Thanksgiving with family= me fixing everyones computers
Dragonranger
Member Posts: 101
in Off-Topic
yup Im stuck troubleshooting for the fam.
Computer number 1
A dell Optiplex gx 270
Thing needed a good cleaning. Still needs a new processor fan. And it wont recognize either any usb's or usb mouse or PS/2 mouse.
Already checked the bios and everything looks good.
Computer 2 he
another dell is my uncles sons computer. for some reason cd-rom drive wont always read his game disc. I already tried updating drivers and all other forms of cd including other games work in his pc. So I thought it was the disc. But the disc boots 100% of the time in my laptop.
yay for working for free on thanksgiving....
Computer number 1
A dell Optiplex gx 270
Thing needed a good cleaning. Still needs a new processor fan. And it wont recognize either any usb's or usb mouse or PS/2 mouse.
Already checked the bios and everything looks good.
Computer 2 he
another dell is my uncles sons computer. for some reason cd-rom drive wont always read his game disc. I already tried updating drivers and all other forms of cd including other games work in his pc. So I thought it was the disc. But the disc boots 100% of the time in my laptop.
yay for working for free on thanksgiving....
Comments
On the other hand, I'm thankful that I have had the opportunity and capacity to be "good with computers".
pc2 - tell them the CD drive is bad and can't be replaced.
My mom just tells everyone I'm way too busy, and they can ask me directly if they're planning to pay/compensate for my time. 9/10 times, they just don't ask.
Haven't heard much since then. Occaisionally I will still get a birthday or christmas card, but thats about all.
I am thankful for not having family to put me deeper into debt, to ask my opinion and never use it, to only talk to me when they need their digital device fixed, to whine and complain about the sucktastic situation they put themselves in because they didn't use my advice, etc.
I am thankful to have my inlaws that I really do like more than my family, most of all my mother-in-law.
I am thankful to be married to the black sheep of the black sheep of the family.
oh, and the GX is too old, and the other one needs to have the optical drive cleaned or replaced. A can of air can do wonders, just make sure to remove it from the pc and let it sit for several hours before plugging it back up. I learned that lesson the hard way. kablooie.
I still work on family junk labor free, but as my career has progressed I just don't have time to do the paid side work. I try to make time for family tech problems because I know that they would all do the same for me. Not all of them have skills, but when I need a few backs to move some furniture, all I have to do is ask. That's what it's all about. As long as people appreciate your help and are there for you when you need them, it's worth it.
OR,
simply fix it with the supply of old parts you have already laying around.
The easiest thing would be to politely let them know that they could bring it by your office and your fees are 'x'.
Or, how about simply being honest and saying that you no longer work on computers on your free time, but you can recommend a place where they may take their machines.
_____
"Grammar and spelling aren't everything, but this is a forum, not a chat room. You have plenty of time to spell out the word "you", and look just a little bit smarter." by Phaideaux
***I'll add you can Capitalize the word 'I' to show a little respect for yourself too.
'i' before 'e' except after 'c'.... weird?
+1
Most of the free family work I do, I do because I know they would be there for me if I need them. I rarely ask for payment from family but they often times pay me for my work anyway.
There are still a few family members that Ive had to take a tougher line with though and either request payment or refuse to do their computer work because they've abused the privilege.
Ive also drawn the line when it comes to family businesses. You may be family, you may own the business but it is still a business so no I will not redesign your company's website for free or fix your company's servers for free, I will try to help but if it takes me more than an hour, you'll be paying me my contracted rate for services.
Same thing goes for friends, Ill take a quick look for free but if it takes me more than an hour we are talking about my rates.
Another reason why I do it is because some of my family members know enough about IT to be dangerous and/or Ive set them up in some sort of custom configuration that cant be fixed/managed by the normal support techs that are sent out to the house or work at bestbuy, etc.
