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Technology and Internet Emerging and current tech related issues. Internet, DRM, IP, and other technology related discussions. |
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#1
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Being Tech Support for Friends Sucks
Girl at work sent her computer home with me to take a look at, because she thinks it's full of viruses. When she told me about it ahead of time, she said it was a pretty badass gaming computer.
I said sure, I'd take a look at it. So she brought it in to me. She told me she'd brought it at the very end of the day. When it had been sitting in her car all day long. With the temperatures like they've been. I brought it home, and today I opened it up. Looked like I'd opened up a pillow. I had to break out the air compressor to get rid of all the dust bunnies. Took literally 15 minutes out in the driveway with 120 psi air to get the insides more or less cleaned out. It was 10 minutes before I could even see the ASUS logo on the motherboard. The CPU cooler was packed solid with dust. Some of the case fans were seized up. There was still dust coming out of it when I gave up on the air compressor, but Jesus it was better than it started off. Anyway. I took it back inside, plugged up a monitor / keyboard / mouse / power / ethernet ... and all it did was go in a cycle with the POST. Just on, POST, reset, POST, reset, POST. Blah. Looks like it's an ASUS P5N-D motherboard and an EVGA 8800GTX. Don't know what else is in there. It's really not worth fixing, though. I hate being the one that's smart with computers.
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NRA Life Member No posts of mine on Calguns are to be construed as legal advice, which can only be given by a lawyer. |
#2
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Wow, sounds like it may have had ACTUAL viruses with all that dust!
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You will never, in your life, have a chance like this again. If I were you, I would not pass this up. I would not let this go by...this is rare. Come on...what harm?? |
#3
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So what is wrong? can't get out of the cycle? bad PSU?
__________________
7 Billion people on the planet. They aint ALL gonna astronauts. Some will get hit by trains... Need GOOD SS pins to clean your brass? Try the new and improved model... And remember- 99.9% of the lawyers ruin it for the other .1%... |
#4
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At this point? Don't know, don't really care. I'm leaning toward CPU or RAM problems, rather than PSU. I can't tell what the message is at the end of the POST. It's not really worth fixing though. It's almost 6 years old as it is. It's time to just suck it up and get something different.
__________________
NRA Life Member No posts of mine on Calguns are to be construed as legal advice, which can only be given by a lawyer. |
#5
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Maybe there is something on there that is important. And maybe you are one of the few people that she trusts or knows that can do it. So ask for some lunch money ($20) and diagnose the damn thing. I am not a certified tech by ANY means, but if someone gives me a comp to check out I WILL fix it or at least figure out what is wrong. Yeah so what. I am typing this up on a socket 939 machine with 4GB of RAM and a 6800 GS. What the hell is THAT supposed to mean? This computer that I am on has been up and running since 2007 and I aint about to shelve it any time soon. Machines that are old have the BEST memories (get it? ). When I was working for the city once I found two machines on the side of the road. I picked them both up and put them in the back of my city truck, then later on I took them home and started exploring. One was an e-machine and one was a pentium 3, but they both had some funny things on them. Now of course they are in the front office about to be zapped into NIX zombies... Yeah I dunno, maybe it is just me, I like to break machines and loot their info but as a tech I see everything as a challenge and if you don't WANT to fix it, then give it over to someone that DOES want to fix it... (PM sent) At least figure out the issue and giver HER the decision.
__________________
7 Billion people on the planet. They aint ALL gonna astronauts. Some will get hit by trains... Need GOOD SS pins to clean your brass? Try the new and improved model... And remember- 99.9% of the lawyers ruin it for the other .1%... |
#6
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No, there's nothing there that's important. I've already been given blanket permission to wipe everything. Thing is, I've also been told that there is no money available for hardware repairs, so it really doesn't matter what's wrong: she's not going to buy replacement parts. I'm not a nice enough guy to pay for replacement hardware for her out of my own pocket, and the only hardware that I have that would (potentially) be useful to her is currently installed in my desktop. Everything else is AGP & SDRAM. Never mind the fact that it's all AMD-based and not LGA775 compatible no matter what. So, no matter what's wrong with it, if it's hardware based, it ain't getting fixed by anyone. At least it's clean though, so when she does have money either I or someone else will have an easier time dealing with it. If it was just software issues, no problem. I can't even get it to boot from a Ubuntu live CD or USB stick. Might even be the motherboard, I'm not really sure. Pressing DEL for BIOS setup didn't do anything. Is it because it crashed before that stage, or is it because the USB port wasn't working and it never got the DEL keystroke? Who knows. Doesn't matter, because she's not buying replacement parts, and I'm not the hard-luck-sister PC repair charity.
__________________
NRA Life Member No posts of mine on Calguns are to be construed as legal advice, which can only be given by a lawyer. |
#9
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MacGyver would just need duct tape an a swiss army knife.
__________________
Ray "If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you." - Randy Paush, Carnegie Mellon University |
#10
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My dog is clever, but I don't trust him with duct tape or knives. Or computers, for that matter.
