Horror stories from Dimesnsion Helpdesk

[urger]

So, I'm cruising the internet, midning my own business when BUZZ....CLINK; smoke comes pouring out of my DSL modem like a Thanksgiving dinner. Four seconds latter I've whipped out the Binder o' Pain (anytime I add anything to a computer the manual, is added to a series a three ring binders collectivly known as the Binder o'Pain as it's only used when something isn't working), found the AT&T helpdesk number, have it dialed. Fourteen options later I am put on hold, for two hours after which time someone picks up the phone on the other end and promptly hangs it up. I try again and after another two I get a real, living, breathing human being! Woohoo! We go through the usual questions (Is it pluged in, is the power on, etc.) on to the more technical stuff (manually reseting my connections settings). Finnally I am told that the problem is with WINSOCK and that I need to get an AT&T approved technician to fix my computer. Now, normally that is fine by me, but you see, SMOKE IS POURING OUT OF MY DSL BOX, the bloody thing looks like it's on fire, smells like it too. Somehow, I doubt that WINSOCK has the ability to do that. So to make a long story short, three phone calls later repeated in the same manner (with a different answer as to the problem each time I might add I might add) some one finnaly patched me through to some technicians who could help me fix this problem (turned out to be a fuse sitting in the box needs to be replaced once a year or so).
Ok...I needed to get that out of my system, I'm fine now, please no flamming. Kudus to Ilmaek and Tyrone, AT&T technincans who did help me get this fixed by walking in through the art of DSL modem disassembly and repair. Thanks.

[whitetiger0990]

WHAT?!?!? You didn't know that, that was obviously a fuse thingy?!?!

=P

Hehe I love stories like these....

[urger]

I neglected to mention that this whole drama played out over a period of a week and a half, during which I had no internet. Not that that was a problem, I took many a walk into Manhattan to people watch, all of which made a more bitter and cynical person (but the Hot Dogs were very, very good). Oh well....

[NovaProgramming]

Grr, I hate tech help in general like that.

"THERE'S SMOKE POURING OUT OF IT!!"

"Is it turned on?"


*smacks forhead with rusty spatula*


At any rate, that's happened a lot to me, too (not the whole DSL box on fire.... but tech people not knowing what the heck they're talking about.) especially with internet-related items, such as the DSL/Cable box. I just call my own personal tech supporter (my brother. He does the hardware problem solving, I do the software.)

Glad you got it working though. :bounce:

[adosorken]

We've had some pretty good ones. Online with one of our old admins, he told us that out DNS settings were "torn" when we asked why our sites weren't showing up. One time, Rhiannon was on the phone with the cable company, and the tech support said that the reason we couldn't surf the internet was because our cable modem was seeing our router as an intruder. :roll: This was the same dufus tech support that told us that "Windows has a bug" and "it's a piece of malicious code". These boneheads are barely level 1 support, makes me wonder how they keep their jobs. Needless to say, the level 2 techs had a good laugh over what the level 1 support had said.