Part of this, I should point out, is the manufacturer's fault. The entire world should hire me to write their installation manuals instead of those stupid "experts" they do hire.

Amen, sister! Tell them to hire me to write their freaking manuals. As a customer advocate, I understand the value of writing to your audience.

And I just installed a new HARD DRIVE the other night all by my lonesome, but if I didnt' have half an idea of what I was doing before I started, their instructions would have been worthless.

Precisely. Manuals are written by "experts" who don't have any idea of what most users are facing when they're sitting in their living rooms trying to install software from their silly instructions.