There is a legendary phrase from one of our favorite shows, ‘The IT Crowd,’ that we absolutely love. The members of the IT department pick up the phone and immediately ask, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” And it encapsulates the essence of tech support in just 9 simple words!

However, what they have to deal with pales in comparison to real-life professionals. The r/techsupportgore subreddit is a fantastic place that’s dedicated to documenting the very worst things that tech support peeps have ever had to deal with while on the job. We’ve collected some of their most hilarious and bizarre posts to share with you, so don’t be shy, scroll down. Oh, and this post might convince you to treat your IT crew to lunch—they really do deserve it.

#1 Coworker Said She Would Only Accept An Official Apple Mouse So I Dug This Out Of Storage And Left It On Her Desk

Image credits: MayaIngenue

#2 When You Don’t Listen To Your Parents, When They Tell You Too Keep The Music Down

Image credits: FinishedToxicity

#3 Xfinity Came Out And Installed Cable In A New Room. This Is How They Did It

Image credits: cartoonhead

The r/techsupportgore online community has been around for more than a decade. It has its roots in early 2012 when it was first created. Recently, it celebrated its 11th birthday as a subreddit. And in that time, it has grown to immense proportions.

At the time of writing, the sub had nearly 592k members who adore the memes and jokes that surround IT staff members in their day-to-day lives. Namely, wires, wires, and more wires!

#4 “Structural” Cabling

Image credits: aquaritis

#5 Spilled Acetone On My Laptop And Now It’s Mocking Me

Image credits: putridtooth

#6 I’ve Tried Putting It In Rice But It Hasn’t Helped. Any Ideas?

Image credits: the123king-reddit

The moderator team running the community notes that members will “cringe to the brink of passing out after a few minutes looking at this subreddit.” They add that the group isn’t meant for, you know, actual tech support.

If you need urgent help or some friendly advice, there are other subreddits and places on the internet where you can go. One place that’s very useful is r/techsupport. (Though do actually restart your device and see if that clears any issues up before you reach out to them.)

#7 Wall Anchors

Image credits: raskulous

#8 What Horrors Were On This Drive?

Image credits: Rutch

#9 Customer Told Me They Were “Tired Of Hearing The Vibrations”

Image credits: GodRaine

Meanwhile, r/techsupportgore is about having fun while posting mind-melting pics of tech gone wild. The keyword here is ‘fun.’

Before you start posting every single IT-related pic you’ve found while scrolling your social media feeds, there are a few rules that you have to be aware of. And if you plan on being a long-term member of r/techsupportgore, instead of just passing through, you have to keep them in mind.

#10 Someone Found This By Magnet Fishing In A Lake

Image credits: GuRex

#11 Business Grade Is Usually 48+ Ports. Need 44 More Of These

Image credits: YawninglyTaut

#12 Yo

Image credits: armchair_psycholog

For instance, you shouldn’t post photos of devices with cracked screens. They’re incredibly common in real-life and don’t count as ‘gore’ in this context. What’s more, computers coated in dust also usually aren’t ‘bad enough’ to warrant being shared on r/techsupportgore.

Meanwhile, the community also values short-format videos. Namely, you shouldn’t post videos that are longer than 30 seconds. “This is plenty of time to show what needs to be shown,” the mods explain.

#13 The Things You Find Working A Helpdesk Job At A Failing University

Image credits: Rilough96

#14 Came Across This Atrocity

Image credits: RoboChemist101

#15 Laptop Screen “Upgrade”

Image credits: angry_subscription

While it seems slightly silly (and maybe even magical at times) that restarting your device helps solve some of the issues you’re having, there’s some solid logic hiding behind that. According to ‘Acronyms,’ when there’s an issue with modern computers, it’s usually because one of the programs is struggling or “two conflicting commands” confuse the machine.

So when you turn it off and on again, you’re resetting the device to its initial state. Everything starts over again, completely fresh.

#16 Modern Flip Phones Are So Revolutionary, It’s Now Hitting The Gpu Market At Well

Image credits: LukakoKitty

#17 My Mom Hasn’t Cleaned Her Computer Since The Day She Got It, And She Got It 6 Years Ago

Image credits: True_Salty_Boii

#18 The New Shielded Twisted Pair Cat 7

Image credits: injustice_done3

A while ago, redditor u/Coffeechipmunk, one of the moderators running r/techsupportgore, opened up to Bored Panda about the community.

“I feel like the community has grown different tastes for the subreddit over time, for sure. For a while, cable gore was boring, cracked screens, etc. Now? Bad wiring is loved,” they told us during an earlier interview.

#19 ‘How Do I Turn Off Sticky Keys?’

Image credits: samlymatters

#20 Touch Grass

Image credits: beads6

#21 Is This How Monitor Arms Work?

Image credits: duodesu

According to the mod, the foundations of the sub are built on the idea that the community is meant for sharing “stuff in the tech support or IT field that’s a computer comparable version of gore.” So instead of “a heart ripped out, it’s CPU pins.” The mod quipped: “Slightly less awful.”

