VOGONS

Common searches


Kids destroying computer hardware

Topic actions

First post, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

VIsited my parents house while they were on vacation last weekend and checked out their downstairs computer.

I opened the lid and it almost looked like the screen was cracked but nope somehow my sisters kids had scribbled with a pen on the monitor. Arrgggghh, whhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy. Bought a $60 replacement panel (since I noticed some bad pixels) that I'll stick in when they are older. It's annoying but still useable and two monitors are connected to the laptop as well. Yet another reason I don't have kids. I'll see if I can post a pic the next time I visit and mabye try to clean that shit off assuming I want to waste my time for people that don't give a crap.

This is for a MSI GT72 Dominator Pro G-1666 I bought in 2016 for a deployment but never used for gaming so I replaced their Dell D630 (Windows 10) they had been using since 2007 with it.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 1 of 23, by cyclone3d

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

My 2 year old got ahold of a black sharpie and wrote on both of my screens a while back as well as some other stuff. We looked it up online and there were some posts that said to use a dry erase marker to remove marker and pen marks off of stuff.

Much to my amazement, it worked extremely well. Just write over it with a dry erase marker and then wipe off. Sometimes it takes a coupe times to get it to all come off but you don't have to scrub or anything like that.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 2 of 23, by imi

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

kids? 🤣... you should see my office colleagues pens and pencils are their favorite pointing devices on monitors... (need to touch it firmly to be able to show something obviously) ...if they want to be gentle they just touch them with their greasy fingers ^^

I once got a big present for myself by getting a super expensive EIZO 27" monitor... like 1week after I bought it there was a cable technician at the house installing a new modem, and I had to check something on the web interface... when they proceeded to almost punch through my monitor with their fingertip trying to show me something... I just sat there and gasped like... D: ...asked quietly "please don't touch" fortunately the monitor survived the incident.

Reply 3 of 23, by badmojo

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

A friend sent me a photo of his TV the other day, all scratched because his youngest (who isn't that young) inexplicably scraped a vase back and forth over it. Perhaps relevant though is that he's one of those screen-touchy-touch types mentioned by imi - I hate it when people do that!

My kids though have been great because gosh darn it I taught them to respect screens and other people's stuff in general! Once we established that televisions aren't touch screens then we were in business 🐱‍🏍

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 4 of 23, by Intel486dx33

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Little kids are smart. Most won't even waste their time playing with a computer. Maybe they watch their parents spend too much time behind a computer when they should be spending there time with their children. So maybe the kids took out their anger on the computer. Those little people are so smart and they know exactly what they are doing.

Last edited by Stiletto on 2020-08-11, 02:52. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 5 of 23, by keenmaster486

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
DosFreak wrote on 2020-07-31, 21:17:

Yet another reason I don't have kids.

It all can be traced to parenting. Teach them well and they won't do this, or they'll do it exactly once.

badmojo wrote on 2020-07-31, 22:16:

My kids though have been great because gosh darn it I taught them to respect screens and other people's stuff in general! Once we established that televisions aren't touch screens then we were in business 🐱‍🏍

Yep!

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-07-31, 23:28:

Little kids are smart. Most won't even waste their time playing with a computer. Maybe they watch their parents spend too much time behind a computer when they should be spending there time with their children. So maybe the kids took out their anger on the computer. Those little people are so smart and they know exactly what they are doing.

Were you ever a child?

Last edited by Stiletto on 2020-08-11, 02:52. Edited 1 time in total.

World's foremost 486 enjoyer.

Reply 7 of 23, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

I remember watching a video somewhere of teenagers destroying CRT monitors/TVs with baseball bats for "fun".

Some of those were high quality Sony Trinitrons.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 8 of 23, by Jo22

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2020-08-01, 06:41:

I remember watching a video somewhere of teenagers destroying CRT monitors/TVs with baseball bats for "fun".

Some of those were high quality Sony Trinitrons.

I remember another "educational" video were a tall human (adult/mature doesn't fit) destroys a working MDA monitor with a hammer.
It's just some sort of Click Bait tactic to get many viewers, I guess.
Still kinda sad, because the model was in such good condition.
https://youtu.be/QOG6DAVFrkc

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 9 of 23, by Intel486dx33

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Maybe the kids found the computer too difficult for coloring so they took their crayons out on it.
“That how you do it Mr. Computer”.

Last edited by Stiletto on 2020-08-11, 02:53. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 10 of 23, by chinny22

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Depends on what age and more so intentions.
Washing the car with my 4yo last weekend and he dropped the sponge in gravel, picked it up and continued. now have a bunch of little scratches in the paint but cant be mad, he was trying to help.
Same boy pulling pages out of one of his books knowing it's not correct. Nah mate you can watch me out that book in the bin and off to bed, that's him testing his parents.

Neighbour with same aged girl just got a Tesla with white interior, why? kids are messy, they will drop things, spill things, climb on things either to reach something or just for the challenge.
accept that and acknowledge thing will be messy until somewhere in school age (don't really know haven't reached that point yet) both you and the kid will have much less stressful life.

As a teen I assembled model kits, had friends/cousins similar age that would open the display case and handle them and of course something would fall off.
Again intentions weren't bad just wanted a closer look but come on what part of behind a closed glass door made you think you were supposed to pick them up? old enough to know better by this point.

Miphee wrote on 2020-08-01, 06:05:

My hobby room, workshop and garage are always locked, off-limits to my kids. Problem solved.

I'm trying the opposite approach, let him in and take away the mystery and he'll loose interest. It's starting to work (only lived here since last December) He still likes to go into the garage but gets bored of it much quicker now.
I do realise I'm going to have to do it all again when kid #2 gets older as well so while away yet.

