Experiences with non-techies

[Henry Butt]

My friend wanted to install Windows 11 in his INCOMPATIBLE laptop. He asked me how to do it as I've successfully installed it in my INCOMPATIBLE desktop by using the install.esd method. I asked him weather or not he can enter the BIOS of his motherboard and guess what, he didn't knew what is BIOS OF A MOTHERBOARD. I repeatedly told him " YOU CAN ENTER THE BIOS BY PRESSING F2 OR DEL KEY BEFORE THE PC BOOTS INTO WINDOWS' and he kept repeating," WHERE..... GOOGLE?". God knows what to do with him.

[Avocado Diaboli]

Our IT department accidentally changed the passcode requirement for our company issued iPhones, from previously 4 digits to now a minimum of 6 digits. Anybody using a 4 digit code was asked to update their passcodes. While IT reverted that requirement almost immediately, users still had to update their mobile device management policy manually if they wanted to set a 4 digit code. I wrote up a quick guide with screenshots detailing where they have to go and what they have to press to update the policy and reset a new 4 digit code. I kid you not, mere minutes after I sent that guide I had a coworker standing next to me asking what to do because the instructions apparently weren't clear (I don't know how to make it any clearer than to write "press X" while also having a screenshot where X is highlighted in bright red). Meanwhile, our second in command sent me an email telling me that he followed the guide to the letter and couldn't manage to get it to work. When I went up to his office and followed the steps I outlined in the guide verbatim, it miraculously worked.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've now written "complete idiot's guide" style guides for my coworkers, with screenshots, pictures and all the relevant stuff framed in a bright red outline, only for them to not be able to follow basic instructions. And these aren't lengthy processes you need to familiarize yourself with. It's either a supreme lack of reading comprehension or just plain old laziness to read instructions and rather have someone else do the basic thinking - if you can even call it that - required to follow written instructions.

[PianoPlayer88Key]

On 7/8/2021 at 2:53 AM, Mel0nMan said:

I always accidentally hit the capslock key when playing a game then I go and type something and realize

 

On 7/8/2021 at 8:54 PM, NZgamer said:

This seems to be quite a universal computer problem

 

I actually *USE* the capslock key in a game I play.  (wow I guess it might almost be considered a retro game now, as it came out in 1999 .. but I guess i'm showing my age in that I mostly consider games retro if they're from the 1980s or older, I was born in 1981)

Team Fortress Classic (on the GoldSrc engine that Half Life 1 used) ... some servers have a grappling hook mod enabled, I have capslock bound to +hook.  (There's one server that uses a +rope instead that works a bit differently, so when I go to that server I have to rebind the key.)

[PianoPlayer88Key]

On 7/12/2021 at 5:01 PM, Mel0nMan said:

Heck, I posted a story a few months ago about my grandmother, same thing happened on her eMac (she was still using that in 2014 btw), fan turned on, she unplugged it and called me in a panic saying her computer was going to explode.

 

So I'm guessing it was something like this?  ... https://photos.app.goo.gl/UeTevtL1k2S59XtA6 

 

On 7/12/2021 at 5:05 PM, Coastqr said:

bro when i go into evga precision xi and turn my gpu fans to the max it sounds like a leafblower. I cant seem to quiet my other pc fans enough but thankfully i have a good mic so the noise doesnt get in the way of my yt channel

 

On 7/12/2021 at 5:07 PM, Mel0nMan said:

Like this? (1:20 is the loud fan)

 

The GPU I use now, a Quadro k2200, basically a watered down GTX 770 with fewer shaders, is basically silent on max fan speed but it's pretty weak sauce anyway. My old RX 570 on the other hand... Well, it had a godawful cooler and often would go to 3000 RPM during normal gameplay, after about 3 mins of a game it would be in the mid 80s. XFX model if you're curious, it was the 8gb variant known to have overheating issues... 

I thought my GPU was loud on startup (see the video linked above, from google photos)  (Also semi off topic but I'm looking at moving soon, but I'm hoping to find something fully detached so I don't have to worry about noise, piano playing, raging at the top of my lungs in my back yard after being owned in a game at 3am, etc bothering my neigbhbors.)
 

On 7/12/2021 at 5:07 PM, FakeKGB said:

My sounds like a vacuum cleaner, and my 650 Ti BOOST doesn't sound like much at all since it doesn't do much. Even under max F@H load the fan stays around 1000 RPM and temps stay around 65C.

1000 RPM is 1/4 of max speed officially, it can run at 6000+ RPM if you set it to max 100%. The stock VBIOS limits it to 74% but I modified the VBIOS with higher voltage, power, and fan limits.

mine occasionally would start at max speed as soon as you hit the power button, then slowly ramp down to more normal.  idk why that is though...

