Got a call for a dead PC at a small law office downtown

Walked in, machine was totally silent. No lights, no fan spin. Checked the basics, wall outlet was fine. Figured it was the power supply. Swapped it with a spare Corsair unit I keep in the van. Still nothing. Then I noticed the front panel connector was a weird, non-standard block. The intern who built it had forced it on wrong, bending a pin. Straightened the pin with my tweezers, re-seated it properly. Machine booted right up. Took about 45 minutes total. They were back to work. Ever run into a weird front panel header that almost cost you an hour?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan234d ago

Those weird front panel blocks are why I always carry a magnifier now.

val_henderson4d ago

Last year I had a client with a custom water loop that wouldn't post. Spent an hour checking everything before I saw the tiny reset switch was stuck down inside its own housing. Honestly felt like a total idiot. It was just a piece of plastic flashing from the manufacturing process. A quick poke with a paperclip freed it up and the system fired right up. Tbh those little physical things get me more than actual part failures sometimes.