2nd November, 2011  

Never an Idle moment

I got a call from the front office today.

“My computer screen’s suddenly gone black and says ‘Entering Power Saving’ mode!”

I pop down expecting to have to plug in a loose VGA cable. Only there isn’t one. Everything seems normal, but the screen is off.

I wiggle the mouse, and the screen comes back on.

“We’re you… using the computer at the time?” I ventured. Like an idiot, I had simply assumed the user’s surprise was down to it happening mid-flow.

“No, I was doing this paperwork…”

It turns out that in the 18 months since I configured Power Management to turn the screen off after 35 minutes, the user had never been sat at the desk long enough without using the computer for it to kick in.

About The Angry Technician

The Angry Technician is an experienced IT professional in the UK education sector. Normally found in various states of annoyance on his blog. All views are those of his imaginary pet dog, Howard.

2 responses to “Never an Idle moment”

  1. p858snakep858snake says :

    At least you know they are using their computer system

  2. Matt says :

    Before Christmas the secretary that has been with us for almost a year called me asking why there were bubbles all over her screen.

    I asked could she wobble the mouse for me ‘ shock bubbles disapear’

    It seem the secretary is so hard working she’s not stopped long enough to let the screen saver kick in!