Over the last several weeks one of my monitors would slip into sleep mode every ten minutes or so regardless of what I was doing. It was super annoying, but it really wasn’t a big deal it. It works just fine, and I can wake it up relatively easy. I would either flick the screen or shake it. Neither option is great for it I imagine.
Even though I was managing ‘just fine’ with it, my patience was starting to wear thin, becoming more and more frustrated every time it turned off. The final straw was during a leadership meeting. I was in the middle of the call, when the screen decided to randomly turn off. My camera sits on top of my other screen positioned just so. So, today when the screen turned off I leaned forward to flick it to wake it back up it looked like I was flicking the Executive Director who just happened to be speaking at the time right between the eyes.
After the meeting, I reboot my laptop in case it was that. While it was rebooting I unplug all the cords from the back of my monitor, pick up my monitor, my hands on both sides and shake it thoroughly. I shake it from side to side, like it was an etch a sketch I shake it up side down. Now there was a completely logical reason why I was shaking the life out of my screen, maybe there was a lose wire and I could shake it back into place, with the right amount of force?
I blow on the holes for the power cords plug into. I then put it back on the desk. Place it exactly where it was. I putting everything that was on it, back on it exactly where they were. Not one thing out of place, because that just drives me insane. I have everything set up the exact same way. My cords go the exact same way, my pink post-it notes sit in the exact same position, if someone borrows a pen from my desk and doesn’t put it back or puts it back in the wrong spot or moves my mouse even the slightest bit it just drives me nuts. Kristal sometimes comes in and moves things around changes my blue pen out for a black, she thinks it hilarious because most people wouldn’t notice but I do. I think most people would. Even if she has moved my chair.
Anywho I digress. So after shaking my screen like crazy I plug all the cords back into their respective holes, blowing on them before I do and go back to work. But after ten minutes or so it happens again. Now I was really annoyed.
Finally I bite the bullet and I reach out to my friends who I usually reach out to for issues such as these, who I call my IT gurus. I usually reach out to them a lot sooner. But I thought that I could fix it on my own. But after weeks I had to admit defeat and reach out. I tell them what is happening leaving out that I had just shaken the screen into next century. I tell them it is definitely not in sleep mode and that I am 99.9% sure it is BROKEN! I really just needed them to confirm it.
Brucey was the first to text back…
Check that it’s plugged into the back of the screen properly sometimes it can come loose because of gravity.
I do exactly as Brucey says, flipping the screen onto its face and pushing the plug hard into it socket in the back of the screen. I then continue to work for the next few minutes. Then after 10 minutes, it turns off again. It’s like clockwork.
I text back to them…
Thanks for your help Brucey. But I think the screen is definitely BROKEN!!! I did exactly what you said but it still turned off. I plugged the plug in properly but it didn’t work. I mean how difficult can it be to plug something in.
Mike text’s back…
Of course, you say its broken. Did you check the other end of the plug? The part that goes into the wall. Don’t roll your eyes, it’s pretty likely.
Which frustrated me no end. First because he assumed that I hadn’t checked the end of plug that plugs into the wall- he was right which infuriated me. Then he assumed that I would roll my eyes, right again which also infuriated. And finally, when I checked the wall, it was all not plugged in properly- right again, which infuriated me again. I plug it back in, and wait a couple of minutes, it didn’t go off it seemed to solve the problem.
I text them back…
Okay smart ass it worked.
The next morning during my first meeting the screen turned off again after ten minutes, and then again, and then again every ten minutes. I had back-to-back meetings until 11am and no chance to look at it until then.
Even though I was 99.9% sure it was definitely broken once again I unplugged everything, and repeated what I did the day before but this time I really shook it. I even got cleaning wipes and wiped out all the sockets and cords because it could be dust and I really didn’t want it to be a repeat of the screwdriver incident of five years ago. I could just see it.
Oh sorry Brucey and Mike it was just a huge pile of dust in the sockets. Ooops my bad…
I would never live that down. So, I wiped it really well. Shook and shook it, turning it up side down. Changed where I plugged it in and everything. Tried it again and still after 10 minutes it still didn’t work. Yep I was certain it was well and truly BROKEN! for sure. I was so confident this time I could taste it!
I immediately message the IT gurus.
Yep, the screen is definitely BROKEN!!! Kept turning off will definitely have to buy a new one.
While sitting there rather smuggling like the cat that ate the cream. And confident that it was BROKEN and feeling like somewhat of an IT genius I noticed 4 buttons on the bottom of my screen which must have appeared overnight, because I never noticed them before?
I start pressing buttons at the bottom of the screen. I navigate through the menus until I get to one that says TIME OUT. I go down to it and open it. The slide bar was all the way to the left… somehow in the last several weeks something or someone? had changed it so it timed out after 10 minutes of inactivity.
Mortified I knew what I had to do. I had to message the IT gurus. But this little mishap had an all too familiar taste and I knew someone who was really going to enjoy this. I text back to the IT gurus…
So, almost 5 years ago we had the BROKEN Screwdriver incident, and it appears a similar mishap may’ve occurred….
The screen appears that it may not have been broken after all…
But…
So, sooooooooooooo
Soooooooooooooo, embarrassing!!!
But the screen was accidentally set to 10-minute session time out.
Mike text back
Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
I text Kristal look for support
She text back almost immediately
four laughing emojis and
Oh Cass I have NO WORDS Bahahahahahah
To top my day off I was taking Mimi to her first basketball game. I go to get in my car, I go to get into the drivers side, but I had forgotten on Sunday I had parked to close to the garage wall. The only way I could get into my car was through the passage side.
I climb into the passengers seat kick my right leg over as high as it would go to the drivers side pulling on the headrest. My right foot goes through one of the cut outs in the wheel becoming lodged between the wheel and the dashboard, the gear stick gets caught in my shorts, I am doing the semi-splits over both the seats, I hold onto the steering wheel with my left hand trying to maneuver it to pull my foot free. I jiggle the wheel, I can’t go forwards or back. Honk honk. my right ankle hits the horn. I start to get flustered, I need a rest I go to take a seat which was a mistake the gear stick goes up my bum. I take a deep breath and jiggle the wheel slowly pulling my foot free as I lean back. After 30 second my foot was free. I using my right hand to push off the head rest and my left to push off the steering wheel, I lift my self-up with my left leg guiding me back to the passenger seat. I rest for a minute in the passenger seat before to starting all over again.