Why it is a good and bad thing to give me stickers Tech Support |
- Why it is a good and bad thing to give me stickers
- Let me create a user without a name
- There was even a big red button!
- Remotely installing a label printer
- A tale of automation and an ancient database
- Adventures of the networking kind.
- Use your words!
- Helping mom.....
- The phone was the user?
| Why it is a good and bad thing to give me stickers Posted: 02 May 2019 06:33 PM PDT Pro: I found a missing server due to a sticker I randomly placed on it. Con: I will place stickers all around the office. I rarely get to have a BOFH moment, but this tale gets 2 minor ones. First off, as the title says, one day I was in our office and randomly placed a sticker onto a server of ours. It was a generic, black desktop that didnt immediately scream "I'm a server." I think I knew that we used this at clients as a rental of sorts when they needed an emergency server until they ordered a new one. Sometime later, I took a mini vacation, a 4.5 day weekend, with verbal and email confirmation with both bosses when and where I would be when I get back, specifically $ForProfitClient at 1pm, since it would be a midnight flight coming back. Cue a call at 10am
(Note, keep scheduling in writing.) So the time at the non-profit was a clusterfuck, as all of the cables were messy and looked like the before version of CablePorn (safe link, but story was removed before I think for links). After some time at the main office, I finally found time to go to the admin office a mile away and check out that site. Immediately upon setting the network closet, my jaw drops at the messiest of wiring setups I have personally seen (someone actually said "A cable was unplugged" for the doorbell, but I was still in shock and stared at him until he went away. Boss #2 later said she would have replied "No shit"). After I started to make sense of closet, I noticed the junk in there. Mini BOFH #2, I pulled out all the non-IT related items and forced the client to store them elsewhere, including: *paint cans *a door *a dolly (Picture is... somewhere) Finally, the Pro part. Also in the network closet was a non-descript black desktop with a rather unusual sticker on it, which took me all of 10 seconds to realize that was our server I had placed a sticker on a couple months prior. Without that sticker, I personally could not identify it as ours. Also in the closet was a large, unopened box, roughly the size of a server, that had been shipped here and stored. Time to check in with our SysAdmin:
TL;DR Give me stickers and sometimes I will find missing servers. [link] [comments]  |
| Let me create a user without a name Posted: 02 May 2019 02:37 PM PDT So this is my first post in this sub and it just happened between today and yesterday. $ME-Myself $CEO-Owner of the company $VP-My direct boss So I am a one-man show in a company of about 250 users (cheap company, they don't think that I need the extra help since things are running so smoothly) I took a vacation day yesterday, just to be lazy around the house. It's around 1 pm and I usually don't answer my phone on my days off, but after letting a call go to voicemail my phone started ringing immediately, so I answer thinking something must have happened. $CEO Hi $ME, its $CEO. We just hired somebody and the paperwork is being submitted right now can we get a PC set up for him right now? Being the only IT staff I put in a policy that I need AT LEAST 3 days to set up a workstation for new employees. They have to submit a form with their information that I'll need to set them up in AD. I created a super simple form for their information, email groups, etc... $ME: Hey $CEO, I'm off today but I might have some time tomorrow to be able to get it set up just fill out the form that is in the Manager's drive and I'll see what I can do. Great, he was happy I went back to Netflix.... I went into work this morning and sorted through my emails, nothing about a new employee. I see $VP in the hallway walking out of the conference room. $VP: Hey $ME, how was your day off? The new employee is in there have you had a chance to set up the PC yet? $ME: No, I just got in and $CEO never sent me any of the information, and I just got in about 30 minutes ago was just sorting out my morning. $VP: No worries, $CEO or myself will send it to you shortly. I grab my coffee and go back to working on my list of 20 things. 1:30 pm Phone rings... it's $CEO $CEO: $ME, have you finished the new employees PC, he finished up with all his paperwork and the tour of the new building he is ready to get to work. $ME: Noone sent me the filled out form, I said yesterday if you could get it to me I would have it done today even though we have the 3-day policy in place, but without a name, I can't exactly fill out his information. $CEO: Oh...well all I know is his name is Mike, can't you just work with that? $ME: I need a full name, not just a generic first name, without that, I can't make his AD account and he won't have an email address. I am not going to give him just a local account on a PC. $CEO: Figure it out then, all I know is I need this PC done now for him, otherwise he is sitting here getting paid for nothing. So I went ahead and created an account for someone without a name, I created an account for "Mike Doe" and until I get a filled out form or someone tells me his last name, he will now be Mike Doe in my records. TLDR-CEO hired someone and expected a PC set up right away, without a full name for me to make credentials. [link] [comments]  |