[CT854]

6 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

 

 

I actually *USE* the capslock key in a game I play.  (wow I guess it might almost be considered a retro game now, as it came out in 1999 .. but I guess i'm showing my age in that I mostly consider games retro if they're from the 1980s or older, I was born in 1981)

Team Fortress Classic (on the GoldSrc engine that Half Life 1 used) ... some servers have a grappling hook mod enabled, I have capslock bound to +hook.  (There's one server that uses a +rope instead that works a bit differently, so when I go to that server I have to rebind the key.)

I don't remember which game it was, but I remember the Caps Lock key was bound to toggling a sustained run (hit Caps Lock and you'll run till you hit a wall and then... keep running, typa deal). Me being the antsy bugger that I am, I'd constantly break the run using WASD instead of toggling off Caps Lock, which would mean that my Caps Lock key would be lit up while I didn't have a sustained run. That always frustrated me, but not enough to get me to rebind the key or to stop breaking my runs with WASD.

 

I also often toggled off the Caps Lock light by going into my Steam overlay and hitting Caps Lock, then going back into game. Somehow it was easier than going into the menu on a whim?

[soldier_ph]

So we're getting rid of the Satellite dish and Sat Cables. When pulling out the Sat Cables my Dad cut the DSL Cable which goes to the Router in half instead of the Sat. Provided they're pretty much identical he once again in his infinite ignorance broke something. He should be able to just clip the two cable ends together using a Wago since it's just one copper wire but still what a total idiot, he's a former electrician ontop of that. His and the living room TVs have both a last gen Apple TV now. 4G Hotspot it is rn.

[da na]

On 7/21/2021 at 2:50 PM, soldier_ph said:

So we're getting rid of the Satellite dish and Sat Cables. When pulling out the Sat Cables my Dad cut the DSL Cable which goes to the Router in half instead of the Sat. Provided they're pretty much identical he once again in his infinite ignorance broke something. He should be able to just clip the two cable ends together using a Wago since it's just one copper wire but still what a total idiot, he's a former electrician ontop of that. His and the living room TVs have both a last gen Apple TV now. 4G Hotspot it is rn.

If it makes you feel better, I've been using a 3g hotspot with 1 bar for around a week. Around 400 kb/sec. Our router broke, Comcast said they'd send a new one 'within 2 business days' and here we are...

[Donut417]

40 minutes ago, Mel0nMan said:

Comcast said they'd send a new one 'within 2 business days' and here we are...

We have several of their stores near us. You know you could technically go their to pick up new stuff if you have one close. ALSO you technically can buy your own modem, as Comcast is required under Federal Law to allow customers to use their own modems on top of that fact that saves you money. 

[Bitter]

Yes. Get your own modem! Save the $10 a month, you'll make it up in a year even if you get a decent one and not be beholden to their crappy default on wifi sharing.

[Drama Lama]

No, just because the little WiFi icon shows 4 bars doesn’t automatically  mean you have fast internet.

[Avocado Diaboli]

A coworker brought me his work phone because he had to reset it to factory settings for some reason, so we had to register him with the company MDM and also install a certificate we need for a particular website as login credentials. Naturally, I also wanted to test that website to see if everything was working fine. It was that day I learned that Safari on iOS can "only" have a maximum of 500 tabs open before it asks you to close one to open a different one.

[HanZie82]

21 hours ago, overthe6r said:

Grandma asking me why her phone is slow.

 

She never closed a single app

Ok, my time to be ignorant.

Is the phone really old or am i missing something, don't iOS and Android both kill older (less used) apps to save memory and keep some speed in the device?

[soldier_ph]

On 7/22/2021 at 11:40 PM, Mel0nMan said:

If it makes you feel better, I've been using a 3g hotspot with 1 bar for around a week. Around 400 kb/sec. Our router broke, Comcast said they'd send a new one 'within 2 business days' and here we are...

My Dad just out right replaced the Cable so our Internet works again since Thursday. Sadly enough Fiber would just be 10 bucks more than our current plan but the ISP who owns the Infrastructure here hasn't plannend to pull Fiber directly into the Customers Homes.

[Bitter]

My friend in Iowa (podunk country pig and corn farming state) has symmetrical gigabit fiber for $100 USD a month. I pay about the same for 400mbit down and 20mbit up AND I LIVE WITH IN 30 MILES OF A MAJOR CITY, CHICAGO!

[Pickles von Brine]

What drives me nuts is all these people claiming they have been hacked because they forgot a password. I had one person have me remove their wifi card from a macbook years ago. They claimed they were being hacked...

I just direct them to a forensics services company in my area. 

