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Thread ID: 55681	2005-03-16 23:16:00	Unbelievable advice No 78	Biggles (121)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
334877	2005-03-17 03:23:00	So where does the mouse crawl in through, I'm looking at my PC and theres no gaps bigger than the CD slot. Which would not lead him to the MB... :) Through a fan vent hole probably - some of them are pretty large. Besides, if snakes and cats (www.snopes.com) can get inside computers then a mouse wouldn't have any problem at all. :p :D	FoxyMX (5)
334878	2005-03-17 04:32:00	Nah.........it even says the pics aren't necessarily real. Anyway, thats in the PSU. My PC for instance doesn't have anything big enough. A cockroach maybe, not a mouse, biggest vent hole on mine is 1.5cm. Anyway thats getting off the point. A loosened piece of ram was explained by mouse pee on the board.	pctek (84)
334879	2005-03-17 05:11:00	I got told a couple of good ones back when I was a wee green newbie :rolleyes: My PC was picked up from the repair after having a modem replaced . Got home, connected it all up only to find the new modem displayed the same problem . Unplugged the machine and took it right back again . The Tech told me that a lightning strike had damaged the new modem and that I needed a modem power surge protector as well now . This lightning strike had of course happened during the 30 mins I had the computer running after bringing it home - it was a fine sunny day without a cloud in the sky . . . Also got told another time that all my third party programs caused the OS to get corrupted . I think I had three "third party" programs installed in total, all very well known, and widely used programs (think one was a firewall) . Got led to believe that if I installed any program apart from Microsoft's ones, then I would be risking my OS again . I've heard some seriously dodgy and misguided advice given to workmates from some so-called technicians that ended up costing them un-necessary $$'s .	Jen (38)
334880	2005-03-17 05:45:00	Lets go for just the last month: Had a customer request a new hard drive from us (her ISP) as her "tech" had diagnosed a dead HDD and a new one wasn't in the budget. Obviously shipping out free hardware isn't in our business so we asked her to elaborate - in particular to define "hard drive" as either the big grey boxy thing (tower), or the smaller metal boxy thing that sits inside the computer(actual HDD). Story continued that the "tech" had said that SpyBot had irrepairably destroyed her hard drive, and she'd need it replaced. So we sent her back to the "tech", enriched with the knowledge his claim was BS. He promptly said that it wasn't the hard drive, it was the motherboard that needed replacing and that she might as well buy a new computer. Eventually we got said customer to box her PC up and ship it down and we'd take a look at it. Opened it up, resecured the HDD, FDD and CD-Rom the "tech" had left loose in the case, and reseated a memory module that he must've pulled out. Repaired Windows, removed the NetSky Virus, SpyBot/AdAware, general maintenance and some hardware stress testing. All up, fixed in about 30 - 40 mins given time to run and not a single piece of hardware replaced. --------------------- Woman takes her PC in for an "upgrade" from W98 - the "tech" interpreted this as throwing in a 2nd hand HDD he had lying around, preloaded with Win2K, the previous owners e-mails, dialup settings, digital photos, word documents, etc, viruses etc. $400 for the pleasure When asked about the W2K licence, a CD-R was dropped off at the clients house the next day - no explanation for the rogue data on the drive. Needless to say, her money was refunded, after threats of www.microsoft.com/piracy were invoked. -------------- We get them on a daily basis at work, but those were two of the more spectacular ones in the last month or so.	ninja (1671)
334881	2005-03-17 05:55:00	Dead mouse 1 (www.doc.ic.ac.uk) Dead mouse 2 (www.funny.co.uk)	Murray P (44)
334882	2005-03-17 07:10:00	Yes the second dead mouse is good.	pctek (84)
334883	2005-03-17 07:35:00	And then there are these... This is an excerpt from a Wall Street Journal article: 1. Compaq is considering changing the command "Press Any Key" to "Press Return Key" because of the flood of calls asking where the Any Key is. 2. SAT technical support had a caller complaining that her mouse was hard to control with the dust cover on. The cover turned out to be the plastic bag the mouse was packaged in. 3. Another SAT customer was asked to send a copy of her defective diskettes. A few days later a letter arrived from the customer along with photocopies of the floppies. 4. Another Dell customer called to say he couldn't get his computer to fax anything. After 40 minutes of troubleshooting, the technician discovered the man was trying to fax a piece of paper by holding it in front of the monitor screen and hitting the "send" key. 5. A Dell technician received a call from a customer who was enraged because his computer had told him he was "bad and an invalid," The tech explained that the computer's "bad command" and "invalid" responses shouldn't be taken personally. 