Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami
My mom calls/emails me regularly with tech support questions. Like, "I think lightning just struck the house. There was a bang, a picture fell off the wall, and several of the computers have stopped working. The internet seems to be out, too-- do you think it's more likely the cable modem or the router? I got the mac to reboot, but it won't recognize the external hard drive. Do you think it's worth taking it in to the Geek Squad to see if they can salvage anything?"
Oh. These aren't the kind of tech support calls you get from your parents?
How about this one?
"I managed to get three of the donated computers working in the school library. Computers tend to die here (in Belize). Sometimes my laptop just switches off, but if I let it cool down for a while, it will usually restart. Next month we are supposed to get internet access in the village, but who knows?"
No?
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They are the sort of tech support calls I get from my neighbors. Although, they aren't usually all that specific. It's mostly "My f**king computer is dead, come over here and find out what's wrong with it!!" Or, "The f**king internet is down, is it down at your house?? No?? Then come over here and find out what's wrong with mine!!"
Sometimes I can fix it, sometimes not so much. But then, when a neighbor buys a "complete computer system" for $300 ... and the motherboard is deader than a doornail, the proprietary replacement costs close to $300, and none of my generic parts will fit .... even I will admit defeat.
However, over the years I have learned to build and repair computers, and even how to run cable for a network and do my own punchdowns. The software, well, that will drive me crazy long before hardware problem will. I hate having to do work-arounds for badly programmed software. Just plain hate it.