From: jeffl@comix.UUCP (Jeff Liebermann)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix.sco
Subject: Re: Hardware support HORROR story!
Summary: Learn by destroying
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 92 01:34:44 PST
Organization: COmmittee to Maintain Independent Xenix

In article <BzGEu2.1yn@world.std.com> apl@world.std.com (Anthony P Lawrence) writes:
>bill@bilver.uucp (Bill Vermillion) writes:
>: What the hell has happened to support in this country anyway?
>: 
>Oh, how about breaking a motherboard while installing a multiport
>card?  Breaking as in knocking chips right off?
(horrors deleted)

>Here's the problem, the reason, and the explanation:  there is a
>limited supply of intelligence.  The number of computers needing
>service has now exceeded the number of intelligent people
>available.  So fools are sent to do service.

Naw.  Even the intelligent are capable of doing dumb things.
Here's my personal assortment and the approx number of hours
and dollars to find or fix.
1.  Boot a DOS virus infected floppy that eats the Xenix drive.  (6 hrs)
2.  Setup a Unix box with a 40Kbyte swap instead of a 40Mbyte
swap.  (8 hours).
3.  Plug a short VGA card in backwards.  Boom.  (2 hours).
4.  Run a backup and reformat with a proprietary backup program
and forget to make a floppy version of the backup program  (2 hrs, 50 miles).
5.  Drop a box of screws onto the mother board.  (3 hours, $450)
6.  Apply power with HD/FD controller removed from motherboard
but with ribbon cables attached.  (30 sec, $50).
7.  Buy a 1.7GByte SCSI drive for Unix 3.2.0 only to find that
only 1.07Gbytes will work.  (16 hours, 10% restocking charge).
8.  Memory chips and SIMM's in backwards.  (too often to count).
9.  Vacuum cleaner plugged into UPS.  (2 hrs, $100).
10. Place packet radio transmitter next to unshielded SCSI cable.
(8 hours to restore entire HD twice).
11. Ethernet xceiver plugged into joysick port (2 hrs)
12. QIC-02 tape plugged into parallel port (2 hrs)
13. Vacuum cleaner turns into Van DeGraf static generator.  ($200)
14. Serial terminal ground becomes building neutral.  ($300 + smoke damage)
15. Substituting motorcycle battery in UPS fills office with fumes.
16. Mouse only moves 1" on screen.  I forgot to remove the foam
shipping ring from around the ball.  (30 min).
17. Lan RJ-11 plugged into phone RJ-11 and the reverse.
18. Hard disk on car seat falls on ground as I open the door.  ($150).
19. Various devices fall off bench after I trip over cables.
20. Mother board power connectors backwards or off by one pin.  ($500)
21. Troubleshoot Xenix boot failure for 30 minutes.  Remove floppy from A:.
22. Magnetic paper clip catcher on copier eats floppies while
making copy of the labels.
23. Remove black cat hair from jammed printer.  (4 hours).
24. Check if fan is turning by shoving a screwdriver into
the blades.  (30min, $15).
25. Loose ribbon connectors or power supply plugs hit exposed
jumper pins and vaporize cards.  (I lost count).

The problem is that the average support personality has never
destroyed enough hardware or had the opertunity to waste huge
amounts of time on trivia, to be considered experienced.  There
is simply no opertunity.  One must truely "Learn by Destroying".


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Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix.sco