1. DEC technician cannot fix computer. I ask to help him and amazingly, he agrees. We go over the diagrams and the problems and I suggest that he replace a certain board.

"But I have already replaced that module, twice," he replied.

After analyzing the problem, I was still convinced that this particular board was at fault. "Try it one more time," I suggested.

"OK." He replaced the board with a new one from a sealed box for the third time and it worked !

2. I was installing a link between a computer and a cash register. The link had three components:
a. Board in computer
b. Board in cash register
c. Connecting cable

The connection did not work. We could not figure out which component was bad. Each time we tried something, we got null results. Guess which of the three brand new components was defective.

Answer: All three.

Moral: Just because it comes directly from the manufacturer in a box with the shrink-wrap still on it, does not mean that it is any good.

David F Mayer