Welcome to GotPEBKAC, which regroups the best examples of computer errors and problems due to users, but when the machine is always blamed.
PEBKAC is an acronym that stands for 'Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair'. Have you ever been through a "computer problem" caused actually by a stubborn user, and not the computer itself ?
The problem exists between the keyboard and the chair : submit your PEBKAC stories and vote for the best !
Do you know what the singular greatest annoyance with being a computer savvy geek is ?
Everytime we fix or update a piece of software or hardware, and a bug or problem arise within a few months, the only explanation most people can come up with, is that « we made the original problem worse » and « don't know what we're doing ».
Even if the new issue is unrelated to what was fixed. PEBKAC.
I work as a PC repair technician, so I have people with problems on a daily basis. I had an older woman come in, and tell me that the cup holder tray on her desktop had broken.
She then proceeded to ask if we could fix it. I asked her if she meant the CD tray, and responded with : "Yeah, I guess it could hold a CD, but you can't play music on a computer...". PEBKAC.
Every day at work, I can see Excel users typing a number into a cell, then another one into another cell, picking up a calculator to do the operation, and eventually typing the result in a third cell. PEBKAC.
At the university, I was telling a friend - as a joke - that in order to download Mozilla Firefox, we could still use Internet Explorer.
He answered : "Hum... I do not use Internet Explorer. I go directly on Google". PEBKAC.
I hate to say I work with computers. Afterwards, people palm their old crappy machines that don't work anymore off on you. But from time to time, we can still witness some fun stuff.
A friend of mine passed me her obsolete laptop, which - I quote - "struggled a lot". When I booted up, Windows XP litterally vomited hundreds of windows, for a good 10 minutes. And the computer was indeed struggling.
When I eventually could access the Start Menu, and as the usual "msconfig" wasn't helpful, I figured out that she had put ALL of her programs into the "Startup" folder.
"But... Why ?", I asked. She said : "Well, I wanted to be sure they would quickly start when I needed them...". PEBKAC.
I have a roommate who starts eMule on his PC, stuffs the download queue with a buttload of files, and eventually turns off his laptop. Thinking that as the router is still on, the downloads will proceed. True story. PEBKAC.
A female user calls us in a panic. She tells me a "shield image" has just appeared on the bottom right of her monitor.
I explain that it's the antivirus icon, and it's normal to see it next to the desktop time and date. She innocently replies : "But... I do not have the time displayed on the bottom right of my screen". Then I ask : "So, what is actually displayed ?". She contemptuously replies : "11:32".
Yes, that's what we call the time, dear madam. PEBKAC.
In the store where I work, a customer shows up and starts chatting. As we speak, we come to talk about the Internet. And at this moment, very serious, he says :
"Internet ? That's new technology... In my humble opinion, it just won't work". PEBKAC.
Recently, I had trouble with my router. I call the hotline, they ask me to do a serie of manipulations. To the question : "Are you on Windows Vista ?", I answered that I'm actually on Linux. Moreover, I say the problem is not because of the operating system, because I had already tested on both Windows and Linux.
Without losing her cool, she answered : "No sir, an OS such as 'Linux' doesn't exist".
Alright then, I've been using a "ghost" operating system for the last five years. PEBKAC.
We have a high-speed Internet connection at home. Every time my big sister (34 yo) is done using the computer, she unplugs the router.
I quote : "This way, we don't waste connection, so we avoid cost beyond bundle". PEBKAC.