Redditor u/Coffeechipmunk told Bored Panda that some of the worst cases of tech gore that they’ve seen include devices “with bugs in it” which they think are “the worst.” Among the top worst cases is also “the guy who got a laptop full of milk.”

#22 I Can’t Believe I Work Here

Image credits: mastermoolah

#23 The Network Installation At My Job. It Is As Stable As You Think

Image credits: aruisehu

#24 Running The Front Desk Phone And Internet

Image credits: Computer_Panda

During another interview, the moderator told Bored Panda that a lot of the content shared by members of the sub “does rather well.” The only exceptions are when people actually try to get real tech support.

Meanwhile, the reason for the subreddit’s continued success is just how fun it is. “In a time where most of the internet can be incredibly serious and most times saddening or angering, r/techsupportgore is fun because you go on it and you can laugh (and/or cringe) at the crazy posts. Where else can you see a post like, ‘Wow, these cables really are messy’ to, ‘A lizard fried my motherboard’ back to back? I love our growing community. They’re a bunch of people that just enjoy tech and to some extent, the worst of it,” the moderator said.

#25 I Think My Psu Has Some Kind Of Error

Image credits: the123king-reddit

#26 Ftp “Server” In A Client’s Mop And Broom Closet

Image credits: Yukanojo

#27 Bonfire Lit

Image credits: reddit.com

We are big fans of the subreddit here at Bored Panda, and we’ve been following its growth over the years. For some more recent features about r/techsupportgore, check out our earlier article here and here, as well as here, here, and here.

#28 Someone On Fb Posted This After Saying His Charger Kept Getting Taken At Work

Image credits: mesdvdna

#29 Mullet PC, Business In Front And Party In The Back

Image credits: sirawesome63

#30 I Replaced The Ssd And Mixed Up Some Screws

Image credits: cvtudor

Which of these tech disasters made you facepalm the most, Pandas? Have you ever had to deal with anything even remotely similar? Do you work in tech support and have you ever seen something like this with your own two eyes? You can share your opinions and experiences in the comments. And remember: before asking for help, try turning it off and on again!

#31 Ticket Said “Second Monitor Stopped Working”

Image credits: gbarnick

#32 Burn In So Bad, You Can See The Colors Of The Original Image

Image credits: erds123

#33 Thats Peak Explosion Risk

Image credits: Inkednasty

#34 Imagine The Smell

Image credits: FinishedToxicity

#35 Welp

Image credits: LowTranslator

#36 Rtx 3080 Ultimate Gore Cooling Edition

Image credits: FuriousAnalFisting

#37 The Ceiling Leaked All Over The Computers At Work

Image credits: garprice05

#38 Co-Worker Decided To Wipe The Monitor With Clorox Bleach Wipes

Image credits: cltdyna

#39 Customer: My Laptop Turns Off After One Or Two Minutes After I Press Turn On Button. We Diagnosed Laptop, And Found That After Few Seconds, Vent Of The Laptop Gets To 75°c So, Opened A Laptop And Found “Piece Of Carpet” (Brand: Cat&human Carpets) Blocking The Cooler

Image credits: ZuborInside

#40 Oops

Image credits: thema123

#41 Customer Forgot The Electric Stove Was Still On

Image credits: SomeOtherLlama

#42 My Mother’s College Laptop, Which Still Works And She Completed Her Semester On It. She Refuses To Get Rid Of It Or Try To Fix It

Image credits: Anuyushi

#43 Serious Question: When Do You Guys Start Disciplining People For Damaging Company Property?

Image credits: runredrabbitdotexe

#44 Farewell Rickety Rack, You May Be Cheap And Nasty But You Did The Job

Image credits: Tooleater

#45 Self Melting LCD

Image credits: initial_chris

#46 Ah Yes The Best Nas

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#47 “I Don’t Know Why, But The Vga Port Not Working “

Image credits: SaoriTakebe

#48 Just A Friendly Reminder Not To Leave Your Laptop In Your Car When It’s 0° Overnight. Yes That’s Condensation

Image credits: LakeM0nst3r

#49 Proprietary Connectors Be Damned

Image credits: rangerxs1

#50 Just Found Out A Sales Rep’s Laptop Has This Going On. I Freaked And Told Them It Needs To Leave The Building And Shouldn’t Be Used. Was Told They’ll Just Order A Battery I Shouldn’t Start A “Panic” Meanwhile She Brings This Thing Home And Told Me She Leaves It In Bed And On The Couch. Wtf

Image credits: Kaden_LT

#51 This Cool Asus Device Allows 2 External Displays. Theoretically

Image credits: YawninglyTaut

#52 Dual Channel Doesn’t Work

Image credits: BillGatos

#53 I’m Getting Tetanus From Looking At That

Image credits: YawninglyTaut

#54 “My Son Wants To Get In It Too! He’s Already Connected The Wire For You” Client While Mounting Access Point In The Office

Image credits: AusnapDarnhouse

#55 I Present To You This. They Put It Inside An Oven, Forgot About It And Then Turned The Oven On

Image credits: BroLegendCZE

#56 Can You Spot The Previous Technicians Mistake? Phone Just Came In And Won’t Turn On. Customer Is Complaining About The Phone Getting Hot

Image credits: qhoeger

#57 Just Delidded My First Cpu, How Did I Do?