My dad is a prime example of this and my parents home network even more so. We have a custom configuration because we have too many devices and the standard verizon fios router isnt capable of adequately supporting the devices, so Ive set up Cisco switch, a DD-WRT enabled router, VPN so I can login and fix things, wireless roaming, QoS, DYDNS, etc. Without fail, whenever there is a problem, my dad calls up verizon before calling me (because he doesnt want to trouble me), they send out a tech who goes and disconnects everything so that the Verizon router is back in front.
Without fail that breaks things further since vlan tagging no longer functions, the switch port-channel no longer functions correctly, and I can no longer log in to at least partially fix it because DYDNS and VPN are down. My parents are forced to live with it until the next time I come home and can reconfigure the network (usually about once every 6 months). The standing order in the house now is to call me for any and all networking issues.
2020 Goals: AWS/Azure/GCP Certifications, F5 CSE Cloud, SCRUM, CISSP-ISSMP
Except I don't have any supply of old parts laying around. The Army banned 270s from their networks over 2 years ago, and if they say they are too old to fix, then they truly are not worth the effort.
The easiest thing for me to do is just tell them that I don't work on PCs anymore. (I really don't).
LOL. I know how you guys feel and it can become annoying. As someone said above as well, as I've progressed in the field, I don't feel like putting in a Windows OS disc anymore and dealing with it. Not that it's hard, but it's boring. It was all fun and games when I just started college and got my A+. I'd prefer someone coming to me with some questions regarding their Cisco equipment now. I hardly ever want to be bothered going grab another power supply from the store.
Microsoft: MCTS: Windows 7, Configuring, MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring
Cisco: CCENT, CCNA
She gets on the computer and within 2 minutes she gets a virus... Mind you she has antivirus already... She did the "allow button". So needless to say I spent 2 days basically doing nothing but PC work.
There wasn't enough beer or good food to compensate.
Lmao! I've had clients that experienced the same thing. Talk about annoying.
I remember specifically one lady called me 3-4 times in the matter of 2 weeks to fix the same virus. Each time, I've wiped & reloaded, restored nothing as it was only meant for games. Those "we only use it for games" clients are always downloading viruses.
So, after the third or fourth time removing the virus, I TeamViewer'd into her machine the minute we got it reloaded and told her to do what she normally does so I can watch her. She always tell me she's not doing anything to get it. Come to find out, she's downloading this well known "PC AntiVirus 2011" software that I told her 1k times to avoid if seen. I eventually handed her off to a friend.
Microsoft: MCTS: Windows 7, Configuring, MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring
Cisco: CCENT, CCNA
True but keep an eye out for those who will use you and take advantage of your generosity. There is nothing wrong in life for being rewarded for your hard work and efforts. God made the earth for you to plant a seed and be rewarded with its fruits.
Learn how to say no, it is a healthy habit in many psychologists writings.
2022 Goals:
Certs: EnCE (Phase 1 - Passed, Phase 2 - awaiting results), eCPTXv2 (in progress), SC-300 (in progress), AZ-500, SC-100
Course: BC Security - Empire Operations 1 (completed), Zero Point Security - CRTO (course completed)
I got real tired of it when I spent a week at one family members house completely rebuilding their machine (hardware and software) got it up and running fine and then they went and bought a new machine as soon as I left. Only reason they wanted the old machine fixed was so they could sell it. .... at that point I actually sent them a bill for my time (I was on vacation at the time visiting family back stateside while i was stationed overseas).... I now never help anyone out while on vacation back home and they know not to ask me because word quickly spread about how po'd I was at the one relative.
to this day I will help them verbally and anything beyond that i point them to staples or best buy.
No good deed goes unpunished. That's why I always wear the same shirt to family gatherings...
I agree 100%! You don't want to be a doormat. In fact, if they're sincere about needing your help...it's a good time to teach them a thing or two and help them before more proficient. Who knows..they may become hooked!
It's unfortunate that most often, it's family members and friends that will do you wrong quicker than a stranger. It's certainly happened to me before, but I try not to let those things make me so cynical that I won't help others in need. Every situation is different, and so we must make our own call as we sit fit.
"Great things have small beginnings."