Last night was an extremely hard night. In the early evening I had a problem (that was obviously a software problem) with a program I’d been using for years. I immediately backed up all my files. Then I called technical support, got someone almost immediately (good) with a thick accent (bad) on a very distorted probably VoIP connection (bad) who advised me to re-install the software (bad). If you’re anything like me, putting your hands on a CD-ROM that you last used four years ago may be a challenge. After several more phone calls to technical support (quick response/accent/distortion/unhelpful suggestion), I got the appropriate software downloaded and installed. As I anticipated the problem was not resolved by re-installation. You’ve got to feel sorry for first-line technical support folks. They’re working from a script or checklist, most have no real knowledge, and they’re frequently dealing with surly people. Few call technical support unless they have a problem (or think they do).
At that point it was starting to get late (past my bedtime anyway) so I did a spyware check (clean) and started up a complete virus scan (that turned out completely clean, too). To be resumed as time allowed in the morning.
Around 3:00am a noisy torrential downpour began complete with vivid lightning flashes. And what we’ve come to expect as its normal accompaniment: a 70 lb. Samoyed male standing athwart me, trembling. I calmed Qila down and returned as best I could to a troubled slumber.
When I rose this morning I was tired, achy, frustrated, and grumpy. A hard night, indeed.
I empathize! Would you like to tell us which program was giving you trouble? Many of my readers, and maybe yours as well, are technically far ahead and may be able to help, avoiding another awful experience w. tech support.
These machines! What inconvenience they cause us as the price of their much-touted convenience.
Don’t blame the poor computer, amba. It’s doing its best. Very few problems that people have with computers are actual computer problems. Most are software problems and this one is no exception. I know what the problem is but I must go through the prescribed rituals with technical support to get some kind of resolution.