Tech Support Absurdity # 5,672,083
From one of four nearly fruitless chats with Charter’s Internet service tech support this morning:
Step 1: Unplug the power cord on the back of the cable modem. It is usually small, black and round. All the lights on the modem will disappear when you pull it out.
Step 2: Wait 30 to 60 seconds.
Step 3: Plug in the power cord on the back of your cable modem. Wait 60 seconds before doing anything else.
Step 4: Restart your computer. It may not be required to do this step if you are using Windows XP.Note: Please do not do this while we are chatting, as it would disconnect our chat.
Not exactly a VRM story, beyond the need for it. But anyway, couldn’t resist passing it along.
Mike Warot
April 30, 2009 @ 11:44 am
I keep step 2 at 2+ minutes… long enough for the DHCP server at the cable company to free up the address and give a new one.
I ALWAYS recommend a router between any PC and the internet… I have those power cycled at the same time.
It’s too much like Voodoo for my comfort level, but it usually works, which makes the users happy.
–Mike–
Doc Searls Weblog · Silos End
May 1, 2009 @ 11:46 am
[...] a laptop in the crawl space under his house. All the chats were 99% unhelpful and in some ways were comically absurd. The real message that ran through the whole exchange was, You figure it [...]