6. A confused caller to IBM was having troubles printing documents. He told the technician that the computer had said it "couldn't find printer." The user had also tried turning the computer screen to face the printer but that his computer still couldn't "see" the printer." 7. An exasperated caller to Dell Computer Tech Support couldn't get her new Dell Computer to turn on. After ensuring the computer was plugged in, the technician asked her what happened when she pushed the power button. Her response, "I pushed and pushed on this foot pedal and nothing happens." The "foot pedal" turned out to be the mouse. 8. Another customer called Compaq tech support to say her brand-new computer wouldn't work. She said she unpacked the unit, plugged it in and sat there for 20 minutes waiting for something to happen. When asked what happened when she pressed the power switch, she asked "What power switch?" 9. Another IBM customer had troubles installing software and rang for support. "I put in the first disk, and that was OK. It said to put in the second disk, and I had some problems with the disk. When it said to put in the third disk, I couldn't even fit it in...." The user hadn't realized that "Insert Disk 2" meant to remove Disk 1 first. 10. In a similar incident, a customer had followed the instructions for installing software. The instructions said to remove the disk from its cover and insert into the drive. The user had physically removed the casing of the disk and wondered why there were problems. 11. True story from a Novell NetWare Sysop: Caller: "Hello, is this Tech Support?" Tech: "Yes, it is. How may I help you?" Caller: "The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?" Tech: "I'm sorry, but did you say a cup holder?" Caller: "Yes, it's attached to the front of my computer." Tech: "Please excuse me. If I seem a bit stumped, it's because I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional at a trade show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any trademark on it?" Caller: "It came with my computer. I don't know anything about a promotion. It just has '4X' on it." At this point, the Tech Rep had to mute the caller because he couldn't stand it. He was laughing too hard. The caller had been using the load drawer of the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder and snapped it off the drive. 12. A woman called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer. The tech asked her if she was running it under "Windows." The woman responded, "No, my desk is next to the door. But that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window and his printer is working fine." 13. Tech Support: "O.K. Bob, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager." Customer: "I don't have a 'P'." Tech: "On your keyboard, Bob." Customer: "What do you mean?" Tech: "'P' on your keyboard, Bob." Customer: "I'm not going to do that!" Well, as a computer tech student this year (yes Im going to one of those dreaded people) I will endeavour not to be like those others. However, though we try; not everyone is perfect (I know a few in here who will know way more than I probably ever will). Part of the reason I joined this forum was not to tell others how to fix (though I enjoy trying) but mainly to learn off some of the more learned ones (Speedy, pctek etc.)	Myth (110)
334884	2005-03-17 07:37:00	so we asked her to elaborate - in particular to define "hard drive" as either the big grey boxy thing (tower), or the smaller metal boxy thing that sits inside the computer(actual HDD). I'm regularly amazed by the number of people - who have been using a PC for some time -- who really seem to have absolutely no idea actually what is in the "big grey boxy thing". The terms CPU and hard drive seem to be regularly used to describe the big grey boxy thing. Questions like "what is your CPU" are often met by responses like "Um, it's a Dell/HP/Name you brand". And then there's the old favourite, the seeming never-ending ability to confuse RAM with hard drive space. "How much RAM have you got?" "40GBs". Or "You need more RAM if you want to play a game like that" "But I've got 20GB free!" Some techs/retailers must just see users like this coming from a mile away ....	Biggles (121)
334885	2005-03-17 08:53:00	I confess to being mean to a friends sister once when she got her 1st computer. (well we didn't like her much). She rang in a panic wanting to know what Illegal Operation was and had she done something wrong? I couldn't resist and told her Microsoft were aware of everything she does on it (not far wrong in some cases) and she could expect a knock on the door from the MS police. She believed it. (I did fix it later)	pctek (84)
334886	2005-03-17 09:00:00	And then there's the old favourite, the seeming never-ending ability to confuse RAM with hard drive space . "How much RAM have you got?" "40GBs" . Or "You need more RAM if you want to play a game like that" "But I've got 20GB free!" Some techs/retailers must just see users like this coming from a mile away . . . . My Brother in law has a 2000 MHZ hard drive . I just sigh and agree now :badpc: Although his last support call to me was because he had worked out he needed a faster monitor to play games :)	Sam I Am (1679)
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