Fucking Hell.

[jackshoegazer]

I had a long and frustrating and not-very-profitable day at work.  Ethan went to his mother's house.  Jacquelyn is at the opera with brdgt.  I arrive home to a dark and empty house.  I turn to my trusty friend the internet and poof, my monitor flashes black a few times and goes out.  Now, instead of at least getting some writing done while ignoring the persistent growl of my belly, I will now spend my evening on Jacquelyn's laptop chatting with a Dell representative from India, trying to figure out what's wrong. I want to scream and punch a deity in the face.  It doesn't matter which one.  Probably not Shiva Nataraja, that's my favorite.

EDIT1:
I'm going to call it now - the video card is fucked.  Now I will wait and wait to see if my Indian Helper comes to the same conclusion.

EDIT2:
I am either totally right or half-right.  It is either the DVI cable or the DVI portion of the video card.  It seems to work when I switch to the VGA cable.  (My God, VGA is so blurry after one gets used to the awesomeness that is digital!)

EDIT3:
Dell won't send me a new cable until they know it is definitely the issue - which means, I have to buy or borrow a DVI cable to test my computer to see if it's the cable or the card.  Anyone got an extra DVI cable laying around?

Comments

[the-wondering-1.livejournal.com]

I really hate computer trouble and I <3 your icon.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

That's such a good movie. I've almost received it like three times from Swapadvd.Com but something always happens and it hasn't arrived yet. Grrrr.

[the-wondering-1.livejournal.com]

that sucks, it's one of my favorite movies :)

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Same here, which is why I need to own it desperately. I am still far behind on replacing all of the movies I used to own on VHS :(

[hellocthulhu.livejournal.com]

I want to scream and punch a deity in the face.

Well, then India is indeed the place to go to. Just go up and punch a cow in the face.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

If I tried to get to India right now, I don't even want to think of the evil shit that would happen to me. It would probably be all Temple of Doom complete with a daring mid-flight escape on an inflatable raft.

[hellocthulhu.livejournal.com]

But then you'd be Indiana Jones (pre-Crystal Skull), which would be AWESOME!

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

I don't even have a whip.

[hellocthulhu.livejournal.com]

I knew a kid who owned a whip once. He's now a heroine whore on the streets of Boston.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Now you see the dangers of whip ownership.

[hellocthulhu.livejournal.com]

It eventually got Indy into Crystal Skull... I see your point.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

No, that was an evil combination of George Lucas, Calista Flockhart, and a midlife crisis.

[hello-momma.livejournal.com]

i have a whip. i keep it in the drawer with my fake gun, condoms and goth porn.

[hello-momma.livejournal.com]

This is what the unabomber was trying to warn us about!

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

That technology will fail you when you are already low, that robots can't provide the love of a human?!?

[kiwikat.livejournal.com]

Is that a bad computer problem? I do not understand of the letters. They are make brain sad.

I take it this is either a bad cable (cheap, probably can get for free) or a card, which is generally more expensive. I am not sure I understand right, though. Pls to verify?

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

DVI is Digital Video (something that starts with I.) It is just a bigger digital cable for monitors. It looks sort of like this: http://auctioninvestor.com/shop/images/dvi_cable.jpg I need to borrow one so I can find out if it's the cable or the card.

Once it is discovered if it is the cable or the card, Dell will fix it by either sending me a new cable, or God, what? Send someone out to change my video card? Make me send my computer in? I have no idea.

I do however have a warranty with Dell, so they will fix it for FREE!

[the-wondering-1.livejournal.com]

Dell will fix it by either sending me a new cable, or God, what? Send someone out to change my video card? Make me send my computer in? I have no idea.

I've had problems with both my motherboard and my DVD drive and both times they needed to be replaced and Dell had someone come out and fix it for me.

[jennywho.livejournal.com]

Oh man, i hate customer service in India.
I have gotten into heated debates with them.
I hope they taped every single call because I am not a nice person to deal with if I cannot understand your english. I am one of those people that think you need me to speak louder if I don't understand you.

Oh I'm super snarky today too. Oh I have much snark!

ps: really miss a big iconmachineicon post. Need new stuffs.

[mys-ebrel.livejournal.com]

When I had a crap load of computer problems I also was forced to talk to someone from India and became a little irritated when he started asking about the weather in the states and if I was enjoying snow. Small talk wasn't an option for me, I wanted my computer fixed.

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

Oh, that sucks. I'm sorry! Next time, come to the opera with me, so you can avoid these nasty problems!

I despise overseas customer service. It should really be illegal. I have yet to have a positive experience with someone I can actually understand, or who can understand me.

[kallisti.livejournal.com]

Unless things have changed a lot, here is what to do...based upon having worked at a Dell call center here in Ottawa for about 8 months...

Here is what to do...as soon as you contact the rep, tell them that this is an escalation, and that you have to talk to their L2. L2s have more leeway to do things, and do things more sensibly at Dell...especially these days. Wait for the L2, he or she should introduce themselves, MAKE SURE AND GET THEIR NAME! Explain to them what has been done, tell them it is obvious that it is either the cable, or the DVI output on the card...and the proper solution is to replace BOTH THE CARD AND THE CABLE as this will reduce any repeat calls that will be a hit on team rankings. Yes, agree to send the card and cable back. You should just be able to pack it in the box the replacement card and cable came in.

Good luck!

ttyl