Because if there's ANY way to do it wrong...

IT pilot fish working for a bookstore chain notices something's not quite right at one of the stores, so he gives a user there a call.

"The portable hard drives we use for the local database backups weren't plugged in," fish says. "I asked her to plug in the portable drives I sent her. She pleaded ignorance, saying she hadn't received anything."

Fish has a signed delivery slip with her name on it, so he tells her to look for two small flat black boxes. After a bit of searching, she says she's found it and plugged it in.

But when fish remotes into her PC, he can't spot them.

OK, says fish, unplug it again and tell me what it says on the device in your hand.

"APC," user replies.

No, sighs, fish, that's a UPS. Look for the boxes marked "Seagate."

Much more searching later, she eventually finds the right devices and plugs them in. But still nothing shows up when fish checks the remote PC.

Did the plug go in easily? he asks. "Yes," user says. "Wait, no -- a bit hard." Is the light on the drive on? "No."

"I finally came to realize she has plugged the portable USB drive into the CRT monitor of the server -- a monitor with absolutely no extras like USB ports," groans fish.

"At that point I just gave up and called a tech to go teach her what a PC was and what a USB port looks like.

"I'm still trying to figure out how she got a USB plug into a CRT monitor."

Plug in, turn on, write to Sharky. Send me your true tale of IT life at sharky@computerworld.com. You'll score a sharp Shark shirt if I use it. Add your comments below, and read some great old tales in the Sharkives.

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