Inadvertent computer damage...

[Eckhart]

I always love to hear stories about how people accidently sent hardware, software, data (anything computer related) to heaven... I mean don't get me wrong, I really feel bad the electronic devices, but I just love the human reactions from a distant perspective

For example, I rember one day in my life as a Systems Administrator, the company urgently wanted me to install/setup 5 brand new intel machines over the weekend. And so I got there on sunday, plugged all machines in, turned on the central power switch for all the plugs and -- right there -- it goes boom and I realize that I had forgotten to turn the power supply units at the machines from 110V (AM) to 220V, the european setting. Oh, I still rember that I shivered when I had to call my boss afterwards...

What was your worst accident? Played with the partition table of your company's backup server or anything like that

 

[ScottW]

We had someone do that the other day around work. To bad for them, some vendor.

This may not be as destructive, but still not fun. Two stories for the same machine below...

Being a latop for user for many years (mainly carrying someone elses, and at one time my own Powerbook) I had never had any incidents. Always kept them in perfect condition.

So, one day, I purchase a new Powerbook G3/400, Bronze edition Powerbook. It was the top of the line at the time and my pride and joy. I got on a trip, so I wasn't in my "normal world"... I get out of the rental car, walk over to the trunk, grab my suitcase, then proceeded to the passenger door to grab my laptop bag... started walking across the parking lot to the hotel, and at night, and all the sudden... WHAM. I stop, look around, and low and behold, there is my less than one month old powerbook laying on the concrete. I had previously opened my laptop bag part way and forgot to zip it up when I got it out of the car.

I proceed into my room to investiage. It took the fall pretty well, beat up the casing on the corner where it bit, but no cracks. Attempted to power it on, nothing. Semi-took it part, and a few things where loose inside. So, I snapped them back in and still no luck.

Being out of town for a few more days was going to kill me. So, I found a local Apple dealer, took it in and explained my issue. Left it with them for the day and picked it up later and they said it was working fine, everything just needed to be snapped in place but the memory was bad and I had to pay for new memory.

Whoosh, it could have been much worse... only in another accident, it was worse. Although the computer just never seemed the same after that.

Next, about 3 months later, I am sitting at my desk playing with a "water squeeze toy" (we know where this is going). I was sitting reading some stuff, playing with the squeeze toy when all the sudden... BURST... and this blue liquid stuff just falls directly onto the keyboard and then goes everywhere. I shut everything down, pulled it all apart, start cleaning it up, and letting it dry out. Needless to say, it didn't work after that.

I took it in to get it fixed and found out I needed a new keyboard and motherboard, and cost will over $1000 to fix.

It's the most expensive laptop I have ever owned, but to this day, it still works.

Scott

 

[mrfluffy]

changed the resolution on one of the college win 98 machines from 640 X 480 to 800 X 600 which crashed it and it never worked again (they upgraded the comps in the summer).