__________________
NRA Life Member No posts of mine on Calguns are to be construed as legal advice, which can only be given by a lawyer. |
#12
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That's why I said it's not really worth fixing. That said, right now I'm using my old desktop computer instead of my laptop. It's an AMD Phenom 9850 with a pair of 4870's crossfired. Not sure why I'm using it, tbh. My laptop's a Sandy Bridge i7. I guess I'm debating whether I really want to put the money into rebuilding it right now. I kinda-sorta think I do.
__________________
NRA Life Member No posts of mine on Calguns are to be construed as legal advice, which can only be given by a lawyer. |
#13
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I still run a 8800gtx waiting till it dies then maybe i'm finally going to build a new rig. Card is pretty sold giving how old it is, I even used to to play bf3 with it, but now I mainly play LOL in my free time so no need to upgrade for me.
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#15
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She's ... a linebacker. Really. For a semi-pro women's football team. Well, she used to be, a couple years ago. There might be pictures there, but even if I could get the computer to boot up and see them, I don't think I'd really want to.
__________________
NRA Life Member No posts of mine on Calguns are to be construed as legal advice, which can only be given by a lawyer. |
#16
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I too do this for co workers. I have received some that are flat nasty and have
made it a point to open the side if a tower while the person is still there to see what might be inside. I get 25.00 to completely clean out the unit and reset the chip to sink with Shin Etsu G-751 paste. If any of the fans are dead, that's extra. After the cleaning, then the diag and repair start, but as the OP stated, some are so very old, it's just not worth dumping money into, but almost all tell me to get em going....so ok. If a laptop, I look at the screen for cracks and traces of bug residue as well as any physical damage and also if they will at least boot while the person is still there. The ones I WON'T mess with are the ones that have bugs running around the inside as in cockroaches ! Nope, no, no way, adios. I always make a point of opening in co workers car trunks or if an SUV, in the back. I don't want any critters getting loose in my truck or home. Uh, uh ! Sorry for the thread jack, but I can easily relate to the OP's sometimes dilemma and reluctance in doing this, though for me, I was able to stash around 1100.00 for repairs last fall, winter, spring. That came in really handy. Last edited by bg; 07-01-2013 at 4:38 AM.. |
#17
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Windows 8 and Windows RT.. |
#18
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Dude I way rather be spending my day working end user support/hardware than where I work now (service desk...serving over +50,000 users). I hate talking to people on the phone T_T
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Retired Account |
#19
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You should fix it ala the fax machine in office space.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=giuI0e-...%3DgiuI0e-wqIc Last edited by SonofWWIIDI; 07-01-2013 at 4:35 AM.. |
#20
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i don't do nothing for co-workers, friends or even family (except in-laws). maybe my brothers (family) if they come to me and it's done that day. but they get to do all the calling for any follow-up.
such support is easily abused. get nothing for it. they also never learn if there's a bail out/safety net. dust bunnies? clean the freaking thing! LOL hope you get a nice lunch at least Peter. maybe just reformat the darn thing, put win2k on it or add ram and put win7 and be done with it. better yet and what i did for an admin at work, teach her how to do it. then she can teach someone else and so on and so on. any bios reset or something if it's just giving post? |
#21
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I do this for a living but I'm on staff at a school, so when something breaks if it's in warranty we just have Dell send parts, if it's out of warranty we strip the box and replace it.
That said, a huge portion of my skillset came about from taking on jobs other people didn't find "worth their time." Sometimes I fixed it, sometimes not, but I learned tremendously from it. The A-numbah-one problem with fixing a computer for a friend, co-worker, or family is this: one you touch it, now and forever when something goes wrong it's YOUR problem. "Well it ran fine up until whatever YOU did that one time..." |
#22
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Hey I am A+ certified, and I know a lot (compared to the average joe anyways) about comps and networks but those LITTLE things that they ask at an interview, like, Use the MMC to change the password for the administrator account to xxxxx. Well, guess what? That is NOT fancy talk for control panel. I am SO kicking myself for messing up THAT one. But also, I have NEVER had to use MMC so I did not know, nonetheless, it was used against me when I failed to do it and now I am just waiting for my "thanks but we uhh, found someone better..." e-mail... Totally sucks. So now in order to go back and learn this stuff, I should prolly take a class or what not. OR, just push on through and maybe study some reading materials for test prep... :\ goddamn MMC. :flickcig:
__________________
7 Billion people on the planet. They aint ALL gonna astronauts. Some will get hit by trains... Need GOOD SS pins to clean your brass? Try the new and improved model... And remember- 99.9% of the lawyers ruin it for the other .1%... |
#23
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This is the worst, and so true.
__________________
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed It is not about the GUN it is about the RIGHT Gun control has its roots in RACISM and CLASSISM, if you support gun control you support those two evils |
#24
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I am the IT department for my folks. They are in their 70's and while they can use a computer and understand basics, anytime something freezes or the internet goes down, I get the call.