| There was even a big red button! Posted: 02 May 2019 11:53 PM PDT I work as a Web developer for a marketing agency, and while I am not by any means a server admin, I know the basics of how to setup a client's DNS records without screwing it up. Well we had a client recently leave us, so I gave his "web guy" cPanel access so he can copy over all the DNS settings, a backup zip file and database export (it was a WordPress site), and a note to let me know if he had any questions. In this case, we also had to move the domain from our registrar to his, so I told him to let me know when to change the nameservers first, and then I would transfer ownership as we can't change nameservers after initiating the account change in our registrar. I change the nameservers to his new host the next day, his site is live and all is good......or so I thought. He messages me the next day: Him: "Hey, the client's email is no longer working. Did you guys host that?" Me: "No. He uses Google Apps. Did you check the MX records you copied over when moving the site. Here's a link to Google's instructios on what MX records, etc. you need to set." Him: "Great man. Thanks." Two weeks later I get a frantic email from the client himself. Client: "Help! I've been on the phone with our registrar for 2 hours. My email is still not working! My Web guy says he can't fix it and told me to call the registrar to fix it." At this point I do a quick MX record check and see no records set. Keep in mind this is a "pro" web guy. He owns his own business. Me: "I think I know the issue, but I'm curious as to why you were calling the registrar. Your MX is set at xxxxx hosting company where your nameservers are pointed. I'll need your login to your host to make the changes. I can fix your email in just a few minutes once I have that." Client: "He specifically said I had to call the registrar and not xxxxx hosting company." Client sends me the login and sure enough the "pro" web guy had not added any MX records...but it gets better. This particular host has a big red button on the dashboard that says "Click here to setup your email to use Google Apps". One click on the button and one click to save the change. It added Google's MX records and set the MX to "remote" automatically. I didn't even have to manually enter any records. It was a button...A BIG RED BUTTON! tldr: "Pro" web guy can't read big red buttons. [link] [comments]  |
| Remotely installing a label printer Posted: 02 May 2019 04:41 PM PDT End user reaches out to me from another office location to report her label printer isn't working, but was working fine yesterday. I remote into her computer and look at the label printing software to realize there's no label printer installed. I've worked with these printers and, with the software we use I know the drivers can sometimes disappear. Me: Can you unplug the USB cable on the label printer for me? I proceed to spend 15 minutes uninstalling the specialized software that we use, installing the printer drivers and then reinstalling the software. Me: Okay, can you go ahead and plug the USB cable back in? The computer doesn't seem to recognize anything, so I figure it might be that the cable's come loose under the desk. Me: Can you check to see that the USB cable is plugged into the computer as well? [link] [comments]  |
| A tale of automation and an ancient database Posted: 02 May 2019 10:39 AM PDT I was reminded of this tale after reading a similar post about automation of tasks. Similar to the other post, I, too, do not work in IT. I know enough to know not to touch certain things, and when to call for help (after rebooting!). Going back to 2017, I had just started at a new company. Eager to prove myself, I tried to find better and more efficient ways to do my daily duties. One such duty was filling out a bill of lading for shipments (packing slip, tracking sheet, receipt, etc.). Anything we shipped out needed to have a bill. The bill would include: drawing, part mark, quantity shipped, quantity backordered, total quantity, description, size, and weight. Eight pieces of information per item shipped. Fortunately, they had a database program that would create these for you after you input the data. I use the word "database" in a very loose sense here. This "database" was a custom build for this company. And it was built in 1998. As embellished or exaggerated as things may be in this story, 1998 is accurate. I never realized that programs could be so fragile. Load too much data? Crash. Switch from one internal window to another? Crash. Load something out of order? Crash. Input too much data? Crash. Input data too quickly? Crash. Crash the database? Crash. The program simply hadn't been maintained over the years. No one knew who made it, no one knew how to maintain it, and no one wanted to pay for a new database. Each shipment we sent out could have anywhere from 1 item to 300 items. Inputting 8 pieces of information for 300 items is tedious. Using this finicky database to do it just exacerbated the chore. There's got to be another way! Enter Stan the Supervisor, Charlie the Coworker, and Bob the Boss. Me: Stan, can we use another program for this? Stan: Nope, we need everything in the database for tracking