So what's wrong with the cab?

[Le Chuck]

Got a text from an old friend I hadn't talked to in months yesterday. I had built him a cab once upon a time.

First text was all pleasantries, then more pleasantries, then future plans, then more pleasantries. Finally I just text, "so what's wrong with the cab" and I get a call immediately at which he goes straight into cab issues. Three restarts later he's back to fully functioning. I remind him he needed to replace that computer when we built the cab and it's only gotten older. Yeah yeah yadda yadda back off the phone. I am tech support.

Lol.

[Drnick]

Yep, That's the problem with building something for someone else.  I have had  the same kind of thing happen to me, Usually it will be my brother or a friend I've built a PC for. They never just come out with what they are calling for.  For the most part I can handle whatever they want, and usually do. But my mother in law, nope, can't deal with her    She loves to change her passwords and then complain that mail etc on her Kindle no longer works.
You try to talk her through changing it on the kindle, suddenly its no understand - Olah mi no hablo englais.   I've now got all her accounts setup to let me know if she changes passwords.  I then change them back and remind her of the original password which she forgot. 

[BadMouth]

The cab I built for my nephew is at my parents house.
No matter how much I try to educate them, they still turn it off by unplugging it.

[TopJimmyCooks]

the power strip is the enemy of many a mame rig. 

[ChanceKJ]

So what your telling me is: Don't offer to build cabs for other people. 

[menace]

Best one I've got was when I sold a fully setup machine, nice 25" monitor and everything was setup so you push one button and one button to turn it off--I triple checked all the controls and the mamewah setup to make sure there were no hidden features that would get unlocked with certain key presses etc..It was solid..so the guy picks it up and a few weeks later I get a terse email...

"why can't I see all my icons?  Nothing is working" 

Icons I wondered???  I found out he had kludged in a mame32 build on top and now nothing was working--who puts mame32 on a machine and on a machine with a 25" lo-res arcade monitor???

[Le Chuck]

I've had similar a few times, when confronted the perp stated that I had left off some awesome feature or awesome game that really needed to be on there - which of course was left off because the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- system he insisted on using to save money couldn't run it anywhere near playable. 

But Time Crisis is my FAV game@!!@1211!

Me:  So how's it running?
Perp:  It doesn't work, I think you messed up something when you changed all the settings to hide windows and go right to the old gaming menu
Me:  Yep, that must have been it, those PIIIs are finicky.  well see ya! 

[pbj]

If you sell illegal, glitchy crap then be prepared for the customer support.

My last MAME cab I sold, for what, $150? working suffered a deluge of texts, phone calls, and e-mails.  Then he sold it for 3 times what he paid.

 

Next one goes to the dumpster.

[yotsuya]

So what your telling me is: Don't offer to build cabs for other people. 

Build them the cabs, but tell them they're on their own for the software and games. 

[drventure]

Build them the cabs, but tell them they're on their own for the software and games. 

Amen to that.

[CoryBee]

I have built\sold around 27 or so cabinets since I started (almost 2 years now, I have no idea) and haven't had any of them come pack with PC issues. Actually, only 3 cabinets had issues and those were with LEDs failing and one power supply (laptop power brick on one of my bartops)  going out.

Maybe I am lucky......but I use the same exact system on everyone, except the last 6 or so have a new updated gamelist with more popular games etc which has no bearing on how the system runs.

[Le Chuck]

I think a lot of my issue comes from the fact that I'm building for friends when I do, so I try and save them as much scratch as I can.  Hey, I've got this stupidly ancient laptop from college, can we use that?  Well I suppose, but it'll give you issues after a year I bet.  No problem (I'll just call you *snicker*). 

So basically, it's my fault anyway for building with subpar components.  I'm not bitching so much as sharing my amusement at how the calls always seem to go down.  They're embarrassed to be calling for help so they try and chat around it until I break down and offer to provide help. 

[pbj]

Do you live in the midwest?

[yotsuya]

I think a lot of my issue comes from the fact that I'm building for friends when I do, so I try and save them as much scratch as I can.  Hey, I've got this stupidly ancient laptop from college, can we use that?  Well I suppose, but it'll give you issues after a year I bet.  No problem (I'll just call you *snicker*). 

So basically, it's my fault anyway for building with subpar components.  I'm not bitching so much as sharing my amusement at how the calls always seem to go down.  They're embarrassed to be calling for help so they try and chat around it until I break down and offer to provide help.

