The things we got wrong
This page isn’t about what we do well—it’s about what we got wrong, and why that matters. Most sites tell you how clean their code is or how many tests they run. We tell you what broke, who noticed, and how we fixed it.
That’s the only way to prove we actually care about the work.
A log of corrections is the opposite of a brag sheet. It’s proof the site isn’t just words on a screen: it’s something real, made by people who make mistakes. If you’re reading this, you can trust what’s *not* here as much as what is.
Three we had to fix
Three mistakes stood out—big enough to matter, small enough to miss. Each one sat online for months before someone caught it. That’s how long it took to realise we weren’t just writing about tech; we were *using* it.
The wrong Linux command in a tutorial
- 1A guide used `apt-get` on Arch
The tutorial for setting up a minimal Ubuntu install told readers to use `apt-get` to install packages. It worked for me, but only because I’d copied the command from a Debian guide years earlier. Arch Linux users who followed it got errors. The guide stayed up for six months before a reader pointed out the mismatch. Nolan Thibodeaux rewrote the section to specify the correct package manager for each distro and added a warning about mixing commands across systems.
- 2A Windows shortcut broke on updates
A troubleshooting guide for resetting Windows 10 included a PowerShell one-liner that stopped working after an update. The command still ran but triggered a false ‘corrupted system file’ alert, scaring readers into thinking their install was broken. It took three reader reports before Nolan Thibodeaux realised the command had been flagged by Microsoft’s Defender as suspicious. The fix? A disclaimer and a link to the official Microsoft support page for the same task.
- 3A review misquoted a benchmark
A hardware review claimed a budget SSD had ‘30% faster read speeds’ than its predecessor, citing a benchmark table. The table showed a 30% increase—but only in *write* speeds. The read speeds were actually 10% slower. Nolan Thibodeaux caught it while fact-checking a follow-up article, but the original post had already been shared 200 times. The correction added a footnote and a new graph with the accurate numbers.
What those three changed
Those three mistakes forced us to change how we work. The first taught us to test every command in the environment it’s meant for. The second made us double-check official documentation before publishing ‘quick fixes’.
The third led to a rule: no numbers without a source, and no sources without verification.
Rules that came from mistakes
- Every command in a tutorial must be run in the exact setup it describes (Nolan Thibodeaux, *wrong Linux command*).
- ‘Quick fixes’ need a disclaimer if they rely on third-party tools or unofficial methods (Nolan Thibodeaux, *Windows shortcut broke*).
- Benchmark claims must include raw data or a direct link to the source (Nolan Thibodeaux, *misquoted benchmark*).
The people behind this
Nolan Thibodeaux is the founder and editor of Account Setup. He’s the one who wrote the commands that didn’t work, the reviews that got the numbers wrong, and the guides that assumed readers knew more than they did.
That’s why his name is on every correction—because the only way to earn trust is to admit when you break it.
Keeping a log like this means sitting with the mistakes long enough to fix them properly, even when it’s embarrassing. It means writing ‘I was wrong’ in public and then doing the work to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
It’s uncomfortable, but it’s the only way to build something real.
There’s a smaller mistake Nolan doesn’t list here: the first time he tried to explain how to partition a hard drive, he drew a diagram on paper, scanned it, and uploaded it without realising the labels were backwards. No one caught it for a week.
That’s the kind of thing you only learn not to do after it happens.
If you find something wrong on this site, don’t just point it out—tell us how to fix it. The contact page is where the next correction starts.
There will be a next one
This list isn’t finished. Tech changes fast, and so do we. If you spot a wrong number, a broken link, or a guide that assumes something you don’t know, let us know.
The only way this site stays useful is if it gets better after every mistake—and that means yours, too.
The guides are grouped by category: App, Coding, Hardware, Operating System, Outlook and PowerPoint.