Windows Mentality
Oh, there is nothing that ticks me off more than someone suggesting I reinstall (or at work, "restage"). When I tell them just what I think of their "solution" they act surprised. That is what they do to everyone. Why do I have a problem with it?
I have a problem with it because I have several non-standard programs that I use to perform my job. It sometimes takes quite a bit of configuration of these programs and systems configured correctly. I tweak the um... "whizzed" up settings that come with the standard install to get the thing performing correctly. When I move into a new laptop I insist that I keep both the old and the new for at least 2 weeks until I get the new one where I want and need it to be.
I once had a sound card go out in a home PC that I bought from a major manufacturer (won't say the name but it has 3 letters in it). The PC came with a standalone diagnostic CD that also told me the sound card had failed. When I called to get it replaced the tech told me he couldn't send one out without my reinstalling windows first. When I pointed out that when I booted from the standalone diagnostic CD it also reported a failed sound card his reasoning was, well, maybe it is a bad diagnostic CD. You need to reinstall Windows. I immediately asked to speak to a supervisor who promptly sent me the new card.
So don't tell me to reinstall because you don't have a clue what you are doing!!! I don't let them get anywhere near my PC anymore.
On another note, I have noticed that people who have only ever known Windows tend to think the same "solutions" apply to all systems. I once had a site admin go around and reboot all the ethernet switches at the site because he couldn't connect to some service somewhere. This was probably a couple of dozen switches and a router! Hey - control-alt-delete always works (if not, reinstall!). Those of you who have been around long enough to remember mainframes - can you imagine rebooting the system to fix a problem?!?!? And if that doesn't work, reinstall MVS? You betcha.
==flame off==... whew. sorry.
