8 ms·

I've always enjoyed that the most common response on just about any Windows support question is something along the lines of > If you would like too you can do

by beart 7y ago

I've always enjoyed that the most common response on just about any Windows support question is something along the lines of > If you would like too you can do system restore to restore some settings on your PC.

rkachowski 7y ago
It really frustrates me when I have a specific technical problem with windows (I only use it for gaming) and search results are full of psuedo mystical tech advice from community experts advising a system restore or changing registry values.
- maxxxxx 7y ago
  It feels like most answers on this site come from robots or from moderators who barely know anything. I still have to see a good, on point, answer there from someone who really knows things.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
    I have, but they never come from Microsoft employees. Story time: Let's say you administer an Exchange server and need to make a configuration change to a mailbox. Normally, the Information Store will cache mailbox state for up to 20 minutes and you'll have to wait for your change to take effect. But let's say you really really need that change to happen right fucking now, then what? Well, Microsoft support has your back: restart the Information Store service. While effective, this will also boot everyone's MAPI connections from the server and consequently pop up a giant scary warning dialog to all your Outlook users. Good job there guys. Fortunately, there are knowledgeable wizards casually dropping in to these support threads every once in a while who can give you a real solution. In this case, it's running `Update-StoreMailboxState -Database <dbname> -Identity <mailbox GUID>`. Yeah, Microsoft actually made a fucking powershell commandlet that does exactly the thing you need, but support has no idea it exists and just throws up their hands and tells you to interrupt the workflow of the entire organization and generate a bunch of calls to the help desk. If I ever meet the person who posted that answer, I owe them a few beers.
    - DanBC 7y ago
      Does MS still have the MVP programme? Some of those people used to post useful information to the MS usenet groups.
      - nikanj 7y ago
        Yes, but it’s been essentially gutted and turned into ”who can gush about MS the hardest”, instead of evaluating people based on tech chops
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  The worst part is that the system restore (or reinstall) advice is often from some official Microsoft support drone. Microsoft's official stance is "it's too fucking complicated to even know where to begin, so start over". How is it that we put up with this bullshit?
  - kache_ 7y ago
    A lot of us have stopped putting up with it by switching to linux
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
      You presume Linux support is any better. You can't lie to me, I've seen it, I've tried to use it, it is at least as bad. From completely ignoring users when a canned answer doesn't work (how Microsoft of them) to condescendingly asking the user "why would you want to do that?" instead of answering their question, to just plain giving them the wrong fucking answer because it is outdated or based on some other distro's config.
      - AshamedCaptain 7y ago
        The thing is that indeed one of the very valid benefits is that with open source the solution is almost never "just reinstall". Because at least you have the tools to investigate and fix the problem right to the deepest level. E.g. I have an issue where Thunderbolt ports suddenly stop working -- the symptom is that I hear the device connected chime immediately followed by the device unconnected chime. Event log is empty. Impossible to debug -- there's nothing else to tinker with. System restore worked. Linux -- there is a kernel flag that forces the BIOS to power on the controller and whatever. Ohmygosh I had to open a terminal, but at least I didn't had to reinstall. And please don't come with "given the choice of opening a shell and digging in or just reinstall, I would choose reinstalling 100% of the time", because then it answers the question of the OP.
        AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
- Const-me 7y ago
  Try superuser.com for solving specific problems. Also, when searching, it's usually possible to find better search keywords. Searching for event log entry source + event ID helps more often than searching symptoms in a natural language.
Kuraj 7y ago
Or "here run this powershell script/registry key that does nothing to solve your problem and/or I don't even understand what it does"
PetahNZ 7y ago
This is like when you have an issue with Firefox. Disable all your addons and create a new profile...
Nextgrid 7y ago
These kinds of support forums are the blind leading the blind - same thing is happening over at Apple’s support communities and it’s depressing to read because most people just believe the BS copy/pasted answer and don’t bother thinking about how absurd it is or doing some more research. I wonder why companies even bother running these - it’s not like they attract any kind of useful knowledge. It would be best if they disappear and clean up search results so communities with real, knowledgeable enthusiasts can rank higher.
t34543 7y ago
Windows’ complexity was designed to create jobs for MSCE and the like.

