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. ;-)

 

[mikeyb123]

It's not getting any smarter out there. You have to come to terms with stupidity, and make it work for you.

 

[shannanl]

Does he live in a trailer park? Ask him if he has ever been abducted by aliens!

Shannan

 

[drace1111]

Just a little update on this strange phenomenon. By late afternoon that day the problem diminished, but he was still experiencing some issues. I suggested that he find a piece of metal outside the building to ground himself. That seemed to work the best. Even though the electrical system is well grounded in the building, going outside made a big difference.

The floor where he sits is ceramic tile, and on top of that is a plastic chair mat that's usually used for carpeting, then he sits in a plastic framed office chair. After rolling around in this setup all day, he must have built up one heck of a static charge.

Yesterday the office mananger brought in a meter that can detect magnetic and electrical fields. While this guy was sitting at his desk, the readings for electrical and magnetic fields were well above "normal". whatever that was. When he stood up and walked to the other side of the room, the readings dropped back to normal.

And I did make it quite clear that he was not to go anywhere near the server room!

Ah, the mysteries of nature.