No matter how good you are at your job, there are always things that baffle you and maybe even concern you.

See why the head scratcher in this story got really frustrating. And then led to a facepalm.

I thought I was cursed

I recently had to prepare a Dell laptop for an employee. I have a pile of neatly stacked latitude laptops on my workbench. I opened the topmost laptop and started to image it as normal.

The keyboard and mousepad both don’t work. That’s ok, it’s probably a driver issue. I update the drivers and the display keeps going in and out. I figure that’s normal with a full driver update and don’t think much about it.

Then it turns into a mystery. Paranormal, perhaps?

I reboot after the driver update and the keyboard and mouse still doesn’t work and the display is still going out at random times.

I decide I will work on this laptop later and grab another one and place it on the top of the pile so I can work on it. This laptop has all the same issues as the last one. Screen going in and out and the keyboard and mouse don’t work.

That’s strange …

At this point I’m trying not to get too far behind, so I bring a third laptop to the top of the pile and start working on it.

All the exact same issues are happening. I start to think I’m cursed.

There’s no way I got 3 laptops in a row that have a bad keyboard, mouse AND screen.

Then a logical explanation emerges.

Defeated, I grab the laptop off the top of the pile and go sit at my desk to think about what I’m going to do next.

I get to my desk and open the laptop, it works just fine. Befuddled, I go back to my workbench to configure the laptop. I set it back on the pile of other laptops and it stops working immediately.

Pick it up, and the screen pops right back on.

Like a caveman discovering fire I continue to lift the laptop and place it back down, and each time the screen goes on and off.

Turns out you shouldn’t work on laptops that are stacked on top of one another Because magnets in one laptop can apparently affect another laptop in close proximity.

Here is what folks are talking about.

Cool to learn how it happens.

They’re probably the placebo effect anyway.

Nice tip!

Handy! Testing is important.

I would have cried in frustration. LOL.

Magnets gotta be magnets.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.