Google and books before that

Forums. Lots of forums. In recent years, Windows driver handling has enshittified at the same rate Linux has advanced. My older Brother laser printer runs flawlessly under Devuan Linux, but Windows 11 couldn't find a working driver...

Self-punishment, perseverance, and Mt. Dew.

Había foros en internet, ayuda p2p, revistas y libros de apoyo 🥲. También existían unas entidades llamadas Gurús, gigantes, barbados y con mucha filosofía open source en el corazón.

The worst was back when internet was dial up. Trying to get winmodems to work was insane

Basically it was. Plug in one side, hold metal end of other side, stick finger in wall socket. 9 times out of 10 that fixed the issue