jiml (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} xuth) wrote,@ 2008-06-10 11:34:00 |
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Tech Support
[rant on]
Yesterday and today I've been playing phone tech support for my mother, who is a reasonably competent user but before yesterday has never opened up a computer, but has had her work computers (in a small church office so no actual tech staff) attempted to be used by someone who doesn't know what she's doing and had upgrades attempted by people who are probably competent users but really don't know networking.
Yesterday I spent an hour on the phone helping her open up the case and remove the front panel on one computer so that she could fix the power switch that someone managed to break (a hot glue join had been broken so the momentary switch was floating and couldn't actually be switched). This morning we looked at the other computer. It appeared to power up but wasn't sending a signal to the monitor. The computer was working Saturday and now wasn't. Apparently the less experienced user had tried to turn this computer on by flipping switches in the back and switched the 220/115v selector. How do you mistake that (recessed slider that can barely be reached with a fingernail) for a power switch? It's such an absurd thing that I felt silly asking my mother to check this despite it matching up with the other symptoms.
Then on to the networking aspect. The former pastor set up dialup network sharing on one of the computers many years ago (as well as peer based file and printer sharing). The new pastor wanted DSL and since the middle of last month a steady stream of people (who claim to know what they're doing) have tried to set up DSL on the computer and then the network sharing only to create a totally non-working mess. The fact that all of the people attempting the upgrade have thought this configuration to be reasonable in today's world speaks volumes (amplified by the fact that at the time of talking to my mother yesterday, the plan was to pay at&t to come over and fix the dsl and then pay to have geek squad (not even no, but hell no) come over to make the network sharing work).
For the uninitiated, dialup network sharing made sense 10 years ago. But when you can get a small, low power $40 box (cable/dsl router) that will handle maintaining and sharing the network and provide a basic firewall it's absurd to have one of the windows computers do the network sharing, especially when that computer is often unused and would spend most of it's time turned off except that it's needed to provide network access for the other computer.
[rant off]
[rant on]
Yesterday and today I've been playing phone tech support for my mother, who is a reasonably competent user but before yesterday has never opened up a computer, but has had her work computers (in a small church office so no actual tech staff) attempted to be used by someone who doesn't know what she's doing and had upgrades attempted by people who are probably competent users but really don't know networking.
Yesterday I spent an hour on the phone helping her open up the case and remove the front panel on one computer so that she could fix the power switch that someone managed to break (a hot glue join had been broken so the momentary switch was floating and couldn't actually be switched). This morning we looked at the other computer. It appeared to power up but wasn't sending a signal to the monitor. The computer was working Saturday and now wasn't. Apparently the less experienced user had tried to turn this computer on by flipping switches in the back and switched the 220/115v selector. How do you mistake that (recessed slider that can barely be reached with a fingernail) for a power switch? It's such an absurd thing that I felt silly asking my mother to check this despite it matching up with the other symptoms.
Then on to the networking aspect. The former pastor set up dialup network sharing on one of the computers many years ago (as well as peer based file and printer sharing). The new pastor wanted DSL and since the middle of last month a steady stream of people (who claim to know what they're doing) have tried to set up DSL on the computer and then the network sharing only to create a totally non-working mess. The fact that all of the people attempting the upgrade have thought this configuration to be reasonable in today's world speaks volumes (amplified by the fact that at the time of talking to my mother yesterday, the plan was to pay at&t to come over and fix the dsl and then pay to have geek squad (not even no, but hell no) come over to make the network sharing work).
For the uninitiated, dialup network sharing made sense 10 years ago. But when you can get a small, low power $40 box (cable/dsl router) that will handle maintaining and sharing the network and provide a basic firewall it's absurd to have one of the windows computers do the network sharing, especially when that computer is often unused and would spend most of it's time turned off except that it's needed to provide network access for the other computer.
[rant off]
