We took Staci's truck into the shop last Wednesday because it was blowing cold air on the driver's side and hot on the passenger side. It turns out the bottom half of the heater coil was clogged up, and that was the half that provided heat for the driver's side. The part had to be ordered from Denver, and the weather was spotty all last week.
Well, they got the part on Monday and the truck back in working order by noon on Tuesday. Jerilyn and I went and picked it up after I got home from work on Tuesday.
$750!
On the bright side, it's not 4 digits, like Steve's furnace! Still... ouch!
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I think it was Tuesday that I finally tried installing the full software for my bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Of course... it didn't go so well. After installing a Dell connection wizard came up, and then a "New Hardware Detected" thing. Well, it couldn't find drivers for the bluetooth mini-receiver! So I tried pointing it to some places, but to no avail. So I just moved on without i since things were working ok. I had to manually close the connection wizard though.
Things were fine until I rebooted. The same connection wizard came up, accompanied by the same hardware detected thing. Still no drivers, so canceled that and manually closed the wizard again. I got on a tech support chat with Dell and they couldn't fix it either, so I decided to just uninstall the bluetooth software.
Oops, now the mouse and keyboard wouldn't work at all!
Wednesday I brought home a USB keyboard and mouse so I could do something, even if it was wrong (which it has been most of the time recently). I did a system restore back to a point when it worked, rebooted, still not keyboard or mouse. So I called Dell tech support on the phone and got an Indian that I could barely understand! Oi-vey! Luckily he wasn't in the XPS department and had to transfer me - heh-heh.
The next guy had a much softer accent and was really good. We set up a Dell Connect session and he basically worked on my computer while I watched. FOR TWO HOURS!
Did I mention that Wednesday is Adventurer night, and the last time I got tied up in a Dell support call was also on a Wednesday?!
In the end we never did figure it out. We ended up telling the hardware detection thing to not ask about that device anymore and then went into the system and manually told it not to run the Dell bluetooth connection wizard on startup! So we're right were I was before I uninstalled it, but with the messages we can't fix turned off! Ai-yi-yi!
I did make it to Adventurers, but I had to run out the front door and through 6 inches of snow down to Jerilyn's house to catch the truck because Staci was leaving my ass behind! :-D
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Did I mention that after getting the truck back from the mechanic the BRAND NEW STEREO quit working?!
Yes, this is the luck I am having. Stay far away from me, it may be contagious.
So, we had a nurse at Adventurers to teach the kids some first aid stuff which left me with time to go out to the truck in the freezing cold night and see if I could figure out what was wrong with the stereo. Which I did... because I RULE. HA!
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Some of you have seen my kick-ass DVD storage cabinet, made and installed by a professional back when I actually had some good luck. LOL! I long ago outgrew that beautiful cabinet and bought a multimedia storage rack to catch the overflow. Well, I haven't really said much about it, but some time ago I outgrew that too! Last week I finally caved in and ordered another identical rack, the plan being to somehow stack it on top of the existing one.
It came today, and with the help of my amazingly awesome and gorgeous wife I now have a super storage rack. Floor-to-ceiling baby... yeah! Check it.
I figured it out (because that's how I roll), and I think I have room for about 135 more movies. Hm... maybe I shoulda bought two!
Comments (3)
Woah, that sucks on the truck man. Hate it when stuff goes bad like that. Glad you got it fixed though - you need heat in that weather out there! :)
So what was up with the truck stereo? Was it just a loose connector or what? Just curious!
That is quite a movie collection dude. We've got a friend here that has one just like yours - HUGE! :)
So now, they just establish a connection and try to do it for you eh? Was it pretty easy to follow or did it jump all over the place?
Two hours man - that is way tooooo long if they're gonna do it. I'd think it would be faster than just 'walking' you through it - ya know.
Oh well - yeah, keep your 'luck' with you for now, I don't want it! :)
Posted by The Bro-in-law | January 12, 2008 5:26 AM
Posted on January 12, 2008 05:26
Oh yeah, I meant to elaborate on the stereo fix. Sorry! When we installed it, we ran out of the good crimp connectors for the wiring and ended up using 3 with metal "bulbs" on them. We must have put it in so that (miraculously) none of them were touching anything that would short them out. But when the mechanic put the dash back together they got jiggled around and one or more of those metal "bulbs" must've been touching some metal back in the dash. It worked when I pulled it out, but as I was putting it back in it went out again. So I wrapped some tape around those metal "bulbs" and now it works just fine. A lucky/easy fix!
The tech remotely working on my computer was easy to follow. It was nice having him on the phone at the same time so I could point things out that I saw that might help. Which I did, and I ended up being correct and ultimately fixing the problem! However, I would never have thought of it if he hadn't gotten as far as he did. Two hours is an obscenely long time, but it was mostly legit and I don't think they could've talked me through it any faster. So in the end it was the best way to go, I was able to do other things at the same time instead of being tied to the computer. At least it's working now... that's what really matters.
Posted by Scott | January 13, 2008 10:09 AM
Posted on January 13, 2008 10:09
holy crap!
Posted by mal | January 14, 2008 6:52 AM
Posted on January 14, 2008 06:52