I'm *MAGICAL*

[Hawaiian Eskimo]

This is the second computer in a row that I've apparently somehow fixed, through no fault of my own.

First one just started working again after blowing the dust out of it (it wouldn't boot Windows before). This one, the PC shows up with some boot file corruption after a power failure. Simple enough, pop the XP disc in to run a recovery install and.... damn. Doesn't recognize that there's already a version of Windows installed. Pop the disc out to try another one, accidentally miss the boot to CD prompt. Double damn. And...

...wait wat.

XP boots. Perfectly. Multiple times, after I double check.

Beats me. Magic computer fingers, I tell you.

[HYHYBT]

It sure beats the other way around: doing everything right and the computer still not working.

(I'm still puzzled by my G4 Mac Mini. After Mom used it for about a year at her house, it quit working. I don't remember at this point what the exact symptoms were, but it seemed like it might be a bad hard drive, so I went there with a spare HD, a Leopard disc, and also an old Powermac G4 to switch out if nothing else worked. Nothing I did would make the mini work in that house more than a few minutes at a time, so I did leave the tower there instead. It worked fine there.... and the mini, it turned out, works fine *anywhere else.* Just not there.)

[Zaiida]

Had that magical moment with my old desktop. For some reason the internet kept dropping out on my wirelss so I reinstall everthing and give the card a clean. Nada so I take out the card and plug the ethernet in. Nope. Mess around with each setup and it still keeps dropping the IP addy. Get Dad on the phone and does what he says. Dad has no idea so after an hour he gives up and I'm on my own. Call internet provider, nothing wrong on their end. Really stumped now . Recheck other computers in the house and recheck router, cables testing the hardware with other computers, all fine. Get annoyed drunk and have the bright idea of plugging the ethernet in with the wifi card and it works. Fall off the chair in drunk surprise. Recheck what the hell is going on and watch as the wifi fails and the ethernet picks up and then the ethernet fails and the wifi kicks in ad infinitum. Still no clue of WTF is going on but hey, internet is working. Still stumped today as to what went on there other than the repeated addy dropping. I still have the wifi card and it works fine in my new desktop but I use ethernet because I'm next to the router for speed and stability. The new router has a weird hotspot range.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I'm so magical that my mother's computer issues will clear up just by walking over to see what the problem is.

I'm so magical that the lusers who call into the IT service desk and get me will suddenly go "Oh! It went away!"

I am just that good. My mere presence-- or the threat of me-- makes problems go away.

[emax4]

I was expecting to hear about you going in with war paint on, grasping an old floppy drive and gently releasing it while chanting, "KA-LE-MAAAA!"

[suburbandecay]

It sure beats the other way around: doing everything right and the computer still not working.

(I'm still puzzled by my G4 Mac Mini. After Mom used it for about a year at her house, it quit working. I don't remember at this point what the exact symptoms were, but it seemed like it might be a bad hard drive, so I went there with a spare HD, a Leopard disc, and also an old Powermac G4 to switch out if nothing else worked. Nothing I did would make the mini work in that house more than a few minutes at a time, so I did leave the tower there instead. It worked fine there.... and the mini, it turned out, works fine *anywhere else.* Just not there.)

Things like that tend to be power issues. Either a powerstrip is failing or there is something going on with the power that the mini is less tolerant of.

[HYHYBT]

You may be on to something there. A few months later, power went out entirely in that room, and you couldn't turn the breaker back on; holding it in place made all the lights in the house dim, even though there was absolutely nothing on that circuit that was turned on, or even plugged in.

Due to other family issues, we never found out why; just left it off and moved the computer to the dining room until moving day. That house then became the bank's problem

[Chromatix]

If the breaker trips, stays tripped and the lights dim when you try it - that's a short circuit. Fire hazard if you try to force it. Most likely there are some wires that have either come loose or have degraded insulation.

I know it's not your problem any more, but watch out for that in future.

[HYHYBT]

I know it; I just couldn't narrow it down without doing things like digging in the walls... or hiring an electrician to do that, which at that point and considering all else that was wrong, wasn't worth bothering about.

Still, I'd never even considered it might have had anything to do with the computer's not behaving itself.

[Dadeo]

I'm so magical that my mother's computer issues will clear up just by walking over to see what the problem is.

I'm so magical that the lusers who call into the IT service desk and get me will suddenly go "Oh! It went away!"

I am just that good. My mere presence-- or the threat of me-- makes problems go away.

Banigan's Law: A problem will persist until you show it to someone else, at which point it will resolve itself. Originally observed in computers but shown to apply in almost any given situation.

[raudf]

We had an official paperwork name for the phenomenon at the repair center. Technicianitis. Product would stop having any problem what so ever, the moment the technician entered the room. The moment the tech would step back out, it was acting up again.

One tech got snarky with a technicianitis product and taped a pic of himself inside the case... customer reported having no more problems with it after that.

[Jay 2K Winger]

We had an official paperwork name for the phenomenon at the repair center. Technicianitis. Product would stop having any problem what so ever, the moment the technician entered the room. The moment the tech would step back out, it was acting up again.

One tech got snarky with a technicianitis product and taped a pic of himself inside the case... customer reported having no more problems with it after that.

Okay, now that's awesome. I'll have to remember that, next time Mom's computers start acting up again.

[Geek King]

One tech got snarky with a technicianitis product and taped a pic of himself inside the case... customer reported having no more problems with it after that.

I've heard that before. Myself, I have a picture of Saint Dogbert (see below) that I tape to problem machines. I'm alarmed and slightly amused to report an observed drop in trouble.

[raudf]

He told me he got the idea from a bulletin board/forum and that he didn't honestly think it'd work. He was just tired of it showing the problem the moment he drove off site, but not showing it when he was around. Makes it darn difficult to diagnose and repair if you can't find the problem.

[EricKei]

I'm alarmed and slightly amused to report an observed drop in trouble.

I need an old priest, a young priest, and a furry priest...