He Says the BIOS is Bad Tech Support |
| Posted: 04 Feb 2022 05:58 AM PST Hi all, let me start by saying I have been enjoying the tales here for a while now and figured it is time to start documenting some of my experiences. This story took place about 4 years ago. I already had enough experience at this point to know that anything a user tells you should be taken with a grain of salt. So let's get into the details. A user submitted a ticket where the computer was stuck in a boot loop and making an awful beeping sound if booted while connected to the dock. The odd thing is, this is only happening if the computer is docked at their desk. I found this odd, so I reached out through our office IM solution. I like to ask clarifying questions whenever the issue is a bit murky, so I started with verbally confirming that the issue only occurs when the laptop is docked and if undocked it boots with no issue. Once they confirmed, they informed me that their cubicle neighbor was into computers and told them the issue was that the BIOS had become corrupted, and the motherboard would need to be replaced. I informed the user that this is one of the possibilities but that I'd need to investigate further before we came to that conclusion. In the back of my mind, I thought this didn't make much sense since the computer can boot normally, just not when docked at the desk. This smelled of some sort of hardware issue to me. Since they were in the office, I had them come to me first and demonstrate a normal boot off the dock. I then tested on a dock in our IT lab to see if the same issue occurred. No issues at all. At this point the user wanted to reiterate what their colleague had told them and ask if that's something I could address. I was obviously skeptical of the assessment and suggested we take it to the desk so I can observe the issue. So we walk out, they connect to the dock and then boot up. As the system is booting, I notice on the POST output that it's indicating that an F-key was pressed and then it immediately started beeping loudly so we power it down. This of course grabs the attention of the desk neighbor who begins watching my troubleshooting process. I tell the user that it would seem that a key might be stuck on their external keyboard and ask that they disconnect it and then try booting again. Wouldn't you know, the system boots perfectly! I take the culprit back to my lab and dispose of it and bring back a fresh keyboard. Problem solved, and no MB replacement needed. Years of working in IT will teach you that no matter how much computer hobby experience an end user has (in this case the desk neighbor), if they haven't ever worked desktop support, accept everything they claim with a healthy dose of skepticism. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Feb 2022 09:25 AM PST I was called to go check a computer at a cyber cafe` that BSOD'd every time it attempted to load Windows. Instantly I know that the OS crashed and the machine needs formatting. I plug in my W10 flashdisk but it BSOD'd. I think, "Maybe it's the drive." so I use a CD but then again, it BSOD'd. Frustrated, I switch the BIOS EFI/Legacy and Secure Boot settings up and down trying to see what would work but nada. Every copy of Windows I had, 7, 8,8.1, BSOD'd. Thinking it's the HDD, I had the owner allow me to backup their documents so I could swap the HDDs. While using Hiren's BootCD, I ran Mini Windows 7 and it BSOD'd. It try MiniXP and it also BSOD'd. Next I tried Kaspersky Rescue Disk which is a Linux distro and it booted. I then tried G-Parted and a Linux Mint CD I had and they both booted right to the desktop. Confused, I told them to use Mint till I figured out what the problem was. Fast forward to the next day after having Googled the hell out of every possible phrase that'll get me the results I wanted but nothing helpful came by. Multiple calls to people more experienced than me but this was a relatively new scenario for each and every one of these veteran repair technicians. I finally swapped HDDS but the problem still persisted. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS DAMN MACHINE?! The motherboard? The Cyber Cafe owner doesn't want to use Linux because there aren't any timer programs available for Linux and the most prominent one, CyberCafePro, is Windows only. The owner finally decides to get a motherboard replacement. I take the motherboard back to the shop, spot a dormant machine then start it to make sure it's working and it's working fine but it lacks a HDD. I then swap processors (Intel Core 2 Duo) but the issue still persists. As a last measure, i try the processor of the dormant machine on the motherboard I brought in and what do you know?! It actually works. The motherboard was fine. Somehow the problem was with the processor refusing Windows. TL:DR; Computer wouldn't work with Windows, only Linux and it ended up being their processor. [link] [comments] |
| I'm Not Paying For Your Patch Management "Scam" Posted: 04 Feb 2022 12:41 AM PST As an independent IT consultant, I have a broad portfolio of clients. Many are small businesses that don't have enough users to justify a full-time IT professional nor do they have a complicated set up needing anything more than semi-regular maintenance and the occasional support call. A few of these clients though engage me to conduct regular maintenance of their systems. For convenience, I usually roll it all together into a support contract and cut them a good hourly rate since it is all work I can do on my own schedule, off hours. Occasionally though I will get the client that still wants me to perform these services, but at an hourly rate, thinking they are making out financially with that arrangement. "No problem," is usually my answer, "whatever works for you." Though, truth be told when I run my numbers at the end of the year every single time a client that does this thinking they are saving money, always ends up paying more. But, that isn't my problem.... This introduction leads me to one of my latest stories. I was at one such client that keeps me on an hourly rate. The manager thinks he is a smart guy and by doing this he is keeping his IT expenses down. I