Did you know that 90% of tech problems can be solved by turning your problem device off and on again? Yup, we’ve seen TV’s, PC’s, Routers (and even cars!) fixed purely by restarting, letting it cool down, or a combination of both. Unless, of course, there’s a deadline to meet or important Email to send, in which case not even the ghost of PC’s past can resurrect your obstinate machine.
Stubborn as a donkey? Please. The 2022 version should be “stubborn as a Windows Update that just won’t finish”.
Truth be told, a competent IT Support Team can handle most minor to medium PC issues (although every company insists that their IT Department can’t distinguish a mouse from a modem). However, with Hybrid and Home workspaces, most people don’t exactly have support staff playing COD in the next room waiting to save the day. Sure, you can bring your machine to work, but this involves time, admin, headaches, and hours lost – not to mention a fair bit of banging your head against a wall.
But what is it about PC’s that make them so frustrating? Firstly, let’s look at all the struggles anyone with a computer has faced at some point:
- Your PC doesn’t want to Bamba.
You know the drill. All is well the night before; you oversleep by a few minutes, and you’re frantically trying to slip into your morning meeting before your boss notices. Low and behold – the PC doesn’t start. Like an unwanted guest or a Jehovah’s witness with a point to prove, it strikes when you don’t expect it and doesn’t leave without a fight.
Plug in the charger. Unplug the charger. Close the screen. Hold down the power button. Take out the battery. Smash it against a wall – nothing works until much, much later, after several hours of panic and a very loud scream which sent your cat running in the opposite direction.
- The screen is blacker than Sauron’s soul.
You can hear the buzzing and see the red power button yet, like a living monument to Eskom, there’s no life in sight. Try as you might, the screen won’t co-operate. You beg, you plead, you pray to the ancestors and throw last night’s chicken bones – but this is a battle you don’t look like winning any time soon.
- Your PC sings the song of its people.
As we type this, our personal laptop is emitting a sound somewhere between the frequency of a plane taking off and Susan Boyle stepping on a Lego. We don’t know the cause, the source or the eventual outcome, but every morning we’re serenaded by what we can only imagine is the traditional mating cry of the Lenovo Y570. It’s loud, it’s frustrating, and we’re pretty sure it’s something expensive – but many people don’t know where to even start once their PC begins singing.
- It’s slower than Cyril getting to the point
You click a button, then click again – nothing happens. Soon, your fingers sound like they’re speaking Xhosa, as in your desperation you pound every key, letter and number on your keyboard just waiting for a response. Then, when all hope is lost, everything works at once faster than a speeding bullet. Victory? Not quite. By the time you click back, the moment is lost, and you’re back in the endless loop that is an unresponsive PC.
- Blue screen of death.
Lastly, we bring to you the nightmare before the Google search – the Blue Screen of Death. Chances are you’ve seen it, you’ve heard of it or you’ve felt it’s warm embrace – this machine-ending destroyer is the closest thing to Slenderman we can think of. Most PC’s flirt with it a few times in their lifetimes but, when it comes, it comes – and from that point on, you can count your machine amongst the lost souls of our time.
As you can see, owning a PC isn’t without its share of challenges. Growing up, we wondered why our primary and high school IT classes always had a side room full of old monitors. Today? We fully understand the pain. But what does this have to do with Vox, Qwerti or Home IT Support in general?
Well…
It’s well documented (particularly by us) that maintaining your machine (and sanity) is no mean feat. We’ve all felt the struggles, and a quick Google search yields more results for PC resolution questions than Pamela Anderson in her heyday. Like we mentioned above, today’s workforce is more flexible and less reliant on conventional office spaces which, while amazing for those of us who like working in our tighty whiteys, becomes a problem when your PC acts up.
Enter Home IT Support, which brings skilled technicians to you at the click of a button. PC Humming? Dial it in. Windows keeps crashing? Let our experts take a look. We can offer a wide range of solutions to both common and uncommon problems between 7am and 9pm during workdays. You don’t even need to pay for hours you don’t use – just the time spent with technicians. Our decades of experience and technical know-how have enabled us to create this value-added service. All you need do is install a simple desktop icon and treat it like a Bat Signal.
The best part? At only R29 a month, you can enjoy access to our technicians and know that help is only one button (and half a freak out) away.
