December 1, 2007

Best support article ever! 2

by Tim Lee • Music, Technology

This put a big smile on my face today for no apparently reason, maybe it’s the music geek inside me that’s laughing. Microsoft’s Help and Support Knowledge Base article 261186: Computer Randomly Plays Classical Music. Apparently, certain Award/Unicore BIOSes and detection circuits from 1997 on would alert you that the processor fan was failing the power supply, or that the voltages had drifted out of tolerance by playing classical music.

So without clicking on the article, does anyone know what it would play?

I’ll give you a clue: Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59 by Beethoven. One of the most over-played piece ever — Yup, Für Elise!

And of course, the Sherman Brothers / Disney’s It’s a Small, Small World!

I think this is one hilarious error message, shows some great humour by the engineers that designed the circuits. :D Plus, it gives a lot of incentive for the user to get their PC fixed, since who wouldn’t go crazy if their PC tuned “It’s a Small World After All” over and over and over and over and….But if you asked me, they should have included one song that will surely drive anyone crazy when played over and over again — Pachelbel’s Canon: