A Simple Answer to a Simple Problem for a Simpleton

It has been about a week and a half since I brought my stuff from New Mexico, and I finally got my computer to work. I had hooked everything up -- nothing. I disconnected everything and tried it again in my office (where there are three-prong, grounded outlets) -- nothing. Finally, yesterday, I left work early so that I could call the help line during a time I was likely to speak with someone in my own time zone who speaks English as a first language. (Okay, so being fed up with work for the day helped, too.)

What the technician told me (which ended up being correct) was to check the power switch on the power supply on the back of the computer because it might have been switched off. "You don't mean the switch on the front of the computer?" No. "By 'power supply' you don't mean the power strip I plug the computer into?" No.

Hoo boy. I knew I was computer illiterate, but I had no idea that computers come with two power switches. (A fail-safe mechanism, I guess.) This is why mechanics will always be employed -- because some of us can drive cars and push lawn mowers and use computers but have absolutely no facility for repairing them.