by beart 7y ago

rkachowski 7y ago

It really frustrates me when I have a specific technical problem with windows (I only use it for gaming) and search results are full of psuedo mystical tech advice from community experts advising a system restore or changing registry values.

maxxxxx 7y ago
It feels like most answers on this site come from robots or from moderators who barely know anything. I still have to see a good, on point, answer there from someone who really knows things.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  I have, but they never come from Microsoft employees. Story time: Let's say you administer an Exchange server and need to make a configuration change to a mailbox. Normally, the Information Store will cache mailbox state for up to 20 minutes and you'll have to wait for your change to take effect. But let's say you really really need that change to happen right fucking now, then what? Well, Microsoft support has your back: restart the Information Store service. While effective, this will also boot everyone's MAPI connections from the server and consequently pop up a giant scary warning dialog to all your Outlook users. Good job there guys. Fortunately, there are knowledgeable wizards casually dropping in to these support threads every once in a while who can give you a real solution. In this case, it's running `Update-StoreMailboxState -Database <dbname> -Identity <mailbox GUID>`. Yeah, Microsoft actually made a fucking powershell commandlet that does exactly the thing you need, but support has no idea it exists and just throws up their hands and tells you to interrupt the workflow of the entire organization and generate a bunch of calls to the help desk. If I ever meet the person who posted that answer, I owe them a few beers.
  - DanBC 7y ago
    Does MS still have the MVP programme? Some of those people used to post useful information to the MS usenet groups.
    - nikanj 7y ago
      Yes, but it’s been essentially gutted and turned into ”who can gush about MS the hardest”, instead of evaluating people based on tech chops
AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
The worst part is that the system restore (or reinstall) advice is often from some official Microsoft support drone. Microsoft's official stance is "it's too fucking complicated to even know where to begin, so start over". How is it that we put up with this bullshit?
- kache_ 7y ago
  A lot of us have stopped putting up with it by switching to linux
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
    You presume Linux support is any better. You can't lie to me, I've seen it, I've tried to use it, it is at least as bad. From completely ignoring users when a canned answer doesn't work (how Microsoft of them) to condescendingly asking the user "why would you want to do that?" instead of answering their question, to just plain giving them the wrong fucking answer because it is outdated or based on some other distro's config.
    - AshamedCaptain 7y ago
      The thing is that indeed one of the very valid benefits is that with open source the solution is almost never "just reinstall". Because at least you have the tools to investigate and fix the problem right to the deepest level. E.g. I have an issue where Thunderbolt ports suddenly stop working -- the symptom is that I hear the device connected chime immediately followed by the device unconnected chime. Event log is empty. Impossible to debug -- there's nothing else to tinker with. System restore worked. Linux -- there is a kernel flag that forces the BIOS to power on the controller and whatever. Ohmygosh I had to open a terminal, but at least I didn't had to reinstall. And please don't come with "given the choice of opening a shell and digging in or just reinstall, I would choose reinstalling 100% of the time", because then it answers the question of the OP.
      - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
Const-me 7y ago
Try superuser.com for solving specific problems. Also, when searching, it's usually possible to find better search keywords. Searching for event log entry source + event ID helps more often than searching symptoms in a natural language.

Kuraj 7y ago

Or "here run this powershell script/registry key that does nothing to solve your problem and/or I don't even understand what it does"

PetahNZ 7y ago

This is like when you have an issue with Firefox. Disable all your addons and create a new profile...

Nextgrid 7y ago

These kinds of support forums are the blind leading the blind - same thing is happening over at Apple’s support communities and it’s depressing to read because most people just believe the BS copy/pasted answer and don’t bother thinking about how absurd it is or doing some more research. I wonder why companies even bother running these - it’s not like they attract any kind of useful knowledge. It would be best if they disappear and clean up search results so communities with real, knowledgeable enthusiasts can rank higher.

t34543 7y ago

Windows’ complexity was designed to create jobs for MSCE and the like.