So You Don't Want to Remove and Re-Install...

[Dips]

That's fine. Your problem simply won't get fixed.

Oh, you say you already *tried* removing and re-installing? That's different then. I'm pretty sure you're lying to avoid having to remove/re-install but I can't prove it and I certainly am not going to accuse you of lying. I have to assume you are telling the truth, so you've got me. You win. You don't have to remove and re-install.

Instead you have to remove, delete a folder from your registry then re-install. Is that better?

You can't use regedit without waiting for an IT person to come down? Gee. I guess it sucks to be you.

Oh. You decided to give a simple remove/reinstall "one more more try" without deleting the registry folder. And now it suddenly worked and everything is just fine?

Wow. A miracle.

[Naaman]

Clients lie?



Say it's not so!!

[Dreamstalker]

I generally don't let clients muck around in regedit. Way too many chances for something to go horribly wrong and then an inevitable "but you told me to do this!" (followed by the equally inevitable "I don't need to tell you what I did, you should know because you told me!"). I've only ever dealt with one person who I was able to talk through a regedit over the phone...she knew she was technologically inept and so listened to what I said.

[crashhelmet]

I always give a well scripted spiel about how it is important that they do everything I tell them to do, when I tell them to do it, and nothing I don't tell them to while informing them that I nor the company can be responsible for anythign that happens as a result of them not listening to me and that the phone call is being recorded. If they don't agree to it, I tell them to goto a local tech. Unless they're an idiot, drunk/stoned, or someone that shouldn't even own a computer. Then I tell them to buy a Mac... I mean, to goto a local tech

CH

[JustADude]

Then I tell them to buy a Mac... I mean, to goto a local tech

Nice!

I, personally, have always seen Macs as a sports-car, like a Corvette or something. They're for people who need/want a computer but aren't inclined to be techies. In either case, you pay more to have it look pretty and go zoom without having to crack the hood.

An IBM-Compatible (aka, a Regular PC), by contrast, is more like a tuner-car. They're meant for people that like to get in and monkey around with things. Making it fly takes more know-how and getting your hands dirty, but the end results can blow a Mac/Corvette out of the water.

Linux boxes, to round the analogy out, are custom, one-off projects. They're for people that REALLY know what they're doing, and can take both Macs and PCs out to the proverbial woodshed if they're done right.

[Dips]

I generally don't let clients muck around in regedit.

Before I tell people to use regedit I always ask, "Have you edited your registry before?"

If they say "yes" and are truthful deleting a folder is no big deal and easy enough to talk them through.

If they say "no," I tell them they need to get a professional to do it for them.

If they say "yes" and are lying, it's very easy to catch. I just say, "OK. Start Regedit." If they ask me what Regedit is or ask me how to start it, I tell them they will need a professional to help them.

I'd rather listen to the whining than start an ignorant fool on the taking the path into the registry every time something goes wrong with their computer. That's not good for me and it's not good for any IT person that user encounters in the future.

Carl, on the other hand, is a very brave and trusting soul. He talks people in and out of the BIOS every day so they can set up a USB to serial conversion thingy (I don't know crap about that end of things; forgive me if I'm a bit fuzzy on the details). I believe he uses a speech similar to crashhelmet's and warns them Dire Things will happen if they stray from the path or ever touch the BIOS again without talking to him first. Our customers worship Carl, so *he* gets away with it.