Truly, in the last 24 hours I was in every level of hell.
It started yesterday evening, when Giorgio thought, we should take the cats to his parents. They have a big yard, he was worried, that Rise and Mushroom have never experienced in the past 5 years any touch of nature.
Well…it meant obviously to buy security belts, preparing loads of stuff – truly, worse, than going with babies – to take with.
Rise hated the trip and the belt, he is a late hippy cat, never accepted any bondage. Therefore, since Giorgio drove, I was in the back seat with the two. Rise wanted to break free like all the time, I had to try calm him down – you do not want to see my knee…it is worse than that of a masochist.
After we arrived, I realized that I need to wake up next morning around four, if I want to finish my assignment until 10 AM, which I did. I woke up, finished the translation, did the QA check with SDL and Xbench and just wanted to take a 10 minutes break to close my eyes, so I shut the pc off. Worst decision ever.
After those 10 minutes, I never got it working again… Every level of hell.
9:20 I realize, that I have no charger with me for the pc, I alarm Giorgio, we go to the next shop to buy a generic one.
9:40 we arrive home, I start charging, but it does not work. I figure, that since I have everything ready, the only thing I’d need is the bilingual files, so I try to run against the battery life and try to copy the files into my phone – which sucks the battery too, when attached… I get to Ctrl + C…No Ctrl + V.
9:58 I alert the client’s PM, that I have a serious problem with my PC – won’t load – , which I try to solve – lie: I was in panic. I also realize that serious problems still give me a panic feeling and I realize that I need to get out of the office to find a solution.
11:00 I opt for Option B, buying a new PC, which I already wanted to do (short story: I built one online in Sony’s ultrabook shop, got it shipped, but since I bought it as a private person, and asked for the VAT receipt only afterwards, which Sony denied to give me (?!?!?!?!?!?!), I left the ultrabook at home in its original case and will return it. In this moment I wouldn’t have cared about VAT receipt or not, I needed a working computer). Buying a new PC was already planned, I just did not want to hurry up the decision. Anyhow, I alert Giorgio again to move to a bigger shop to buy a new PC for the new assignments and a case for the old PC-s hard drive to send away the assignment, which I couldn’t finish copying into my phone.
12:58 we arrive home with a brand new Lenovo ultrabook and a hard drive case. It is lunchtime.
14:50 I start installing the old hard drive. It does not work. I decide not to panic, but to go on at least with the new assignments and setting up the new Lenovo for working. I start downloading – with a USB internet key – the programs – SDL, Xbench, TO3000, 7zip, Chrome, etc., etc.
17:00 I am watching, how SDL 2014 is downloading. Remaining time 2 hours. I do not even want to think about the old hard drive and my original assignment, I already think about how to get new clients, since this specific client will never accept anything like this.
I give another try to the universal charger…I open the case and find a key. A small and insignificant piece of metal. I have no idea, what it is for, so I RTFM (often, when I translate them, I think that no-one ever will read any manual, things are just too functional, you plug it in, it works. ) Anyhow, in my desperation I take the manual actually and read it. There is image nr. 3: Set voltage before use. And there is the image of the KEY!
I run to the charger and see no way to set any voltage. I only see a big yellow adhesive, which says: If the power adapter is not working, request a compatible connector blabla.
I strap it (best ideas are driven by instinct). THERE IS A WHOLE, IN WHICH FITS MY KEY!!!
The key can set a value, which is not on 15 V. I control my old PC’s back for any number between 15-20 V, I see 19 V.
Trembled I use the key to set the value for 19 V, try to charge the old PC and IT WORKS!!!!
I enjoy breathing again, put the hard drive back into its original place in the PC, do not even fix it with the screws, and just want to see the boot procedure, which actually loads everything correctly.
People…I never was so confident saying: Read the (fu***ng) manual!!! Ach, yes and another important thing, ever buy anything from Sony,their customer service – at least in Italy – are hard d**cks!
