Problems With Equipment? Start With the Simple Solutions
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 10:59AM The other day I was talking about the computermeltdown I had. The technicians at Frye’s had it for seven days and couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It would not reproduce the spontaneous shut down that it did over and over again in my studio.
So I will probably miss my deadline for the All Wood and Doors CD and it won’t come come out until next year and I miss all the Christmas sales that would have been a wonderful addition to my year, monetarily speaking.
Not that I do this just for the money, but the money does keep the studio operating and the phone, and the power to run all that stuff.
In any event, after several hundred dollars and a week lost, the only thing I can come up with is that it’s either the power cord or the power strip that it’s plugged into .
So what I have done is to, of course, buy a new power cord and a new top of the line power strip which will be the first thing into the wall and all the other power will emanate from this new strip.
The computer will also be directly plugged into the new strip and not into one of the subsequent power strips that litter the underbelly of my studio.
The gist of today’s post is a simple one.
The next time you or I have a problem with our computers, here’s what we are going to do, long before we dismantle stuff and take it to an expensive technician.
We are going to check the power cords.
We are going to check the power strips.
We are going to check the computer by plugging it into a separate power source in another location and see if it duplicates the problem or if the problem goes away.
Had I done that eight days ago, I might have solved my own problem without the expense or the waste of time.
Always start out with the simplest solutions and questions, there is plenty of time later to get into some capacitor in the motherboard that is intermittent.
Start with the simple stuff and work your way into the complexities that finally require knowledgeable technicians.
Save yourself time, headaches and money. Start with the simple stuff.
I should know this by now, but …everything I’ve ever learned in life, well, I ‘ve had to learn again.
Reader Comments (2)
Good advice. Maybe the best story along this line was from my brother. At work one day a piece of equipment simply would not work. They tried everything...called theor tech people etc. Finally they had to call in the official repairman....from Cleveland. So, the guy makes the trip from Cleveland to Pittsburgh in the snow. Comes in. Looks at the equipment. And has it running in about 20 seconds.
It was unplugged,..
The remarks of the repairman were not recorded...
Eva
It's better to check the quality of equipment before purchasing any costly electronic equipment. Last month , I have purchased a medical alert system and it is working properly.