A client's 'simple fix' for a noisy server fan cost me a whole afternoon

A business owner I work with in Milwaukee told me to just unplug the loud fan on his old Dell PowerEdge 2950, saying it was extra. I did it to be nice, and the server overheated and shut down after about two hours. I had to go back, put the fan in, and explain why all the fans are needed. Has anyone else had a client push a bad hardware fix that backfired?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_mary1mo ago

Milwaukee's "extra" fan theory was a scorcher.

the_lucas1mo ago

That theory never made much sense to me. The math just doesn't add up for a signal that complex. Most of the time, the simplest answer is the right one. It was probably just a fan who got lost on his way back from the concession stand. People read way too much into these little ballpark moments.

rodriguez.felix1mo ago

My buddy Dave was at that game, section 212. He said the guy next to him spent the whole third quarter explaining how the fan was a secret signal to the bullpen, something about the RPM matching a changeup grip. Dave just wanted to watch baseball, you know? He came home with a full page of notes the guy wrote on a napkin.

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