When I was younger I had a computer where the front fell off and stripped the wires from the button.
To turn it on and off I had to hold the wires together, felt like I was hot wiring a car every time.
this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2025
1154 points (98.6% liked)
Programmer Humor
27196 readers
1025 users here now
Welcome to Programmer Humor!
This is a place where you can post jokes, memes, humor, etc. related to programming!
For sharing awful code theres also Programming Horror.
Rules
- Keep content in english
- No advertisements
- Posts must be related to programming or programmer topics
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Perfect prelude to playing GTA
Wasn't this built so the front wouldn't fall off?
Well, Its not very typical, I'd like to make that point.
We've towed it outside of the environment.
Well how is it untypical?
When I bench tested components at a PC shop, I’d use my smallest screwdriver to short the pins on the motherboard to start up the caseless computer.
load more comments
(3 replies)
It’s also how we accidentally shut them down before saving our work
Now that’s my cat’s job. Never again will I buy a case with a top mounted power button.
I had to disconnect power button from mobo because my room mate's cat would just shut it off, luckily I had a case whose side panel was very easy to open with a hinge, so I tied two cables near the latch and to turn it in, I'd turn the latch open the case, quickly short the cables and close the panel and latch.
Thanks for reminding me of that. Also I swear that cat knew what I did and kept trying to open the latch for a few months before giving up.
Same with me but I have a toddler. Windows has a power button setting that I switched to do nothing when pressed.
I almost did, but instead connected one pin from the reset button and one from the power button to the power header, then bridged the other two connectors making it so I have to push both to fire it up. Easy for me to operate, and he’s still not figured it out haha.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
You could install a second power switch inline with the first. If both are momentary contact then you’d have to press both at the same time to turn it on(or hold one, etc).
I’ve never actually needed on of these but they keep showing up in movies/games…so I’d vote this. Toggle it on then press the normal button. You could leave it on to keep the regular button working or toggle it off and disable it.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
ctl-alt-defeet
Kids these days with their 5% overclocks.
Back in my day we had 100% overclocks!
You might have meant it as a joke but just in case someone else isn't aware, this button actually made your CPU slower 🤓
Depends on the motherboard version. On later ones, the turbo actually worked to make your PC faster.
As far as I understand, it's purely marketing semantics.
The point of the 'Turbo' button is to slow the CPU down to provide compatibility with old software that was written with a fixed clockspeed, where the software would become unusably fast on newer CPUs.
Calling this a "slow" mode or "compatibility" mode wasn't very marketing-sexy however, so manufacturers just flipped it around and called the normal speed 'Turbo'.
With later systems, developers all became aware that varying CPU frequencies were a thing, and started to base their software timings on the realtime clock instead.
So in later systems there was no longer any need to have the CPU run at anything other than its maximum (normal) speed - and the turbo button simply went away.
load more comments
(3 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
And also how you sometimes accidentally turned it off in the middle of an intense Quake 3 session.
Still do.
Yeah, did other people's computers stop having power buttons or something?
Mine would require an impressive feet of lifting my legs above my desk
Power buttons used to be roughly at the center of the front panel, but now it’s either at the edges or at the top
load more comments
(4 replies)
I remember Macintosh computers from circa 1990. Even then Apple loved to just remove buttons because they hate buttons. Because it was so perfectly intuitive to drag a disc icon over to the fucking trash can icon in order to eject the floppy disc, they didn't have a physical eject button for the floppy drive. Helpfully, they instead put the power button right where a floppy drive eject button should have been. So I was constantly turning the computer off whenever I wanted to eject a disc.
load more comments
(3 replies)
mine was an actual heavy-ass switch. it felt like shutting down the power of an entire neighborhood.
load more comments
(4 replies)
I remember our family computer having an actual switch instead of a button.
Still did the toe thing though, down for on and up for off.
Still do.
Its a matter of principle.
Nine times out of ten I'd hit the turbo button and then spend half an hour wondering why the family computer was running slowly...
load more comments
(4 replies)
My computer had a key. The trick was to grip it between your toes.
Has something changed?
Smaller power buttons and often on top rather than in front. Also feel like hard and clicky is more popular than soft and linear now
load more comments
(7 replies)
In 2025 I don't turn off the computer.
Mine had the power button too high, so I would accidentally turn it off with my knee
Tarantino approves.
We used to have a power bar that every thing was connected to. Same principle applies.
Power button on top sucks balls, I preferred it on the front
I used to get little muscle spasms in my legs if I sat for too long that made them kick out and the amount of times I accidentally kicked the power button was comical.
I guess that's why they call it "booting"
view more: next ›