Always check the cables

Two customer visits this week took less than 10 minutes after I arrived on the scene. When printers, speakers, keyboards, mice, etc stop working and I get a call, the first thing I ask is whether the cables/cords are all plugged in correctly or at all. About 50% of the time, I'm told either "yes they are" or "I don't know how to check them and want you to do it." I show up and check the cables, attach them securely to their correct spots and then everything works.

The next time you lose sound, can't print, lose your keyboard or mouse function follow these steps to save you lots of time, frustration, and money:

1. Shut down the computer
2. Follow the cables coming from the offending piece of hardware to their ends in the computer.
3. Pull the cable out, and firmly reattach it to its computer home
4. Also, do the same thing with the power cables for any devices that use separate power cables
5. If your mice and/or keyboard require batteries, replace them when you lose mouse or keyboard function
6. Now turn your computer back on again and see what happens.

If you have trouble figuring out what cables go to what ports on your computer, use tape and a Sharpie to label both the PC and the cable itself to properly match up plethora of cables hanging from the back of your computer. You can also couple this with a photo of the back of your computer to use as a reference as well.

Bottom line:  Don't call phone tech support for these kind of hardware issues until you are positive that the cables/batteries all are attached and functioning properly. Phone support can't see those things and might guide you down the wrong path that will cause problems once you hang up with them.

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