Last Man Posting

[Neutral Smith]

My turn for the win computer problrms.

The mouse or the USB port is dying. And that might be the beginning of the end.

Original plan was to replace it last year, new plan was 1 month after end of Win10 support...

I knew turning it off when I'm away to save energy was a bad idea.

It is a heavy modified watercooled beast, swapping in the parts of my second computer will be hard.

[Bellhead]

I have successfully diagnosed an issue that our own support network couldn't figure out.

"Lever moves to a position that it doesn't have."
"Try replacing the module it controls."
"Same issue, no change. Next?"
"Must be a dud. Replace it again."

Me, off in the corner:
"Did you try adjusting the cable it moves?"

Gods I hate stupid people. To be fair, though, he did adjust it, the proper way, following all the necessary service manual procedures. Problem is, if you do it right, it doesn't work. Would've expected Support to understand that...

[Technic[Bot]]

Support is not the most motivated nor the smartest guys around unfortunately.

By the way "lever"?

Oh I also have a fun support story today!

Angry customer gets a very criptic error. I ask to extend logs and nothing errors logs are as unhelpful as before. After reading the design documents and whatnot i finally find out what the return code 3" means in this Instance. Some libraries/configuration files are missing. So i ask customer to check

Turns out he removed a couple of importan files because he believed were not used......

[Bellhead]

Stupid people, man. I tell ya.

Spoiler! Explanation Rant

I was trying to be nondescript, but I meant a shift lever. With a CVT, as in a Nissan, some shifters go P-R-N-D and move sideways for artificial shifting, and some go P-R-N-D-L for "low". Turns out, if the linkage on the transmission is bent up slightly, the type of shifter which normally stops at D would pull the shift cable further than were D is supposed to be, shifting the CVT into "low" even if it's not equipped with that range setting. You can, quite litterally, shift to a gear you don't have.

This was my coworker's ticket, not mine. He sent in a support ticket, and they said to replace the transmission control module for being the incorrect part, since it shifted to a gear it didn't have. 'Course THAT didn't work, and the next thing they said to do was replace it again since it was clearly a faulty part out of the box.

Four separate techs tried to figure this out. Mind you, I was the only one who had dealt with this crap before, and nobody asked me about it. They had the original TCM, the new TCM and one from a known-good vehicle outside. I came over, and fixed the WHOLE ISSUE, with a socket, an extension and a ratchet, in less than a minute. Mind you, the BEST our support team had to offer, couldn't figure this out, over a SEVERAL DAY PERIOD.

It's kinda funny. Every tech that looked at it asked him, "Did you adjust the shift cable right?" "Are you sure?" "Is it in the right spot?" And he said yes, every time. Even reset it with the shop foreman, just to be sure. Sidenote, setting the cable basically means putting the trans in Park, putting the shifter in Park and tightening the cable. But if the linkage is bent, you can't set it in Park, or Drive won't be where it's supposed to be. So I just set it in Neutral instead, and lo' and behold, it worked clankin' PERFECTLY. So, of course, like the dignified, respectful gentleman I am, I proceded to rub it in his face as annoyingly as possible.

So a problem that the manufacturer recommends solving with a several hundred dollar computer module, I can fix with the tools you have in the back of your junk drawer. True, I usually use a long screwdriver and bend the linkage back a bit, but this time, I didn't care enough to bother.

If you decided to read all of that, then I'm sorry you just wasted all that time.

[Technic[Bot]]

I try to be nice even with stupid people.

So the cable is a mechanical part right? Or is it electrical?

Also TCM?

[Bellhead]

TCM = Transmission Control Module.
Shifter is mechanical, but there's a position sensor on the trans

[Technic[Bot]]

I am a very silly man, it did not ocurred to me that most transmissions these days, are somewhat electromechanical .

[Bellhead]

These days, even manual transmission have control modules. EVERYTHING is computerized.

[Neutral Smith]

You will do nothing and you will be happy.

[Bellhead]

Of all the boxes in a man's brain, the Nothing box... is our favorite box. If a man has a chance, he'll go to his Nothing box every time.

[The Blue Fox]

It's by nature's design. All creatures great and small are looking for getting the most food they can for as little effort as they can.

Unfortunately this often clashes with the desire to do things that each individual wishes to do, and the wanting to do nothing half is often stronger.

[Bellhead]

Indeed. Laziness is a powerful thing.

[Technic[Bot]]

Not entirely sure. I get bored with ease so i like doing stuff.

That being said despite being incredibly efficient and relatively low power (60 watts) human brains in comparison to other parts/animals requires a lot of power.

[Bellhead]

To be fair, 60 watts isn't exactly a small amount of power where organic life is concerned. Directed properly, it's more than enough to fry a nervous system. I could easily understand how that's more power than most other creatures.

[Technic[Bot]]

Considering the average computer is was more than 100 W and is way more limited than a human brain i still think human brains are a marvel.