I love my folks so its not really a big deal, but for simple stuff, its kinda annoying. CB |
#27
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If it won't stay on long enough even get to BIOS, it sure does sound
like hardware. Wonder if the CMOS battery is any good ? Have you pulled the ram and just tried it with 1 stick ? Pretty old unit. Might try a spare PSU to see if it'll lite, but it sounds like maybe you are just going to put it on hold due to funds and I am with you on that. I don't buy hardware unless the client gives me money up front for parts. Last edited by bg; 07-01-2013 at 10:45 PM.. |
#28
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it's been eons since i built up a tower. isn't there a bios reset anymore on the new mobo's these days?. pull up a compressor and blow all the dust out of all the fans and power supply? or try another supply?
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#29
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Even if the cmos battery is dead the bios should still show up, it will just tell you that the cmos checksum is incorrect or something and will want you to reset it.
possibly all that crap in there bridged some connections and maybe fried something? Maybe it caught some crazy ants and they killed the electrical components.
__________________
7 Billion people on the planet. They aint ALL gonna astronauts. Some will get hit by trains... Need GOOD SS pins to clean your brass? Try the new and improved model... And remember- 99.9% of the lawyers ruin it for the other .1%... |
#30
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I just put Pear OS 6.1 (Ubuntu that looks like a even more simple than Apple [hence the Pear]) on an old notebook for my lady's mother. (TRY and screw THAT up... Yo! )
I figured I would try her as a Guinna-pig for what I am going to tell everyone to do from now on... run Linux, and stop paying M$ to put out a crappier OS every time. |
#31
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I just got a call yesterday from a completely inept buddy of mine that is always having computer problems. He is probably the most computer illiterate person you could ever imagine. I've been dealing with calls for the 10 years we have been friends and I've found it's usually easier to drive over there instead of trying to describe how to do something stupid-simple like cut & paste.
Anyhow, he calls yesterday with a virus and I'm not in the mood so I tell him I can't do it and he should take it to a buddy of mine who owns a local shop. YEAH... no more calls! This morning, the PC shop guy texts me and says "He ripped the VGA off the main board. It is sitting in there sparking. Didn't realize it was screwed in". Whooops :P |
#32
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Ha. I tell people ahead of time, 'I work for pie'. Literally. You have to bring me 2 Marie Calendar pies if I work on your computer. Then I email them a list of the pies I want. My wife is like, "What?!?!? More pies?!?!? damn'.
I also have a regular deal with a plumber and electrician where we barter. I do their computer maintenance and they do my house maintenance. I'll tell ya, I've come out ahead in ceiling fans, outlets, lighting, water heaters, clogged main lines, hose bibs, etc. The only problem is my dad. It goes like this..."Ok, see that icon? It's a little picture thingy. See that? Right click it. The other right...no dad, the right side of the mouse...' on and on....lol....exercise in frustration.
__________________
It cannot be inherited, nor can it ever be purchased. You and no one alive can buy it for any price. It is impossible to rent and cannot be lent. You alone and our own have earned it with...Your sweat, blood and lives. You own it forever. The title is....."United States Marine". |
#33
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If you do computer stuff for a living your time is valuable; not even friends get work from me for free. I'll do services on credit, barter or send someone on a shopping/errand run for me, but it's not free. If that scares people off, so be it.
If you do computer stuff as a hobby the experience can be more valuable than direct compensation. There's some overlap for sure, but at some point your professional demands far exceed the personal computing challenges you'll see from friends. I did OEM/Computer repair for years before becoming IT/Networking oriented. I've spec'ed, built, sold, repaired and serviced millions worth of computers. I don't miss those days too much anymore. However, the experience has been invaluable even though those skills aren't exercised directly in my day to day. |
#34
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__________________
7 Billion people on the planet. They aint ALL gonna astronauts. Some will get hit by trains... Need GOOD SS pins to clean your brass? Try the new and improved model... And remember- 99.9% of the lawyers ruin it for the other .1%... |
#35
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1. Make sure motherboard and all other component doesn't have any obvious blown capacitor or burnt chipset (All that heat from the dust bunnies).
2. Try reseting BIOS through the jumper on the motherboard near the CMOS battery 3. Try a different PSU just in case 4. Try each RAM stick individually to make sure its not RAM. 5. Try with out HD just in case.... 6. Don't put too much time into it, you're not getting paid for it. Especially when your friend doesn't even have the money to fix it too. |
#36
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This is why I frequently chuck a computer out the window, and order a new crappy "state of the art" dell.
I'm still stuck in Windows 3.11 days, and if it angers me, I replace it with the newest $400 wonder laptop. |
#37
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I'll be content for a few years. |
#38
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i never tell people im in IT, i get mad at my wife when she volunteers me to fix her families computers.
__________________
Jason M- My 5 year old is a NRA life member, are you? WTB: Stoeger Condor Competition Combo (I'll trade 1911's or other handguns) |
#39
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Hell, I'm not even in IT. I'm a CAD designer. This girl is just in the next cubicle over from me. Has the same job title as me, but does about half the amount of work.
__________________
NRA Life Member No posts of mine on Calguns are to be construed as legal advice, which can only be given by a lawyer. |
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