purposes. Me: Can I import a file for it? Stan: Nope, no importing or exporting data with this thing. Me: Is there a way to back-end the data into the database then? Stan: What? I don't know. Ask Bob. He knows all about this program. Me: Bob, I'm using the database and it's taking a long time to do anything. Bob: Yeah... It doesn't like anyone. Me: I'm trying to find a faster way to do it. Is there a way to get data in through a back door? Bob: That's over my head. Probably not, but you're welcome to try. Here's where the data is. He gave me full access to the raw files. I was flabbergasted they gave me, a new hire, full access to all of their data, but to each their own. It took me hours of research on my own time to figure out what this mess of a program was doing. The files it was creating were linked back to an obsolete language. Others have tried, and failed, to either backdoor data in, or extract data out. This was a dead end. There's still got to be a better way! I loaded up a keyboard/mouse macro program and created a very rudimentary automation program with it. Anything more advanced than Alt Tab to switch a window would cause this ancient database to crash. So it all needed to be set up with clicks. Fortunately, I could draw my data from excel, which did allow for tabbing through data, copying, and the database allowed pasting. After painstakingly working out the kinks on some test shipments, this was ready to show to my peers for cheers & admiration... That's what happens, right? Me: Hey Stan, you're shipping later, right? Stan: Yeah, it's a big one. Heading out in a couple days. Me: Can I do your bill for you? Stan: Hah, why would you want to do that? It'll take you all day. Me: I want to try something. Stan: Sure, go nuts. I'll send you the files. I loaded everything up. Aligned the windows to their specific locations, had excel load the data in the right spot. Test ran 1 line item, and it worked. Phew! Let's try 5. Good to go! 10? No problem! 100? Do I dare? Yes, yes I do. It starts running, and I sit back. Stan noticed that I wasn't clicking or typing anymore, so he cranked his head over to see what was up. Stan: Give up already? Or did the database crash on you? Me: Nope, it's working great. I automated it. This got Charlie the Coworker's attention, and he looked over at my screen Stan: Wait, you did what? Me: I automated it. I linked it to excel so it will automatically fill in the data for me. Look. Stan looked at my screen, and sure enough this bill was being filled out before his and Charlie's eyes. Charlie: Uh... Stan, how long would that have taken you to do? Stan: 300 items? All day, easily. Charlie: Lurir, how long is that going to take to run? Me: Well, it's a bit slow, since I can't go faster than the database allows. Maybe a couple hours? Charlie and Stan both started to laugh Charlie and Stan both loved the program, and I ran it for most of the large jobs we had. Unfortunately, Bob the Boss didn't see the value in the automation. In fact, whenever I had this automation running, he would perceive me as doing nothing. Probably because I wasn't able to do anything on the computer while the automation ran. I didn't last very long there. Perception of work was more valuable than the work I was producing, apparently. Fortunately, I was the only one who knew how to run this thing anyway, so when I left they had to go back to the old way of doing things. [link] [comments]  |
| Adventures of the networking kind. Posted: 02 May 2019 10:55 PM PDT Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, wrote this on my phone during lunch. Been a long time since I've posted here, life's been super busy, luckily I had the spare time to share this tale that happened today since it's been an... interesting morning. People in this story: Me = well, Me Boss = my boss and the guy who runs this small part of the company, he's rarely actually in the depot. BigBoss = partial owner of the company, Boss's boss. Currently my main job is secure data erasure and PC refurbishing/recycling, basically a Government agency or private company will have some IT waste, we pick it up, wipe the drives then resell it at auction. It's only a small part of the company I work at and we have very limited manpower, just me and my boss with a third guy who pops in from time to time, we also have very few resources, usually our limit is what we can grab from the incoming shipments. Usually we'd have 2 Wifi USB sticks to access the logging system as the program that we use to wipe the PCs requires internet access, about a Month ago they both completely stopped working so I improvised and used a Tablet as a tether for the internet. This morning I got a call from BigBoss saying that the tablet was needed elsewhere and I would "have to find another solution". Now I'm not a networking guru, I can run some basic Ethernet cabling between switches and I can bridge an internet connection but overall I'm really not great with networking, my boss isn't too flash either, he's decent at googling things but he has very little technical background so between us we didn't have a ton of experience. Our first thought is to just run a super long Ethernet cable from the office to the back of the warehouse - a simple enough solution assuming we can source the parts. First step is finding the right cable, we have tons of shorter cables but we don't have any