And yeh Top Gear is guilty of this destruction for entertainment as well with some of their cars.
You can't get mad at people destroying things while they are simply obsolete and people are dumping on mass, I'll even forgive people that don't know that say something like an old computer is desired by a small community and thinks they are just smashing some "old junk"
But yeh like the linked video, a boxed monitor that he must of known the worth as he didn't do the same to the PC, consumerism at it's ugliest.

Reply 11 of 23, by Miphee

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
chinny22 wrote on 2020-08-04, 09:14:

I'm trying the opposite approach, let him in and take away the mystery and he'll loose interest.

Depends entirely on the kid's personality.
My daughter (10) is a daddy's girl and wants to be with me 24/7. My boy(5) is a little adventurer so nothing is safe that isn't locked away. He loses interest quickly but starts again the next week.
And my little girl is a destroyer, well.. because she is 3.
To be honest I require my personal space where no one else is allowed, so locking it is natural to me (especially because the room is packed with 4m tall shelves filled with heavy computers and monitors so it's safer that way).
The old lady is softer on them so her room is often a mess after the kids are done playing.
Not on my watch.

Reply 12 of 23, by dr_st

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
DosFreak wrote on 2020-07-31, 21:17:

I opened the lid and it almost looked like the screen was cracked but nope somehow my sisters kids had scribbled with a pen on the monitor. Arrgggghh, whhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy. Bought a $60 replacement panel (since I noticed some bad pixels) that I'll stick in when they are older. It's annoying but still useable and two monitors are connected to the laptop as well. Yet another reason I don't have kids. I'll see if I can post a pic the next time I visit and mabye try to clean that shit off assuming I want to waste my time for people that don't give a crap.

I have kids, and tons of computer hardware, and none of my kids ever damaged any of my hardware. I think the last part of your statement is pretty much the reason of all problems, whether kids are involved or not. 😀

https://cloakedthargoid.wordpress.com/ - Random content on hardware, software, games and toys

Reply 13 of 23, by chinny22

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
Miphee wrote on 2020-08-04, 10:12:

Depends entirely on the kid's personality.

100% plus the parent.
He does respect my no a lot more then his mothers, she also doesn't let him do as much (she's a worrier) so even if she did let him into the garage doubt she would let him touch anything anyway 🤣
Youngest is 8 months he's no trouble but also the reason I don't have much need for personal space. babies need care 24/7? didn't see that in the advertisement 😉

When I was little dad borrowed his fathers caravan when studying for his masters degree. When not studying he'd lock the door and everything was safe from us kids, think I was 8.
Did I want to go in? of course! yet I still grew up relevantly normal. No correct way of bringing up kids -definitely incorrect ways though, like letting them go wild at other peoples houses.

Reply 14 of 23, by jesolo

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Children needs to have boundaries and it's your responsibility as parent to set those boundaries and ensure that they are adhered to. If the children do not adhere to those boundaries, then there are consequences.

I have a small study with some of my computers in there. I used to lock the door every time (when my children were younger) but these days I don't have to, because they know...

Reply 15 of 23, by wiretap

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I let my 3 year old come in the computer room while I'm there. Just yesterday he built a mechanical keyboard with me. I let him pop in the hot swap Cherry MX switches and put on the keycaps. The right thing to do is let them be part of what you're doing, and explain everything. Most kids lash out and destroy stuff you're always involved with because they are excluded and don't have knowledge of what the things are. I decided to get my son involved at 2 years old to prevent that. He loves everything in the computer room and is always careful, asking me before he touches something. At 2, he could point out to me what different computer components were (RAM, CPU, graphics card, etc).

My Github
Circuit Board Repair Manuals

Reply 16 of 23, by badmojo

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Right on wiretap, kids aren't dumb, they just don't know what they don't know. Treat them like destructive monsters who can't be trusted and they will be thus. There are exceptions of course some people are just jerks regardless of age!

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 17 of 23, by IBMFan

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Kids are like cats.They are kind, curious and playful one day and attack and destroy everything you love the next.It's called terrible twos (threes) for a reason.
It has nothing to do with intelligence,kids simply test their boundaries and that often involves smashing daddys retro stuff when he isn't there (thats why it needs to be in a locked room).All kids are like that even if parents want to think their little ones are special.

Reply 18 of 23, by RacoonRider

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

At the age of three I destroyed our TV. It was on, I pulled the lid from the back and saw some colored wires. I wanted them. I though I would free the colors from the TV into the room. So I grabbed a handful and pulled with all my weight. The colors left the TV with some magic smoke and a loud crack, but never made it into the room.

The TV was never completely repaired, a few masters came and only one of them managed to get at least some picture in shades of green and gray. This happened during a very serious economical and political crysis here in Russia, just after the downfall of USSR. A working TV was a real treasure and I ruined it. Still, my parents were more worried about me miraculously escaping electric shock rather then anything else. We watched everything in 50 shades of green and gray for a few years until we could afford a better TV.

Reply 19 of 23, by wiretap

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
IBMFan wrote on 2020-08-05, 06:24:

Kids are like cats.They are kind, curious and playful one day and attack and destroy everything you love the next.It's called terrible twos (threes) for a reason.
It has nothing to do with intelligence,kids simply test their boundaries and that often involves smashing daddys retro stuff when he isn't there (thats why it needs to be in a locked room).All kids are like that even if parents want to think their little ones are special.

During that phase, if you give in 1 time to a boundary limit, they'll destroy things. However if you stand your ground for what's bad versus what's good behavior and remain calm about it, they will not destroy things. It is both about learning/intelligence and boundaries. It isn't about thinking a kid is special, it is about parenting skills - mostly being patient and unwaivering.

My Github
Circuit Board Repair Manuals