Man Assumes Computer Will Work During Power Outage

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mattstaff
Nov 14, 2021 2:00 PM EST

Yeah man, that's not how it goes. This guy apparently assumed that his computer would be able to function during a power outage, by running off of a watch battery. Suffice to say, that's not how it works at all. You've really got to feel for these poor folks that work tech support, and then end up encountering some truly, soberingly clueless individuals. For another tale from the tech support world, check out this story about a CEO who assumed his computer had been hacked, and then learned how a keyboard works. 

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  • 01
    Font - r/talesfromtechsupport + Join u/Internal-Car8922 · 23h 2 Why are you using a candle? Long This story is from years ago when I provided tech support for a company of cheap pc clones that are no longer available in the United States, but which are still sold in other parts of the world. Now to say that many of the purchasers of these computers were first time users is a vast understatement of the case. Many of my best stories from this time come from the nexus between bad hardware design, c
    via u/Internal-Car8922
  • 02
    Font - So sit right back and l'll tell you the tale of the mythical creature known as the user and his capricious and unpredictable ways. First the usual disclaimers: I am on a computer, so completely responsible for the formatting. English is both my 1st and 3rd language, and my mother was a school teacher, so I am also completely responsible for my use of grammar and spelling. Although I do not care to hear about it if the spelling tends to vacillate between British and American standards. Tod
    via u/Internal-Car8922
  • 03
    Font - On this call, the caller complains that his computer no longer boots up. In checking his specs I note that it is one of the notorious riser board units. These are designed to use a smaller motherboard than most computers of the day, and this is done by only having one expansion slot on the motherboard, and then inserting into this slot a riser board with five or six expansion slots on it. This basically moves most of the expansion slot portion of the motherboard onto a daughterboard and c
    via u/Internal-Car8922
  • 04
    Font - The solution? The correct solution would be to send a technician on site and have them remove and re-install the daughterboard and thus get the computer running again. The cheap customer service solution we are given instead is to walk the user through the process of opening the ridiculously complicated case, identifying the riser board, use a screwdriver to remove it and then re-insert it, put everything back together and hope it now works. Often it was a rinse-repeat sort of thing where
    via u/Internal-Car8922
  • 05
    Font - Never wanting to assume the hardest solution first, I start with basic things like checking if the computer is plugged into the wall, and having the user unplug the power cord from the back of the computer and from the wall and reconnect it to make sure it isn't loose anywhere. We also check the power and connection to the monitor to make sure nothing is hinky there. And so we step through all the basic troubleshooting, and it is now time to tackle the dreaded riser board issue. With more
    via u/Internal-Car8922
  • 06
    Font - Me: "Why are you using a candle?" Befuddled User: "Because the power is out." Me: (Face-palm smack) "Did it not occur to you that you would need power to use the computer?" Befuddled User: "Sure. But it has a battery in it." And indeed it does. A WATCH BATTERY. a battery just strong enough to help the computer not forget the date and time when turned off and unplugged. And even so, these normally need to be replaced about once a year or the computer forgets what day it is. I explain this
    via u/Internal-Car8922
  • 07
    Font - I apologize that I can't help him with that and then help him put the case back together again, after which he asks to talk to my supervisor. This was easy to accomplish. My supervisor and about three other people had been listening in on the call after it started to go long and well before we determine the source of his trouble is a power outage. They are still listening and generally having a good laugh at the Befuddled User's expense. The supervisor comes and listens to the user's comp
    via u/Internal-Car8922

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