Survey reveals "oddball" IT requests

Where is that "any" key, anyway?

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3 October 2008 13:37 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

"My laptop was run over by a truck. What should I do?" This question and others - even more random - have been fielded by American IT professionals, a recent survey reveals.

The survey by Robert Half Technology, an IT staffing firm in the US, asked more than 1400 companies: "What is the strangest or most unusual request you or a member of your help desk or technical support team has ever received?"

Some of the responses sound like something from a viral email, or the punchline to a geeky joke: "There are animal crackers in my CD-ROM drive".

Others, such as "Why isn’t my wireless mouse connected to the computer?" or, "Can you rearrange the keyboard alphabetically?" or even, "My computer is telling me to press any key to continue. Where is the 'any' key?" must have tested the patience of the support staff.

Some of the more strange complaints were animal-themed: "A server went down, and I found a lizard had crawled into it and died", or "A skunk ate my cable".

We'll leave you with one request from an anonymous computer user that we can all relate to: "I'd like to stop receiving e-mail on Fridays..."