How about "Yeah, I know you're busy, and it's no rush, but I'm having a party tomorrow night so....."

[kahlid74]

I've built a few I gave away for wedding gifts, etc. and I've never gotten a call on one.  I do however check up and generally i get the "Everything is working fine".

I did have a keyboard ghosting issue that I fixed recently and went back to several machines to update them and fix it for them.

[ark_ader]

Got a text from an old friend I hadn't talked to in months yesterday. I had built him a cab once upon a time.

First text was all pleasantries, then more pleasantries, then future plans, then more pleasantries. Finally I just text, "so what's wrong with the cab" and I get a call immediately at which he goes straight into cab issues. Three restarts later he's back to fully functioning. I remind him he needed to replace that computer when we built the cab and it's only gotten older. Yeah yeah yadda yadda back off the phone. I am tech support.

Lol.

You are a kind soul, why would he not call you?   

[Le Chuck]

Do you live in the midwest?

Raised there for 20 years.  Been away for 15.  Is my Ozark showing?

[pbj]

The "indirect" approach was something I had never encountered so deeply entrenched until I lived in Missouri.



(is that a diplomatic way of saying they were a bunch of milquetoast wusses?)

[michelevit]

If you want to save time and aggravation, make a image of the hard drive once the pc is dialed in.
Once things are F’up, just revert back to that previous version. Today’s hard drives are fat and cheap enough to make this happen.
I use Symantec Ghost and I can revert in 10-20 minutes.

[menace]

How about "Yeah, I know you're busy, and it's no rush, but I'm having a party tomorrow night so....."

That's funny--I had someone call me new years eve--he was at my wife's friends' place for festivities and loved their machine and must have thought--hey why not call the guy (me) and negotiate for one while I'm totally plastered?  They apologized once they caught him on the phone..

[Fursphere]

Just say no to "friends and family" IT support.   Once they get hooked on you fixing their broken crap - they'll never leave you alone.

[rockyrocket]

Amen! - some people just should not be allowed to own computers for their good!.
Yes I mean you trevor!.

[eds1275]

I haven't built any machines but have helped set them up on the software for friends and extended friends. Most of the time the arcades are enjoyed more than the xboxes, playstations etc etc and sometimes are even spared no expense on joysticks, lighted buttons, trackballs... but then they for some reason won't drop any coin on a computer that actually runs because "I have this thing that's been in the closet for a few years..."

[Fursphere]

I haven't built any machines but have helped set them up on the software for friends and extended friends. Most of the time the arcades are enjoyed more than the xboxes, playstations etc etc and sometimes are even spared no expense on joysticks, lighted buttons, trackballs... but then they for some reason won't drop any coin on a computer that actually runs because "I have this thing that's been in the closet for a few years..."

My only thought here is put a 60-in-1 board in the thing and be done with it.  If they are willing to spend $500-$1000 on a PC to run all the emulators, great.  But if they aren't...  60in1 or 120in1 or whatever is probably a lot safer / future proof.

[TopJimmyCooks]

I just did a high end rig for a friend but everything was brand new and top notch.  Demul, hyperspin, all that.  So far I'm surprised by the lack of calls but we had a lot of talks about the nature of emulation, etc. and that there would be some bumps here and there. 

[bradx]

i helped my friend set up a mame rig and his buddy used to come over every saturday and play.  he is a smart guy and familiar with mame, he would try to show how smart by tabbing into the menu and changing stuff around and somehow he messed things up, so what did he do?  reset everything to default!!!

wow was i angry, and its hard to write this without curse words, but it didnt take long for me to explain to him that the miracle of the cabinet isnt mame itself, but interfacing all the controls/monitor etc with mame, and that by resetting to default he had just erased all the work i did configuring everything.

luckily i was smart enough to have a couple backups installed so i could just roll it back, but when i did i also mapped the tab key to nothing so its impossible to open a menu in game and took the keyboard home with me. 

no problems since then, hahaha.

[bradx]

I've had similar a few times, when confronted the perp stated that I had left off some awesome feature or awesome game that really needed to be on there - which of course was left off because the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- system he insisted on using to save money couldn't run it anywhere near playable. 

But Time Crisis is my FAV game@!!@1211!

