Venting here

[CyberGenX 0]

All of us need to vent, I do not claim to be almighty god of computers but GEEEEEEZZZZZZ.

 

8) Diary of an onsite technician-----Here we go...

 

* Why do people make computers harder than they have to be?

 

* Why can some people who work million dollar equipment not find the f&(kin Start button?

 

* Why do A LOT of "users" (not power users or experts) think that you need Windows 2000 for Office 2000 and Windows XP for Office XP?

 

* Why is the right click such a mystery to "users"?

 

* Why do "users" play so stupid on the phone and then when you get to the site suddenly they know more than you (but still can't fix their own machine)?

 

* What is so hard about burning a CD?

 

* Why do these "users" steer their friends and family into crappy systems and situations after under a year of owning their FIRST computer themselves?

 

I have worked on computers for years now. I own a medium size onsite computer service company. I try not to tell people what I do because I always end up getting suckered into looking at their 133MHz 6 year old machine that has 16MB RAM and no free space on the 3400RPM 1.2 Gig hard disk!

 

The first thing I hear when I tell them what I do is "Oh maybe you can help me with my computer" or "I think I have a virus, the computer won't bootdown" Whatever the h@ll "bootdown" means! You don't tell some guy whom you just met that is a Doctor that your @ss is on fire! "Could you look at my @ss, it doesn't want to boot" I'LL BOOT THAT @SS!

 

Anyway, please respond to this with gripes, vents, sympathy, yada yada. But don't tell me I am wrong, these are my vents and opinions. Check out my new prog www.computergenx.com/TL2.htm

[sapiens74 0]

LOL

 

the reason I have always had a good job is beacise someone always has that "my buddy" that knows his ****.

 

THen I get paid to fix it right

[Brian Frank 0]

Right now I do, but then again, I don't fix computers for a living---yet! I haven't run into any stupid people personally, tho I have seen some very stupid comments online by people--including someone telling me that you can indeed install Windows 98 on an NTFS partition.

[felix 0]

When I was at Uni (finished last year) I told people and didn't mind fixing d*ckhead user problems. I got to keep my hand in on the practical side of the little buggers (Uni courses sometimes lack the hands on) plus occasionally you would find a little gold mine or a problem that really gave you a good challenge.

 

These days, I work full time as a Database/Systems Admin with my local council. Given the fact that I stare at the bloody things all day working with stupid archaic databases I hardly want to deal with stupid users when I get home on my "off" time.

 

My home computer could probably do with a re-install but I just can't be bothered.

 

Oh and I really hate how people never tell an electrician how to re-wire a house but have no issues telling a network engineer what the problem is with a 10/100 switch. Where does the professional distinction kick in? Just because you can take the lid of a computer with a screw driver and not get electrocuted doesn't mean you know d*ck about computers!!! There's nothing like being told that your area of expertise is stupid.

 

Aargh!! I'm done.

[CyberGenX 0]

There are some people I will do favors for, like close friends, family and prospective (real) clients. But a lot of people think because you are their friend (hi and bye friend at least) that you will suddenly drop your LIFE and come running to work on their computer. I love working on computers, don't get me wrong, but you don't ask an accountant to come to your house and help roll pennies do you? And let's not get me started on SO-CALLED friends that only call when their computer is on the fritz...I hate being used like that.

 

Doesn't everyone love this: You fix someones computer problem, all is well, you leave, and then get a call a day later "uh ever since you fixed my Office install the floppy won't work!" OR "the last one to touch it was you and now it won't work" where is this logic coming from? You don't tell a mechanic that ever since he changed the oil the tires are going flat do you?

 

Thank goodness for that little buddy huh Sapiens.

[Cynan 0]

I don't mind helping ppl out when I'm free, but then when you have some serious work to do of your own, ppl still pester you and get all snotty with you when you tell them you can't help them right now. Its so annoying.

[clutch 1]

I've been doing it too long to help most people anymore. I am tired of muddling around 3 year old installs of Windows and explaining why their newest gadget will not work with their old POS Packard Bell system. What's even better is when people want to keep piling the newest versions of Windows and yet not invest one dime in hardware. I generally help close friends only, and either avoid conversations about computers entirely or simply tell them "no" when they ask (and boy, you'd think you shot their dog when you see their faces to that response).

[CyberGenX 0]

That reminds me of a client that had ME upgrade from SE upgrade from 98 upgrade from 95 upgrade from 3.11! What clued me in was the windows start up sound, it sounded like 3.11. Then I asked and sure enough he had most of the CDs.

