Manager showed off his DOS prowess – with a command that wiped data
A reader nicknamed "Clay" has recounted to The Register's "Who, Me?" column how, as a junior manager on a 1980s Swedish construction site, he accidentally deleted a colleague's files after asking to try out a PC during his lunch break. The anecdote serves as a light-hearted cautionary tale about letting non-technical managers loose on computer systems, a recurring theme in the long-running weekly confessional column.
Clay explained that only two site engineers had computers at the time, and out of curiosity he asked to use one during a break. Having little choice but to agree, the junior engineer let him sit down, at which point Clay typed the only DOS command he knew, "DEL *.*", wiping everything in the accessible directory. His colleague reportedly forgave him and he kept his job, though he says the memory of the command still haunts him.
In short
- Manager on 1980s Swedish site tried a colleague's PC.
- He typed "DEL *.*", deleting all accessible files.
- Colleague forgave him; story is a "Who, Me?" cautionary tale.
Explained simply
The Register publishes a weekly column called "Who, Me?" where readers share embarrassing technology mishaps from their careers. One reader, nicknamed Clay, has recounted an incident from the 1980s at a Swedish construction site where he worked as a junior manager. Computing equipment was rare at the time, with only two computers on site, but during his lunch break Clay asked if he could try using one.
When his junior engineer colleague agreed, Clay typed a computer command he remembered: "DEL *.*" This wiped all the accessible files from the computer in seconds. Although his colleague ultimately forgave him and Clay kept his job, he says the memory of that command still troubles him.
The anecdote is presented as a light-hearted cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing people without technical knowledge to use computers unsupervised. Similar stories appear regularly in the column, illustrating how easily systems can malfunction when basic safeguards and training are absent, a problem particularly common in the early days of computing.