a semi vent and Question

my Question to you is have you ever tryed ctrl and w at the same time and some thing happen to your computer other then shut the page your on


DD 14 was over at a friends place the other day and she and her friend were playng around on her friends computer, DD pressed ctrl +w at the same time and it "did " something to the computer I tryed this on my computer and all it did was shut the page I was on. so when I ask whats wrong with the computer all they say is it has done some thing to it and it needs fixing I have no idea what is wrong with it and whether the cause of the problem was caused by DD.

I'm happy to help pay for it to be fixed if it was DD's fault but the fact that they won't give me any info on what is wrong with it ie, if it freezes,can't log on to the internet, computer dosen't turn on or off or if computer gone on to safty mode.

Unless they tell you EXACTLY what she did i wouldnt be paying for it, as you said you tried it and it did nothing, maybe there child did something to it and at the age of 14 dosnt want to own up to it, so its easier to play the blame game !!

Surely Ctrl = W can't break the computer.

I wouldn't be paying for anything!

That is really strange, I doubt it could have done anything. I would ask them if they have tried restoring the computer and if not I would say that I would take it in to the shop, then you can check it yourself.

Have you spoken to the mum?? Seems odd that they wont tell you exactly what is wrong with the computer.

I would definetly want more information before I handed any money over!

all control W does is close the current browsing window.

I would get more information, I think you are being conned.

They are bullsh*tting, their computer has a virus and they clearly dont understanding windows computers. or they have installed something on the computer that is causing issues and need to uninstall whatever it is or finally they may not have enough room left on their harddrive.

There are no basic key combos that you can use to "break a computer" and cause issues like that after a restart.

Tell them to pay for it themselves or do a system restore but backup all their data before they do it

so yeah, not your issue at all. Its just a coincidence. Your dd was using it with her friend and said friend should be old enough to look after the computer.

Nope, I wouldn't be paying.

Both girls were obviously on the computer together ... if it was my dd and her friend, there is no way I'd try and get the other parents to pay.
That said, if they provided details of what was wrong, and it was something that the girls had done (and a repair shop proved this), I would consider half the cost, or throwing in a bit. But not the whole lot, and not without a lot more information.

No, Do not pay, I work in IT and say this is not possible from what you have described.

There was probably something already wrong with the computer. Even so, if both teens were playing around, then its her daughters responsibility to make sure her friend doesn't cause issues!

I cant believe they are asking for money!

Ctrl W closes the window. Obviously this can't break the computer. What else did she do?

Unless they describe exactly what else she did and what the computer is doing I'd be telling them where they can stick it. I'd probably tell them Ctrl W can't possibly break the computer - it sounds like a coincidence, or maybe a virus.

I wouldn't be asking someone to pay because their child presses a button that causes a problem (which it doesn't even sound like is what happened), if they were playing hockey in my house and nailed the screen with a hockey puk, maybe, but a genuine mistake, whilst playing WITH my own child...nup, thats something you just deal with, you dont go billing childs parents.

No I don't think your daughter should have to pay for it, or you for that matter.

Thanks for the replies

My first thought was that I was being scamed and that ctrl+ w couldn't break a computer but untill I can find out more info I'll just have to take her word for it for now but I won't pay for any thing untill I know
if it was dd's fault and If it was I'll only pay half as both girls were both there playing with it.

I have spoken to the mother she said she dosn't know whats wrong with it just that it "did" some thing....and that she hasn't had time to sit down and have a proper look at it....I offered to go over and have a look but she said there's no need. What the, of course there is if she wants me to pay for it

My feeling is that there is nothing wrong with it and thay are trying to get fee money at our exspence or have some how got a virus or something and are trying to get us to pay for it.

I think the next time I speak to her I'll offer to take it to were we get our computers looked at when it have a virus and see what her reaction is

I would tell them to drop it off at my place and I will have a look at it. If they don't let you fix it, tell them to take a hike.

I wouldn't pay to have it fixed if that's all your DD did.

so I spoke to the mother again she said

after dd did ctrl + W the screen just went large and it wont fix or go smaller at all and its not like the normal internet explorer its google chrome I told her to try to do system restore yet she said no and I havn't heard back from her yet to see if it worked

Ctrl and the - together will reduce her font size.

I use Ctrl W ALL the time to close tabs I am no longer using.

Google Chrome is simply a different browser than Explorer and she can go restore her default browser to IE simply by opening IE. If Chrome has been made the default browser by mistake then opening IE should prompt a pop up stating 'IE is not your current default browser, would you like to make it your current browser?' A simple click of Yes/No will fix it.

It sounds like she is trying to scam you in a big way!

From your last post, all the issues are easily fixed and don't need a computer technician to do so.

If the screen goes large I am sure you press F11 button and it wi go back down to normal size. I just tried it on Mozilla and it works.

Hmmm....some good advice here. I think you will be able to fix it with some EB advice! No money needed. Bit wary of that parent.

Sounds like their computer had issues in the first place, perhaps too much on the hard drive. Ring the computer place and ask them why it would have happened, then tell the parents what you found.