have offered a contract rate multiple times and even have given him numbers on not only how it will save him money but how he can use it to project expenses. No dice though. This guy is dead set that his way saves money. Can't say I didn't try.... In the Office It was a Tuesday morning and I was in the area so I decided to swing by to pay this particular client a visit. I get there and the office is half empty with the manager no where to be seen. So I just go about my business tending to a few tickets and setting up a workstation for a new hire. About half way into the one task, the manager sees me and comes over with a hurried look on his face holding some papers. Manager: "Hey IT Guy I've been meaning to give you a call....I know your bill is due here in a few days..." Customers are always late paying my invoices. Always. So I don't even really look at my aging accounts until they are at least 30 days in arrears, but anyway... IT Guy: "Oh yeah no problem if you need a few more days. Just if you could pay me directly I would appreciate it. Trying to cut out checks and paper." Manager: "It isn't that. I had a question about a few hours you charged me for something called 'patch management'...." IT Guy: "Yeah that was for configuring and setting up your new Windows Update server. Should be just for labor as I was able to use some existing equipment you had around....It should be up and running. I'll check logs when I'm in today." Manager: "Yeah that is where I am confused. Doesn't Windows update itself automatically? I mean why are we paying for a service that runs itself?" (I go into some of the technical reasons why a company probably does not want to rely upon automatic Windows updates...) Manager: "My issue is you are charging me for something that we just don't need. I understand you IT guys wan to make everything complicated, but this whole patch management thing just sounds like a scam to get some extra hours that are completely unnecessary..." IT Guy: "Well it is really your call. If you don't want to manage patches and updates I'll just turn on automatic updates for every workstation and server and take it out of my scope of work..." Manager: "Do that. I don't need to pay for this unnecessary 'scam' service. I'm sure our employees can figure out how to click the 'update Windows' button themselves when it pops up...." (laughing at his own little joke) (I explain to him the downsides of that but tell him it is ultimately his decision.) IT Guy: "If that is what you want, I'll email you over an addendum to sign and then I'll set workstations and servers to automatically update." If you wondered why it sounded like I was playing it cool despite this guy being somewhat of a jerk, it is because they are a decent client despite this manager being a pain on occasion. This also wouldn't be the first time the manager has made a technical decision that came back to bite him and I ended up making more money off of him doing emergency work to fix it. Windows Updating.... I finish my work and roll out some policies to turn on automatic updates. Then take a quick look at the logs and see that a lot of workstations are going to be doing a lot of updating. You see about a year ago the manager decided we needed to actively manage patches because some guy told him that is what "IT Sec" means so that is what he had me do. Now he apparently forgot about that and thinks it is an unnecessary expense. (This is why most business managers look like idiots). I think about sending an email to the company to let them know what to expect and then decide not to because, well, it really wasn't my problem. So about four hours go by and my cell phone starts to ring. It is the manager. I'm driving so don't pick up figuring the call is probably not urgent. Phone rings again three minutes later, then again three minutes after that. OK clearly they have an emergency so I pull over and give him a call back. Manager: "IT Guy what the heck did you do????" IT Guy: "What do you mean...." Manager: "Our sales team is in the middle of a huge presentation via video conference and all the workstations just started updating!!!!!" IT Guy: "They are set to do that automatically now, as we discussed." Manager: "This is a disaster....we have a million dollar contract on the line!" IT Guy: "There isn't much you can do if the update is already running. You just have to let it finish." Manager: "How long is that??????" IT Guy: "Minutes to maybe hours, not sure depends on how big and how many..." Manager: "I need you to come here NOW and fix this!" IT Guy: "I was headed to another client but if you want to me log this an emergency work I can put that off till tomorrow..." Manager: "I don't care just get here ASAP and help get us back online!" IT Guy: "Ok sure thing. I'm turning around now and will be there in about 15-20 minutes. Put me on with the sales team and I'll see if I can talk him through a workaround." As I am driving to the client's office I know full well there is nothing I can do to get his workstations back up but remember I had just installed a new one that should be fully updated. I tell the sales guy to pull that laptop, give him the admin credentials, and they use that to get back online to complete the presentation. When I arrive, the manager tells me to just do whatever it takes to fix this situation and make sure it never happens again. I'm happy to oblige and later that month billed him for a lot of double time. So much for my "patch management scam" eh, Mr. Manager.... TLDR...Manager thinks he will save a few hours in IT consultant time by reverting to automatic Windows backups. Decision blows up in his face when an important sales presentation gets tanked because an unscheduled backup decided to run. Ends up paying me a lot more money to fix the problem he created. Post Script....Oh and in case you were wondering, I heard about a month later that the company won that contract despite the almost botched sales pitch. Also it appears the manager has been replaced by headquarters and I am unsure if he had anything to do directly with what happened though. [link] [comments] |
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