couplers so that option isn't going to work, we eventually find a long enough cable hidden in a dusty corner, a 50m Cat5e Ethernet cable... with no connectors on either end... We spent the next 30mins or so searching for some 8p8c connectors, we eventually came across a bunch of Ethernet wall jacks, we'll have to hand wire it all but it should work, in theory at least. Wiring up the jacks ended up being one of the simplest parts of the job, each strand went into its position easily enough and we didn't make any mistakes with wiring order, though my boss did manage to break one of the jacks... The next step is to test if it all works, so we plug everything in in the office, plug a short test cable between the long cable and my Bosses PC and turn it on, hoping that it'll all work. The PC turns on, we log in, go to network centre and check to connection. "Identifying" is the PCs response, we decide to give it a minute, then two, then three and finally it connects. We immediately go to test google and it's all working perfectly. Now our final step is to run it through a switch (or 3) to give internet access to the wiping PCs and my PC, connecting to the wiping PCs goes smoothly but as soon as we connect my PC the VM running on it (which controls a label printer used for printing reference labels for items that have been wiped) started going haywire, I quickly restarted it and surprise surprise it booted up and actually worked. This perhaps might not be the most interesting thing for you Sysadmins out there, but for my Boss and I it was a miracle that everything actually worked, the way everything is run is still a mess (we have 4 switches to run about 20 connections) and 50 meters of Cat5E did nothing to help with internet speeds but just getting it working is good enough for me... TL:DR Janky internet connection is taken away, even janky-er wired connection is created. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 May 2019 09:54 AM PDT Sup all! So I'm sure all of us have run into a user or two (or more) who seems to be unable to properly describe their issue. Here are some that stick into my mind. Working in our ticket system I've run across some gems but the one I remember the best is running across a ticket that had been in our system since 2am (so it had been sitting for 5 hours) Opening it up. Subject Line: HELP ME!!!!!! Subject: (Nothing, Completely void and empty of any info) I update ticket for more info but...guys come on. No one can help you if you don't say what you need help with. Imagine dialing emergency services and not providing any info but screaming at them for help. Another one I had this week was a call and people in my department actually walked over cause as I got frustrated I got louder and louder (which is not normal for me since I'm pretty soft spoken woman, I dislike raising my voice)
My coworker beside me was laughing about it for 10min. BASTARD. I called the Local support and gave them the info and let them know that the user stated his computer "said I needed files" which got them to chuckle. I have a feeling they deal with this guy a lot. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 May 2019 08:58 AM PDT So... Im not official tech support, but Im who everyone in the family goes to when they need tech support. So about 15 years ago, Mom decides she want's a computer. a Laptop. Something that has minimal wires, cause there messy and ugly, and it reminds her of my room with all the wires. Ok. We go to the store, she picks out a decent laptop, set it up. etc. Mind you - I live 1500 miles away from her. Every Christmas for way to long this occurred. Her router and wifi were right next to her laptop, about 6 inches away. When I set it up, I would put a ethernet cord in connecting them. A couple months after I leave, she would unplug it and throw it away. Every visit, and every phone call, I would try to explain in vain, that her speed would increase if she either increased the distance between the wifi and laptop or use an ethernet cord. Every time I was home, I would demonstrate this for her. Have her try streaming things, show speed tests, etc, etc..every time, she would believe me for a few months and then forget it. After some years of this, I simply told her "It's the best it's going to get under current circumstances" [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 May 2019 07:12 AM PDT Writing this because I think the TL;DR; at the bottom might help someone in the future. So I had a doctors appointment Tuesday and I checked my calendar on my computer that syncs with my Robot phone.
I get there 15 minutes early and the waiting room is a lot fuller that I expected.
Skip the unresolved phone situation where my Ride's phone cannot receive calls despite showing full bars and me walking around waiting for him to come back.
Cue me digging through settings.
So the phone's calendar seems to have it's own timezone setting that it gets by reading the name of the timezone from the phone. Eastern Standard time (-5), Eastern Time (-4)... Why do we still have daylight savings time again? TL;DR; Robot calendar has it's own timezone setting which apparently gets confused by daylight savings and makes me an hour late for an appointment. Alt TL;DR; Apparently robots CAN lie... when they are programmed to do stupid things. [link] [comments]  |
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