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Bitter said:

My friend in Iowa (podunk country pig and corn farming state) has symmetrical gigabit fiber for $100 USD a month. I pay about the same for 400mbit down and 20mbit up AND I LIVE WITH IN 30 MILES OF A MAJOR CITY, CHICAGO!

Dude, I just moved. Also in Chicago suburbs. Called them up (xfinity) and upgraded the Blast 400mb to the 1gb and with their modem, the bill is 98$ a month. 

 

Maybe you should call them. 

[Bitter]

2 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

Dude, I just moved. Also in Chicago suburbs. Called them up (xfinity) and upgraded the Blast 400mb to the 1gb and with their modem, the bill is 98$ a month. 

 

Maybe you should call them. 

I am on Comcast, but I think you're getting some kind of promo rate as a new customer. I do need to log in and see that the cable tv box was removed from my account. Anyway, I think I'm paying about $80 a month BEFORE any taxes/fee's and so the total is closer to $90ish. For another $15 I could do 800/20 and for like $115 I could do the gigabit but it's still only like 20 up, 400mbit was the cheapest plan with a better upload speed and that's what I was after.

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, Bitter said:

I am on Comcast, but I think you're getting some kind of promo rate as a new customer. I do need to log in and see that the cable tv box was removed from my account. Anyway, I think I'm paying about $80 a month BEFORE any taxes/fee's and so the total is closer to $90ish. For another $15 I could do 800/20 and for like $115 I could do the gigabit but it's still only like 20 up, 400mbit was the cheapest plan with a better upload speed and that's what I was after.

The upload is slow as hell. I've never gotten an answer from an agent as to actually why that is. 

 

I'd still call. I bet if you get the right agent, they can hook you up. Or just go to the xfinity store if you have one near by. Just tell em' you've heard of the deal and want to try it. 

 

I also am a never try never fail kind of person though lol. But 600mb dl increase for roughly the same price is worth it imo.

[Bitter]

1 minute ago, ShrimpBrime said:

The upload is slow as hell. I've never gotten an answer from an agent as to actually why that is. 

 

I'd still call. I bet if you get the right agent, they can hook you up. Or just go to the xfinity store if you have one near by. Just tell em' you've heard of the deal and want to try it. 

 

I also am a never try never fail kind of person though lol. But 600mb dl increase for roughly the same price is worth it imo.

Eh, seems my luck is the more I interact the more messed up my billing gets.

[Guest]

Just now, Bitter said:

Eh, seems my luck is the more I interact the more messed up my billing gets.

I also have my phone with them. I only pay the cost on the phone (paid up front) and by the gig which is 12$ a gig or 45$ unlimited. Have wifi everywhere, usually my bill is 12 bucks a month cause I use usually about 1gig. When I go like 20mb over, I get charge another 12. I call and bitch, they credited the account. Next month 0 dollars owed.

Phone and text is free. It's a decent deal.

[RockSolid1106]

laughs in a country where 400mbit would cost $25 at best, all taxes included, and cellular, you can have 1gb each day(unlimited calls), and that would cost another $5.

 

Spoiler

I’m talking about India.

 

[HanZie82]

9 hours ago, RockSolid1106 said:

laughs in a country where 400mbit would cost $25 at best, all taxes included, and cellular, you can have 1gb each day(unlimited calls), and that would cost another $5.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I’m talking about India.

 

Does computer way galaxy take in refugees?

Cus my 50$ a month for 100/100mbit is getting a bit sour after 8 years or so.
And my 1GB a month cellular isnt great either.

People still try and tell me my mobile phone has its own internet when i keep asking for wifi passwords.

[Bitter]

9 hours ago, ShrimpBrime said:

I also have my phone with them. I only pay the cost on the phone (paid up front) and by the gig which is 12$ a gig or 45$ unlimited. Have wifi everywhere, usually my bill is 12 bucks a month cause I use usually about 1gig. When I go like 20mb over, I get charge another 12. I call and bitch, they credited the account. Next month 0 dollars owed.

Phone and text is free. It's a decent deal.

You're getting a bundle deal, I'm paying internet only. Watch your bill, once the 6mo or 12mo promo ends it'll be more like $150.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Bitter said:

You're getting a bundle deal, I'm paying internet only. Watch your bill, once the 6mo or 12mo promo ends it'll be more like $150.

No. The mobile is separate. But because I have internet with them, the talk and text is free. Just as advertised. 

 

I have only internet. Nothing more.

Do not have double or triple play bundle. 

 

The double play plan for example goes up ever 12 months. In 2 years you pay full price...... AND THIS is why I don't bundle with them. Internet only.

[Deminisher]

i hate it when people compare their old cheap android phones and laptops with macbooks and iphones, thinking that if it is made by apple then it is suddenly magic with no regards to price difference or specs or age or ANYTHING