[pimpin_228 0]

i hate when you do a favor then constently they come back and back to you like my one friend every ****in day calls and asks me something, and it really is starting to twerk my nerves, and then you got the peeps who ***** and whine about it also, i don't mind doin it once in a while but everyday gets old

[sapiens74 0]

You had to use the words packard bell..

 

we had this old lady that brought a 6 year old packard bell with Windows 3.11, that couldnt connect to our internet service. The modem had crapped out and I popped the case open and there was literaly 3 inches of dust. I had to take a shop vac, it looked like a rats nest.

 

ANyways after that joyful experience I get to install one isa sound card and one isa modem, if you remember the combo PB cards. Then to top it all off installing them in DOS.

 

What joy.......

[CyberGenX 0]

Remember trying to install hardware modems on PBs? The COM ports would never obey the BIOS!

 

I had a client that complained of problems, crashing and such. She had a friggin roach nest in her machine(like 10 roaches hanging out smokin er something) eeeeewwwww

[Davros 0]

I no longer let people find out that I build my own computers. I always used to get suckered into building one for somebody. When you do this you've just volunteered to provide 5 years of free technical support every time they screw something up.

 

I started refusing to build computers for friends last year, and pissed some of them off in the process (too bad!). They just keep getting pushier, expecting buttloads of free software, like I'm going to pirate it for them! Yeah right!

 

Last year this guy told me he had $400, and could I build him a computer with it. I told him I don't build pieces of crap, go waste your money on an E-Machine and AOL. So he did.

 

Then, 3 months ago, to my horror, my 52 year old father-in-law comes home with a brand new Dell. He asked me to come over and set it up for him and get him on the internet, so I did. Then he asked me to show him what he could do with it! He had a scanner, CD burner, printer, all the basic goodies, and no clue how to use any of it. He had never ever touched a computer before in his life. I spent an hour just training him to use a mouse, he still can't click only one button at a time. He never uses the computer at all, because he can't remember anything I or any of his kids teach him. It's just way over his head. But every time I go over there, he wants me to look something up on the Internet for him, or scan a picture to make copies of it.

 

As far as users at work go, I hate the curious ones the most, the ones who click on everything in Windows, wondering how it works, and inadvertently screwing it all up, then telling you they didn't do anything, because they don't want to admit to being stupid, and it's up to you to figure out what the little liar did. I tend to like the ones who are scared of breaking the computer. They won't touch anything, so they never screw it up.

[sapiens74 0]

I just tell them it takes a 12 pack of heine to start off. By the time I drink that, who gives rats *** if it works or not

[AndyFair 0]

The worst ones are the people who think they're competent, and end up screwing everything up beyond repair...and then you tell them the best thing to do would be to reinstall, and they look at you as though they're mad...

 

...and then you get the people whose hard drives look like a rat's nest - files saved in any old place, no structure at all - and then they tell you that they can't find a file they saved...

 

...and then, of course, there are the people that are still using some really obscure piece of software, that wasn't even popular 10 years ago, and they expect to know everything about it...

 

I'll stop now before my blood pressure gets any higher!

 

But anyway, like most other people here, I no longer tell people that I work in IT - I just say that I work for a "call centre company" and leave it at that.

 

AndyF

[Uykucu 0]

Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of hiding my profession (No it is not spelled on my forehead) since i relly on word of mouth for new clients (mostly). But like clutch that does not stop me from saying no to friends and relatives or to present them with an invoice. An invoice usually prevents any time wasters from calling except realtives!

 

My least favorite type of user is the one that thinks he/she know sh*t loads about a computer but does not. Try to talk them through something over the phone. Absolute nightmare. And they tend to get p*ssed when you restrict their access to certain areas. Like changing background image or the TCP/IP properties (I dunno what they would do if they could reach TCP/IP anyway but!) But i can usually get away with it saying it is the new company policy or their boss has ordered it etc.

 

If any of you system admins, support engineers wanna have some fun, try blocking hotmail, yahoo mail etc and messenger ICQ, yahoo trio along with it. To add up more spice you may wish to disable floppy writes and certain popular addresses on the internet.

 

They called me on my mobile at bloody 02:00 in the morning. to ask about it.

[felix 0]

If I did that, I would have to do some real work.

[Dirty Harry 0]

Uykucu, I'm disappointed on your attitude. If we would have a sys admin who would try to restrict access to changing background images and such he would find himself outta work and fast. Imagine a cleaning lady restricting access to the garbage bin because she doesn't like to empty it...

