User with very odd problem

[drace1111]

I have an interesting problem concerning one user at our office today.

Sometime this morning he complained of a monitor problem. He said that while using the computer, the monitor went dim for a few seconds, then just went completely black. I checked everything that I could think of, then allowed him to try again. The problem occured again while I was standing there, so I gave him a different monitor and told him to let me know if he had any other issues.

After an hour or so he calls me and says that now the keyboard is acting strange, so I grab a spare and run to his desk. When I got there, he showed me the neatest trick. He reached his hand toward the monitor and it went blank. When he pulled his hand away, it came back on again! He repeated this several times, much to everyones amusement. This is weird.

I've heard of some people having strong magnetic fields, but this is the first time I've ever witnessed it. This person says that he has an affect on his car radio as well. I tried everything that I could think of to fix the problem, but nothing worked. Funny, this is the first time this has happened since he started a year ago. Has anyone else come across a similar problem and successfully fixed it? No "Magnetic Personality" jokes, I've heard plenty already. ;-)

 

[shmoes]

there are only two things that come to my mind...

#1 - Your system is not grounded properly, could be the power bar or even the outlet .. therefor creating a static charge .. can anyone else produce his results?

#2 - Is there alot of cellular activity in the area? when my boss walks in my office, if his cell is on my speakers and monitor go wonky




~Shmoes

 

[wooglin]

Tell him to cut his red meat and spinach intake... to much iron in his diet.

 

[edfair]

More likely that he put pressure on the desktop and it shifted a cable enough that it lost contact.
Did the monitor power light go out when the screen went black?

Monitors don't go blank or black with magnetism. They discolor.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[shmoes]

would you consider a static charge the same as magnetism?

I would be curious if he's pulling a gag tho to .. it's not unheard of .. done many myself hehe..


~Shmoes

 

[drace1111]

He didn't touch the desk. He didn't even have to touch the monitor, simply putting his hand within 6 inches or so was enough to cause it to click off. It's similar to when the monitor goes into standby, and the LED goes from green to amber. When he pulls his hand away, it comes back on. It's like this guy has suddenly become a big capacitor.

We have tested the outlet, it is definitely grounded correctly. Just as a test I had him sit at another computer. Although we didn't get the same results, the computer began acting strange. It's definitely got something to do with him.

 

[shmoes]

pacemaker?



~Shmoes

 

[JimInKS]

Magnetic Jewelery?

Any personal electronic devices?

 

[bcastner]

Question: how old are the "power strips/surge suppressors" at the office?

It all might depend on the clothing the person wears, or their shoes. I had a similar situation and the 3+-year-old "surge suppressors" were the issue.

 

[edfair]

In the old, old days problems like that showed up with nylon underwear. Possibly with pants of poly or other non conductive if the chair was also of non-conductive. But it took somebody touching some part of the machine.

What kind of shoes to bleed possible static. And the flooring?

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[BadBigBen]

@edfair - Nylon underwear???



Ben

If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer...

 

[mainegeek]

drace1111,
The guy is messing with you...
He has assigned a key on the keyboard to use "sleep mode" which he is toggleing while you are watching his other hand move to and from the monitor.

 

[jurgen36]

No I do not believe he is having you on. My wife can not work with any computer at all. If I work on any one of my machines and she just stands in my back the machine goes completely haywire and reboots. It is the same with my other three computers. At her work she is not allowed to enter the server room. As soon as she enters the door the servers (SUN) shut down. We tried almost anything but nothing seems to account for it. It is a mystery. I heard of other people which seem to have similar problems. On quite a number of instances once the persons walk on the street the street lights above them go out, once they move on they come back normally and the next lamps go out. This cases have been investigated but no valid technical or scientific reason for the strange behaviour has been found.
regards

Jurgen

 

[Crowley16]

Well, if it's a sudden occurence, then maybe it is his clothes...

make him strip completely naked, and then try again...

--------------------
Procrastinate Now!

 

[ceh4702]

Maybe you should make them a jumpsuit with copper sheilding. Maybe wearing gloves and some kind of smock with shielding would help.

Most people complain that computer radiation might be harmful, not that a person may be harmful to a computer.

Chain Mail clothses for shielding.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[mikeloaf]

All I can say is dont let this guy near your server room!

Thats really weird, im interested to hear the outcome...

Mike

 

[BadBigBen]

@ceh4702 - Chainmail isn't needed anymore, they make underwear with silver threads (against Psoriasis and other skin disorders) maybe that would help...



Ben

If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer...

 

[TekTippy4U]

He's got a helper using Remote Desktop directly behind you - it's a colusion i tell ya - and a dang funny one at that....

try hitting his solenoid with a hammer - see if that fixes it


TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[Xpmessed]

I can understand that his car radio may cut out, Interference with the signal, but his monitor? It might be possible that when he places his hand mear his monitor it acts as an attenna and the, we can call it the frequency, is either pulling the gun off the screen (if it is a CRT screen) or is at the correct frequency to shut down the gun all together. I know that when I placed my cordless keyboard on top of my monitor it changes colours and shrinks the screen.

I hope these ideas help a little.

Josh

 

[Murgle]

I suspect that he made be a Cyberdine systems model 101, a cybernetic endoskeleton under living tissue. Check if dogs bark when he is near, if he wears sunglasses indoors, and if he says "I'll be back" when he leaves the office.

Rule Britannia, Britannia Waives the Rules