It's the season for chills, thrills, and ghoulish tales.
While ghost stories are being told across the World, those of us in the IT world have different kinds of horror stories to share.
From accidental network blackouts to bizarre hardware fixes, our spine-tingling tales will have every tech professional clutching their Ethernet cables in fear. Here are a few IT horror stories that are sure to send shivers down your spine this Halloween!
The cheese-filled laptop: a tale of dairy despair
Hardware overheating is a common issue, but what we found inside one laptop was something no one could have predicted. A customer called in, complaining that their laptop kept overheating. Curious, we decided to investigate the cause.
After cracking open the case, we were greeted with an utterly dreadful discovery - cheese. Yes, you read that right. Someone had maliciously stuffed all the laptop’s vents with slices of cheese! Every vent was clogged with gooey, melty dairy goodness.
The cheese caused the device to overheat by blocking airflow, turning what should have been a sleek machine into a greasy, overheating mess. Moral of the story? Never underestimate the power of processed dairy in the hands of a tech saboteur.
The grass-cutting network nightmare
In the world of IT, the stability of a network is sacred. But for one unsuspecting customer, their network came to a grinding halt with a hum and a whirr - and no, it wasn’t a server going down.
One sunny afternoon, the client decided to tackle some yard work, mowing the lawn around their office. Unbeknownst to them, their fibre optic cables ran right underneath the grass. As they casually pushed the lawnmower along, the blades dug deep into the ground—right through the fibre.
Cue a frantic phone call to IT support. "The network's down! We can't access anything!" After a quick investigation, we discovered the true culprit—the lawnmower massacre of 2024. It was a clean cut - and it left their entire office disconnected. Let this be a lesson: even the innocent act of lawn mowing can take down your high-speed internet if you're not careful!
The glue-bound laptop: the weight of misfortune
We've all seen our fair share of strange IT fixes, but nothing quite compares to the case of the glue-bound laptop. One day, we received a baffling call from a user claiming that their laptop would only charge when placed on its side with weight applied to it. Intrigued (and more than a little confused), we decided to jump on a video call to see this mysterious issue in action.
Sure enough, there it was: a laptop on its side, with a giant bottle of industrial glue balanced precariously on top. We watched in disbelief as the user explained that this was the only way to keep the device charged.
After some investigation, we uncovered the real problem - cracked soldering on the AC port. While we could easily repair the damage, the makeshift fix with glue was an unforgettable sight.
It was a reminder that, when it comes to IT, people will try almost anything to keep their devices running - even if it means using glue bottles as tech support.
Beware the IT horrors that lurk!
As we approach Halloween, these IT horror stories remind us of the unpredictable world we live in. Whether it's accidental fibre destruction, cheese-filled laptops, or creative DIY charging solutions, the unexpected lurks around the corner.
So, as you carve your pumpkins and don your costumes, remember that IT support is never truly safe from the tech terrors that strike when you least expect it. Here's to a (hopefully) uneventful Halloween filled with treats - because no one wants a trick when it comes to their technology!
Who're you gonna call?
When these horror stories do pop up who are you going to call? If you are an EPX client it will be our team - ready and waiting to solve the next problem.
If you do not have a support team at hand then do get in touch with us to see how we can help!
