- Oct 21, 2001
- 2,058
- 1
- 81
I was thinking about all the informative posts on how to do things the right way. Most people are proud of their skill or ability to build or tweak their systems and share that knowledge with others; it?s what makes this a great forum, but what about the things you would rather forget?
C?mon?. fess up and share your most embarrassing or dumbest PC mistake. We?ve all made plenty along the way. We?ll never meet face to face anyway so go for it.
I?ll go first.
1. Back in the days of DOS, and well before I knew or heard anything about pirated software, I bought a used 286 already fully loaded but without the floppies. Late one night I tried to dump a certain directory and its subdirectories. I used the DELTREE *.* command and it worked great. Unfortunately I was at the C:\> when I did it. I immediately learned the value of buying software.
2. I rebuilt a system recently and fought DV playback problems for hours before discovering I was still using XP?s AGP driver and not nVidia?s. I haven?t made this mistake in years ? if ever!
3. Not mine but one I was associated with- Years ago I upgraded Win 3.1 to W95 (using 20 something floppies) for a guy who used a tape drive for backing up his business. I delivered a perfectly working system and got a call the following day saying his PC went FUBAR. After asking a few questions he said he needed to retrieve a file from his tape. Instead of selecting the file he went with the "Full Restore" option. Poof! No more W95.
4. I've hooked up the floppy cable bassackwards many times.
5. Back when USRobotics Sportster's were hot I bought one got a for a BBS and to receive incoming faxes, but it wouldn't answer an incoming call. After many hours of troubleshooting and reading AT commands I took the modem back and exchanged it for another. The replacement was no better. Somewhere in day two I read the init string again for the 100th time. That is when I realized ATSO=1 and ATS0=1 are NOT the same. Those of you who used AT command sets will understand.
Edit:
This thread has netted more oddities and funnies than expected! I feel better knowing I'm not the only one who pulled a bone head stunt now and then. What I did not expect was to see myself in so many times in the situations posted below. I can see how lucky I?ve been, as very few of my mistakes ended in disaster. I've come close though.... forgetting to unplug the PS, plugging, unplugging, hooking up crap in the dark or by feel when I was in a hurry, etc. I?ve done it MANY times before with no trouble. I?ve been building for years and I've gotten reckless!
I know this is a bummer for some and funny for others, but there are valuable lessons in each reply. Maybe everyone can laugh a little and learn a lot just as I have. Thanks for the ?confessions? and keep 'em coming!
C?mon?. fess up and share your most embarrassing or dumbest PC mistake. We?ve all made plenty along the way. We?ll never meet face to face anyway so go for it.
I?ll go first.
1. Back in the days of DOS, and well before I knew or heard anything about pirated software, I bought a used 286 already fully loaded but without the floppies. Late one night I tried to dump a certain directory and its subdirectories. I used the DELTREE *.* command and it worked great. Unfortunately I was at the C:\> when I did it. I immediately learned the value of buying software.
2. I rebuilt a system recently and fought DV playback problems for hours before discovering I was still using XP?s AGP driver and not nVidia?s. I haven?t made this mistake in years ? if ever!
3. Not mine but one I was associated with- Years ago I upgraded Win 3.1 to W95 (using 20 something floppies) for a guy who used a tape drive for backing up his business. I delivered a perfectly working system and got a call the following day saying his PC went FUBAR. After asking a few questions he said he needed to retrieve a file from his tape. Instead of selecting the file he went with the "Full Restore" option. Poof! No more W95.
4. I've hooked up the floppy cable bassackwards many times.
5. Back when USRobotics Sportster's were hot I bought one got a for a BBS and to receive incoming faxes, but it wouldn't answer an incoming call. After many hours of troubleshooting and reading AT commands I took the modem back and exchanged it for another. The replacement was no better. Somewhere in day two I read the init string again for the 100th time. That is when I realized ATSO=1 and ATS0=1 are NOT the same. Those of you who used AT command sets will understand.
Edit:
This thread has netted more oddities and funnies than expected! I feel better knowing I'm not the only one who pulled a bone head stunt now and then. What I did not expect was to see myself in so many times in the situations posted below. I can see how lucky I?ve been, as very few of my mistakes ended in disaster. I've come close though.... forgetting to unplug the PS, plugging, unplugging, hooking up crap in the dark or by feel when I was in a hurry, etc. I?ve done it MANY times before with no trouble. I?ve been building for years and I've gotten reckless!
I know this is a bummer for some and funny for others, but there are valuable lessons in each reply. Maybe everyone can laugh a little and learn a lot just as I have. Thanks for the ?confessions? and keep 'em coming!