i can exhale now. (1 Viewer)

[Diallo B]

man. there is a moral to this story.

i went to microcenter the other day to buy parts to build a computer. nothing extra special just a decently fast computer build for a friend that does taxes on the side.

well first they sold me a used duron instead of a mobile athlon 2500. keep in mind the used duron was INSIDE of the mobile athlon box. so i had to beg and plead with them to exchange it. after i wouldn't budge on the matter they exchanged it but with the caveat that they are going to flag my account. :rolleyes

well after all of that i get home and start assembling. i get the motherboard in the box with the video card, ram, and processor. i hook it up to see if it posts and all i get are annoying bios beeps. i check, recheck and check all of the connections and i can not find anything wrong.

so back to microcenter i go with what i think is a bad motherboard. all i bring are the motherboard, ram and video card because, imo, there is no way a brand new processor out of the box can be bad. well they get the motherboard to post and i am furious. microcenter is an hour away from my house. that is two hours round trip! they look at me like i am stupid although i have probably been building computers longer that some of them have been alive.

well anyway, i go home with my tail between my legs thinking that i must have missed something. i get home and start from scratch. DAMN! Same problem. So at this point I am at my wits end and say frak it i am going back. this time i take everything.

when i get back there they tell me that it is going to be an $85 diagnostic fee to check the system with the parts that i just bought from them two days ago. I talk to their tech/system support again. All the while they are talking down to me. but i keep my patience.

so what it came down to was that we narrowed down everything but the case. so i bought another case and rebuilt the computer right there at the store much to the chagrin of store managers. at one point they asked me to leave to which i responded "i live an hour away from here and i refuse to leave without a computer that will not P.O.S.T.". after i debated with them for a minute i asked for 10 minutes to finish. they agreed.

i rebuilt it right there and it posted.
low and behold it was the &&*(@#@$$@!!$@% case! i spent two days of my life and many miles on my car for a damn case on a computer build that i probably won't even get paid for. i was pissed.

morals of the story:

1. don't even look past the smallest of details when running into computer problems.

2. smack the bastards in tech support when they talk down to you about something that you know is right.

 

[Max Leung]

Did you figure out what was wrong with your case? Probably a motherboard standoff nut that shouldn't be there is shorting out the motherboard underneath...

 

[Chris PC]

It wasn't the PSU?

 

[Diallo B]

i still really have no idea what it was. i had everything hooked up correctly and the only standoffs connected to the case were there for the motherboard screws to secure the motherboard.

the motherboard was getting power. the computer would power up i just would not get any video and those dang bios beeps just kept coming. microcenter tested all of the equipment and it all checked out. the only thing that i did not check was the case. i have never had any trouble with a case in all the time i have built systems.

truth be told i am just happy that i finished building the system, my friend is happy and my credibility is still intact. all it takes is one bad experience within my circle and my side hustle will be destroyed.

on a sidenote, i guess that i really hated the fact that the drones at microcenter looked down on me for having issues and acted like i should have had them put the system together in the first place. they acted as though since i did not work for them that i was totally inept and could not construct a system. they really did not want to help me which was very surprising to me considering that i am there often and know many of the faces there.

after they checked my account and realized how many motherboards and processors i had bought from them i got a little more respect but they were really no help at all.

i am considering not purchasing anything from there anymore. but they are the most complete computer store in the area with the most reasonable prices for system building hobby people like myself. i would order online but when i build a system i usually promise a 48 hour turnaround. that is how i make money doing this. fast, premium component, custom systems built really quickly.

oh well........ on to the next system. a pentium 4 3ghz gaming system with a gig of dual channel ram and a radeon x800 pro with 256 mb of video ram. barring any issues it will be done by sunday afternoon.