The modem standby button

[TNT]

Some people call tech support for the simplest things... while others won't call until they've really screwed things up. Personally, I'd rather most of them call me before they touch anything. Consider the standby button that some modems have...

Caller: The internet don't work.
Me: What lights do you see on the modem?
Caller: Ain't no lights on the modem... except the standby light.
Me: Press the button on the top of the modem and everything will be fine.
Caller: It works now. Thanks.

That can be a little annoying, but it's far better than...

Caller: I pressed it but it still don't work.
Me: Okay, what did you do before you called me?
Caller: I didn't do nothing... except click on some stuff to see if I could get it to work.
Me: Like what?
Caller: I don't remember exactly.
Me: Do you remember any of it?
Caller: Well, I saw this "network stuff" and "internet stuff." Some other things maybe.
Me: And you just randomly started changing settings?
Caller: Um... yeah.
Me: This is going to be fun.

[Kilamon]

I find it amazing that a business professional, like a lawyer or whatever, will refuse to open the hood of their car to change a fan belt, but are more than happy to go play with the IP configuration, alter their proxy, remove internet explorer (I don't need to explore, I know where I want to go today). *sigh*

[ShockQueen]

TNT, I can SO relate to your story. I hear about that at LEAST once a day - doesn't matter if it's a customer or a tech in the field........they all run into the accursed standby button issue.

There are some models of advanced modems that will allow you to telnet in and disable the sucker, but they haven't figured out how to do it with the Morotola's yet.

[HawaiianShirts]

We often have customers try to return new desktop computers, claiming that the one they got is "defective." Granted, that does happen from time to time, but I always get suspicious when the defect is: "It won't turn on." The first thing I do is take it out of the box and check the switch on the power supply. Over half of the computers that won't turn on have that switch set to OFF. And customers never think there might be another power switch, even if the setup instructions tell them to look at that switch and verify that it is in the ON position.

Just because you're having a problem with it doesn't necessarily mean it's broken.

[pbmods]

I find it amazing that a business professional, like a lawyer or whatever, will refuse to open the hood of their car to change a fan belt, but are more than happy to go play with the IP configuration, alter their proxy, remove internet explorer (I don't need to explore, I know where I want to go today). *sigh*

Just because I know how to program my RAZR doesn't mean that I'm going to do it (hint: On many numeric keypads, there is a particular combination of keys that almost always has a special function, especially when keyed as the device is powering on).