Image credits: FourEyes4456

#58 Roomies Somehow Managed To Break This Off

Image credits: Sharkbot9990

#59 We Still Don’t Know The Full Story Behind This. It Was Left On The Av Repair Desk At A School District. I Was Actually Able To Get The Motherboard Running In A Different Chassis And Pull The Serial Number. The Tech At The School That Serial Belonged To Said They Didn’t Know About It

Image credits: HaggardMelon

#60 Lenovo Claimed “Water Damage”

Image credits: IAMBUDE

#61 Friend Of Mine Wanted Replace His Thermal Paste.. Assured Me I Don’t Need To Come Over Bc He Knows Where It Goes

Image credits: xJunoDraws

#62 “Scratches At A Level 6 And Deeper Groves At A Level 7”

Image credits: Paelyne

#63 Im Scared To Fine Out Whats Inside

Image credits: maguatier

#64 Fan Failure

Image credits: 415Legend

#65 I Was Called Into Work Because Our Voip Phones Were Down And Passed By This…

Image credits: blackhawkgooner

#66 Given Enough Time, The Head Can Cut All The Way Through The Platter

Image credits: bolhuijo

#67 Customer Complained About Poor Internet Connection. Patch Cable Sitting On The Electric Baseboard Heater Just Miiiiggggghhhhtt Have Been The Issue

Image credits: ZappBrannigansLaw

#68 Client States Laptop Behaves Erratic When Plugged Into USB C Dock… Found Yer Issue

Image credits: TechIoT

#69 The Things You Have To Do To Keep The Xbox From Overheating

Image credits: Serious_Fun7333

#70 Almost Time To Say Goodbye To The Old Ericcson Pabx , Worked Hard For The Last 20+ Years

Image credits: 99th_Ctrl_Alt_Delete

#71 Spicy Pillow

Image credits: DirtyRobots

#72 A Little Accident

Image credits: Spiritual-System-367

#73 Ooooh! Fluffy Pillow!

Image credits: y_da_hec_u_readn_dis

#74 Airflow Improved

Image credits: GmVik3

#75 I Proudly Present The Rs232 Unfukker 3000

Image credits: Sp4wi

#76 Well There’s The Problem

Image credits: the123king-reddit

#77 The Amount Of Disassembly Required To Replace The Hard-Drive In A Cheapo Walmart Hp Laptop

Image credits: rainnn_x

#78 Breaker Keeps Tripping

Image credits: AnnoyingDiods

#79 USB3 Connector

Image credits: Twitch_Exicor

#80 Pimp My Dell

Image credits: SATADrive420

#81 Lost The M2 Screw

Image credits: brandibarbiex

#82 My Cities Xmas Lights Display Power Distribution. 2 Of About 50 Like This

Image credits: HackerBill

#83 Opened Up A Calculator To See This

Image credits: MaliRuzni

#84 A Friend Of Mine Asked Me If I Could Look At The Gas Boiler Because It No Longer Produced Hot Water

Image credits: initial_chris

#85 Dear Oems, Stop Trying To Water Cool Things As You Suck At It. $3000 Zotac Magnus’ Failed Cooling System Teardown

Image credits: Speedy_Greyhound

#86 Short Range Taser. I Will Not Be Taking Questions

Image credits: redditAdminsArePeds

#87 I Use This To Play Steam

Image credits: BlackMesaResearchTec

#88 Nailed It!

Image credits: myrianthi

#89 Has Anyone Seen My Dos Boot Disk?

Image credits: Working_Inspection22

#90 Riddle Me This: What Happens If You Touch Ground Connector On Both Sockets Simultaneously?

Image credits: Dormidont

#91 We Paid Someone For This

Image credits: citricacidx

#92 Well, That Explains Why My Hotel Room Remote Only Works When It Wants To

Image credits: ForumT-Rexin

#93 That Remote Is The Best Thing I’ve Ever Seen

Image credits: XOIIO

#94 Somehow It Still Boots

Image credits: Fried_dwarf

#95 Case Got Slammed So Hard In Shipping The Cpu Dented The Heatsink

Image credits: gilbertsmith

#96 220v Poe Injectior

Image credits: TheMightyZote

#97 Colleague’s “Perfectly Fine” Rj45 Termination

Image credits: CewlCallewl

#98 Wiped The Drive

Image credits: Journeyman-Joe

#99 The Amount Of Disassembly Required To Replace The Hard-Drive In A Cheapo Walmart Hp Laptop

#100 You Win Some, You Lose… One. One Pin That Is

#101 Mullet PC, Business In Front And Party In The Back

Source: boredpanda.com