Yet another moron.....

I was busy wiring up a car dealership today, when we ran into problems. They have 4 networks within the dealership (ASP, GMAC, NT, UNIX) & had 4 10 base-t hubs connecting them all. We were called into move all of the existing connections to a 10/100 switch (because the are getting a cable modem & need to share it).

About 30 minutes into it (which is all the time it should have taken to complete) we ran into a problem.

We were getting link lights on the NICs & the switch, but no terminals could log on & the dealership was basically shut down. Well...the big boss came down & started explaining how this particular network was setup. He wasnt an idiot & to my surprise, seemed pretty well informed.

We rebooted, shut down, autotested, etc.---NOTHING WORKED.

About that time, one of the on hand "experts" (expert = salesman that knows where the power button is) came over & started telling us how to do our jobs. He was in the middle of explaining to the owner that "the bus speed in the switch was faster than the processor, so it would take at least an hour for the network to log everyone on". With that we started laughing (keep in mind that this guy thinks he knows what he is talking about, and is totally serious). The owner (who actually knows a fair amount about pcs) did not find it so funny. He was pissed off that this moron was bugging us & didnt know what the hell he was talking about. He yelled (in front of the whole showroom) "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!! GET BACK TO SELLIN CARS OR LEAVE!!!", with that the expert quietly retreated back to his cubicle & we found the problem.

It turns out that they had crossovers connecting each of the hubs & we didnt pay close enough attention and just plugged them in as if they were patch cords. Thus making a loop within the switch, which totally screwed up the network(s) for about 2 hours.

We still feel like idiots, but I guess you live & learn huh?

Is anyone here constantly blessed with onsite "experts", that like to tell you how to do your job? Or is it just me? <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

At least in that case, the boss actually knew more than the employee, plus the fact he was talking BS, and told him to go crawl back into his corner. That doesn't happen often.

been there done that, drove 2 hours to a network job, i spent 5 hours running the cable, then we set up the hub and it had a short in it! kept turning on/off

we only brought one!

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Originally Posted by Auric

been there done that, drove 2 hours to a network job, i spent 5 hours running the cable, then we set up the hub and it had a short in it! kept turning on/off

we only brought one!

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but u sorted it out eventually did you

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Originally Posted by freddy

but u sorted it out eventually did you

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That was back when Switches still went for alot of money. Now you can buy a gigabit switch for what he would have paid for a crapy hub. Hell, he could carry 4 of those switches now, just to be sure that he is on site with a working device...

Aaaa the good old days, vs. progress...

Assumption is the mother of all f*ckups. I have done it. You have done it. We all have done it. Sometimes it just happens. :p

I also do vcr/stereo/tv repairs and am constantly getting told by customers how to fix their problems.

"I think its just a fuse, but I can't get those screws undone or I would fix it myself.." Said one customer reffering to torx screws on a cd player. He even gave me a glass fuse to put in to save on parts. The unit didn't even have a glass fuse. Only a small Time lag fuse and it was fine.

Another guy thought his unit was running too hot so he cut a peice of aluminium the size of the board and smeared heat transfer compound on all of the ic's on the board. Then he screwed the plate to the four corners of the board using the screws that held the board on. The first time he turned it on everything shorted out. When he brought it to me though is says "Its running too hot and needs a heat sink, so I put one in but I think its not big enough." Geez I pis$#@ myself when I saw what he had done.

I had a guy whos vcr wouldn't accept tapes so he opened the flap and sprayed the inside with crc. The problem was the guide tracks had broken off.

So many people think they can fix things themselves and then stuff it up even more. Or they think by telling you whats wrong with it you can fix it quicker and charge them less. Now when people say to me "I think it must be this.." I say "Oh well then here take it home and fix it yourself and save yourself my fee.." They soon change their tune..

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Originally Posted by riddellcomp

sprayed the inside with crc

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CRC fixes EVERYTHING! :rolleyes: :D

I always get a kick out of the customers who say, "I'm sure it's just a simple problem." If it's so simple, then why the f*** did you bring it to me.