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Thread: some peoples kids

  1. #1
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    some peoples kids

    a few days ago a friend of my wifes from work brought his laptop to me to repair. It had win7 on it. when i fired it up i find it was a pirated version that the last person that "fixed it" installed. Its having all kind of software issues etc.

    I suggest shrinking the partition and installing Zorin. I let him sit down at my laptop and look the system over , play with it etc.

    So we decide to put zorin on it. he works with my Wife so i let him use my laptop while i do his.

    Welcome to the outer limits.

    He no sooner get home than i get a call, i cant get the computer on.
    whats it doing? i get a black screen with a white line. ok thats the boot screen you have to wait for the login screen. OH!.
    Then zorin goes totally schitzoid for some reason no idea why.
    ok bring it back in the morning and ill check it.(its already midnight)
    brings it back i have no idea what happened ok just boot into Ultimate. ill have yours ready tonight.

    start to shrink the partition and everything tells me the partition is wonky has to be reformatted, windows wont defrag or restore go figure. call him tell him
    what need to be done. ok

    copy his files off wipe and reformat, install zorin. no worries.
    He picks it up and leaves. he calls 10 minutes later, i can get on the internet
    i put the password in and it wont authenticate. what password? the one you gave me. that is for the computer not the internet. You need the password from your internet provider. OH

    Every night since i have gotten a call , same problem. i cant get on line. what password are you using? The one you gave me. thats for the computer not the internet.

    This is most definitely a PICNIC error resulting in a terminal ID10T error.
    The only dumb question is the one not asked.

    In service to the Dream

  2. #2
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    Re: some peoples kids

    Gotta love local talent. You should see them apply for a job.

  3. #3
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    Re: some peoples kids

    I don't understand why you installed Linux in the first place.
    That's what she said.

  4. #4
    rai4shu2 is offline Extra Foam Sugar Free Ubuntu
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    Re: some peoples kids

    Quote Originally Posted by AllRadioisDead View Post
    I don't understand why you installed Linux in the first place.
    Yeah. "Fix" it with your pirated copy of XP.

    Let me guess: wireless internet? Fun.

  5. #5
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    Re: some peoples kids

    And that's precisely why I tell people I don't know how to use or fix computers. A large portion of my life consisted on fixing family / friends PCs again and again and again. At a point I started asking myself if a particular relative was radioactive, psychic or something - he could break a PC apparently just by staring at it. It's hell.

    Regards,
    Effenberg

  6. #6
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    Re: some peoples kids

    I started asking myself if a particular relative was radioactive, psychic or something - he could break a PC apparently just by staring at it.
    We had people like that at the high street store where I used to work and fix the tills as part of my job. The till operators were women and some of them could break a till just by sitting on the seat. Sometimes, they broke the seat as well.

    There was one time when I got called to a broken till (which were just another form of PC) and I found that the power cable had been pulled out. Most probably by a cleaner. I plugged the power cable back in and a bleeping noise started.

    The section manager said that the till had been making that noise for days. It was the Uninterrupted Power Supply warning that the power plug had become disconnected. But nobody thought to do anything about because the till kept working. This is, until the UPS used up is battery power and the till stopped working. Then they say, the till is broken. What's wrong? I ask. Don't know. They reply.

    Some people you just cannot educate.

    Regards.
    It is a machine. It is more stupid than we are. It will not stop us from doing stupid things.
    Ubuntu user #33,200. Linux user #530,530


  7. #7
    hakermania's Avatar
    hakermania is offline Τώρα ξέρεις τι γράφω εδώ!
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    Re: some peoples kids

    yes, I totally agree, if it is to fix a computer, do it once, and only if you know that "nobody will notice", because, believe me, it is a chain reaction, within seconds, everybody will have a broken computer that needs fixing.

    While, most of the times, I know how to fix things around, I try to be polite and not to waste my time.

    After all, if you want to have a computer, learn to use it. If you don't want to waste time by learning on how to fix it, why should you waste mine?

    Learning how to use a computer is not only about using the MS Office and stuff, but also to troubleshoot most of the common problems that arise from times to times...

  8. #8
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    Re: some peoples kids

    My friend kicked his computer out of anger and he requested me to repait it. As it turns out the kick loosened the hard drive's wire and I simply reattached it, and I left not without warning him don't do that to your computer ever again. Ever.

    Fast forward a few weeks, and he complained his computer was broken. I asked why, and guess what? HE KICKED IT AGAIN!

    For god's sake...
    Last edited by zombifier25; October 3rd, 2012 at 02:41 PM.

  9. #9
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    Re: some peoples kids

    He called again yesterday, still couldnt get on line. had contacted his provider
    and as usual they told him it was a linux problem . Which it ended up being in a roundabout way.

    He brought it over, i set it up logged in to the system it booted and immediately connected to my wireless network. I plugged a cable in and it again instantly connected to the net. so whats the problem? In talking to him
    i discover he has yet to get to the desk top. keeps telling him authentication failure. I log in a couple times with no problem.

    i restarted the computer have him sit down at it. get to log in he his the caplock key and types his pass word. this after the first night telling him several times what the password is and writing it down for him. I tap him on the shoulder and say that wont work. so he releases the caplock and holds
    the shift key down. exqueeze me that dont work either. hold the shift type the two letters let off it type the numbers (even with a written password and being told he is typing a Q instead of 0.) then hold it for the last letter.

    so now he can log in. he has the cat5 he uses with him so i say lets test it.
    he pulls it out one lock is broken the other end doesnt look right. guess what it doesnt work. i plug a good one in and bobs your uncle.
    I send him home knowing and proving it was after all a PICNIC error.

    And the reason i put linux specifically Zorin with the windows desktop on it is pretty simple, the last legal copy of windows i own is 98ME
    The only dumb question is the one not asked.

    In service to the Dream

  10. #10
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    Re: some peoples kids

    I will not go into the full details, but there is a mysterious "pyramid" in my mom's laptop (in which I installed what I call "Ubuntu Senior Edition", also nicknamed "Ubuntu I hate Computers Edition").

    I can't figure out what it is and I'm trying for more than three years. Apparently it only shows when I'm not around. I used to pick up the laptop everytime the pyramid-incident was reported and use it to work 16 hours/day - never saw any sign of a anything I could associate with a pyramid.

    It looks like the pyramid-bug also exists in Windows 7, although more rare, and survived from Lucid to Precise. It even survived a hardware upgrade from HP to Dell.

    Regards,
    Effenberg

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