Me:  So how's it running?
Perp:  It doesn't work, I think you messed up something when you changed all the settings to hide windows and go right to the old gaming menu
Me:  Yep, that must have been it, those PIIIs are finicky.  well see ya!

i hear that.  i helped another guy build a cab and he complained, i told him the $30 he wanted to spend on a PC wasnt going to work perfectly, and that even for $45 i could offer a significant upgrade but he had to go cheap, so now and forever any complaint gets the same response "you get what you paid for".  i mean, why spend hundreds on a cab and art, controls, etc and then cheap out on the brain?  the guy literally spent as much on a marquee as he did on the PC that runs the whole thing...

[bradx]

I think a lot of my issue comes from the fact that I'm building for friends when I do, so I try and save them as much scratch as I can.  Hey, I've got this stupidly ancient laptop from college, can we use that?  Well I suppose, but it'll give you issues after a year I bet.  No problem (I'll just call you *snicker*). 

So basically, it's my fault anyway for building with subpar components.  I'm not bitching so much as sharing my amusement at how the calls always seem to go down.  They're embarrassed to be calling for help so they try and chat around it until I break down and offer to provide help.

my first mame cab used a laptop (compaq armada) from over a dozen years ago running windows 98, i sold it years ago to a close friend and its still working running an ancient version of mame and is vastly superior to one of those lousy multicade boards.

[Xiaou2]

When people pay in excess of $300 for something... let alone  +$1000,   they expect the thing to last for years without issues.  They only see the bottom line price...  and do not figure in labor, delivery, setup...and future problems.    They do not want to pay a heavy price.. so better components are often not opted.


 The 'Brain'  (Motherboard & CPU)  rarely goes bad.   Maybe in 8 to 15 yrs, a Cap will bubble up.
Power Supplies, possible failure.. but easy as pie to replace.

 A CPU fan will probably get clogged up and stop.. causing Slow performance and possible CPU damages.  Recommend a periodic service checkup and or show them how to do it.

 The biggest problem is the Hard Drive, for corruption, data changes, and failure.   
Its also the most work to deal with.


 Take an example from our controlling elite.. and use Fear, to get people to chump up the extra $150 for a backup HD  with finalized disc Image.     Just start saying.. well, you know the thing could literally die in 2hrs from now.. right?   And that it would take me a good +3 weeks to be able to getting it back up and running?   

 If they do not want to put in another HD, at very minimum.. pop a flashdrive image of the OS & Mame install + config files.   They are dirt cheap these days.   Tape it somewhere in the cab, where it wont be found.. until they call...


 As for the Backup HD:

It stays In the system, but the power cable is disconnected.

 Label Both HD power cables with different colored & different named stickers.   Should there be a problem...  tell them to open the case, disconnect the  "Groovy Green" connector... and plug in the  "Code Red"  connector.

 Once the Code-Red is initiated..  get the Fear mongering out again.. and charge for a new HD replacement + reimage.  (collect money in advance)

 
 Now, Ive not done this..  But working on enough PCs, Ive played the game long enough to understand the consequences of having to reload, hunt obsolete drivers, deal with bad driver quirks, windows updates, reinstallation of customized software. Slow-as-Paint-drying data transfer speeds to old pc hardware... and other such related issues.

 I also recommend a 2nd backup image somewhere in Your house.   At minimum..  copy of all their needed drivers, windows key, software keys, hardware listing, software list.


EDIT:

 If this is for friends / family that you know you cant refuse... just put the 2nd HD in there anyways, and bump up the costs of the rest of the materials.   And or take the hit on the labor cost... because eventually, your going to get the call.   Better to be fine with that call  (easy fix -vs- entire weekend gone)..  or should I say... many calls...  than the minimum profit that your gona lose out on anyways.

[brihyn]

I stopped agreeing to any text support at all for friends when a coworker took me to her aunt's house. I didn't realize when agreeing who the support was for. Really? You want to take a coworker you barely know, other than the fact that he's in IT, to your aunt's for computer support?
I'm now at the point where the only family that gets PC support is my parents and my FiL's. And I've vowed to stop giving tech gifts to the MiL's house as well. This year I did agree to a chromecast for them, as that one seems all but impossible to screw up.

[jdbailey1206]

.....as that one seems all but impossible to screw up.

They always find a way though.  God, do they find a way to mess it up...

[eds1275]

.....as that one seems all but impossible to screw up.

They always find a way though.  God, do they find a way to mess it up...

Gah! "I found all these files in a hidden folder and I deleted them to make space, I only had 2 terabytes left. Only 2! Terabytes are small, right?"

The above situation is not factual but is entirely believeable.