just going to close this issue as solved"

Most support posts

[throwaway2037]

I agree about google-fu with Windows before two years ago. "Free" LLMs, like ChatGPT, are now excellent at fixing your Linux problems. When I have a problem with my Linux box now, I just describe the issue to ChatGPT... we do diagnosis together, then it suggests some fixes. It has not failed me in more than one year, and continues to get better. (I know, I know: This damn post reads like a shill/submarine advert for ChatGPT, but I sure other LLMs are just as good at this point.)