My friend said to always ask the most basic question first, but it saved a whole project

Honestly, my buddy Mark told me to start every troubleshooting session by asking 'Is it plugged in?' before doing anything fancy. I thought it was a dumb joke, but last week I spent 45 minutes trying to fix a client's website analytics that weren't tracking. Tbh, I checked the code, the server logs, everything. Finally, I asked if they'd updated the tracking code on their site. They said no, and the old one was still there but broken. Ngl, has anyone else had a simple question fix a huge problem after overthinking it?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.victor8d ago

My old IT teacher drilled "check the physical layer" into our heads. I once watched a senior tech spend two hours on a network outage before someone noticed the cleaner had unplugged a switch to use the vacuum. The fanciest tools won't help if the basic link is gone. It's a pride thing, we all want to jump to the complex fix.

henry_webb688d ago

That "pride thing" is so real. I always force myself to check cables and lights first, even if it feels too simple. It saves way more face than chasing ghosts for hours.

anthony_sullivan687d ago

Watched a buddy reinstall a printer driver three times before I pointed out the USB was loose. He just stared at the wall for a solid minute.