 

This is the kind of '80s attitude, the users are there to serve the network and the sysadmin thinks he is some sort of semigod issuing corporate policies. People have PC's and the P stands for Personal. The more they enjoy it - the better they work with it. If they want to ICQ in a hotel room instead of having beer in the bar its their business.

 

H.

[Alien 1]

LOL. You guys sound like you go way too easy on the idiots that cause you these probs & stress.

 

With regards to the "fiddlers" who then lie about it afterwards, I've found that when someone tries to give me some BS I just look @ them & say something like, "you're forgetting - this is me you're talking to" & wait for an admission of guilt & an account of what really happened. If they try to continue the lie I simply raise an eyebrow & continue to stare them in the eye. You'd be surprised how effective this can be. For some strange reason it also leads to less attempts @ future dishnoesty.

[clutch 1]

Quote:

Uykucu, I'm disappointed on your attitude. If we would have a sys admin who would try to restrict access to changing background images and such he would find himself outta work and fast. Imagine a cleaning lady restricting access to the garbage bin because she doesn't like to empty it...

This is the kind of '80s attitude, the users are there to serve the network and the sysadmin thinks he is some sort of semigod issuing corporate policies. People have PC's and the P stands for Personal. The more they enjoy it - the better they work with it. If they want to ICQ in a hotel room instead of having beer in the bar its their business.

H.

Unfortunately, when you let personnel make these machines more "personal", there are enough of them that screw them up. Like the background for instance; there have been enough personnel here that I have had to make a special group in my domain and then apply a policy to it that removes access to the display properties control panel applet. They liked jacking around with resolution and kept trying to set a 17" monitor to resolutions/refresh rates beyond its capability. I also restrict the use of programs like WebShots and news streamers, but unfortunately their installation routines are designed to get around NT's default security (these flaws seem to have been corrected in Win2K, and further refined in WinXP). If they want to use existing software that came with the system for what limited entertainment it might provide, then fine. However, I am not going to open the door for more help requests because someone's news streamer isn't getting the most current weather.

[Uykucu 0]

Hey Clutch,

You are right as always.

My reply to Dirty harry is,

Hey it might be personel computer but the fact is users are not the one paying me and they ceratinly do not pay me out of their pocket for extra time we spend at location. I sell the company (the owner) service agreement. And if we have to on site everytime someone thinks it would be better to work @2048x1536 res becuse his friend told him the other day at the pub that he works at that, i would be out of business.

On top of that certain things have to be standardized or policized in a corporate network to prevent any and all future problems, and to make it cheaper for the "company" to maintain them.

 

Another verry important point is they do not have the right to check their personnel e-mails at the company time nor do they have the luxury of jacking with icq when they should be working. That is what the Boss thinks and since he is the one putting food on my and my engineers table that is cool with me. That Computer only becomes a PC when the workers pay for it and use it for whatever they want on their off-time! It is just a workstation part of a network when the company pays for it.

 

This is my opinion anyway. And so far I have been expanding the last 2 years continuously. So i might be doing something right;)

 

P.S I forgot how i missed this forum stuff. Internet access in Saudi arabia and Syria was Sh*t!

[Brian Frank 0]

Well, it's safe to say that as long as there are moron's out there, we'll never go hungry.

[sapiens74 0]

Hey Brian F. You ever worked as a Domain Admin for the DOD?

 

YOur damn right you have to restrict them. Or instead of taking time to upgrade machines and rollout security packages you are unistalling ****ing Bonzai Buddy, or webshots.

 

then again thats a government system. THo eitherway the employee doesn't own it.

[CyberGenX 0]

I believe that the coporate workstations SHOULD have restrictions on them. I hate when I go to fix a computer that is "crashing" and "acting wierd" and come to find ICQ, Bonzi Buddy, Comet Cursor, RealPlayer, KaZaA, and 10 other things in the SYSTRAY running. It stretches all the way to the damn start button! Anti-Virus is usually disabled because "It was too slow with it on." So I have to be the bad guy and remove all this crap. Next week it is back with the excuse that "It just came back all on its own". Yeah the ghost in the machine clicked "I Agree" for these fools.

[Cynan 0]

At my friends work he restricts it all. Even reghosts the lot nightly. Annoying the hell of most of them. Nice

[sapiens74 0]

What we did in Korea, is only give them domain access. So if the network is down they cannot log in at all. We even had a logon script that set thier background everytime they logged on.

 

It was funny cause some of the Koreans would change stuff on Windows 98 even format and reinstall to undo what I did.

 

So i would format it in NTFS and leave it blank. THey never figured it out hehe.