I had a friend once come over and was trying to do something on my computer, and it wasn't working. I tell him exactly what to do, and it doesn't work. I watch him do exactly what needs to be done, and it still doesn't work.
I take control, doing the exact same thing we tried 3 times already... and it works.
I'm convinced electronics just hate some people and refuse to work for them.
I completely agree. I work in IT, a lot of times I can see that people have taken the exact actions I would, just with no success, until I do it. I always say that it's like the boss walking in a room and suddenly everyone stops misbehaving.
My previous job included basic it support. It was a tiny office and we didn't have a dedicated IT guy. Now I work in a big corporate environment and boy do I use the support. Why?
Admin rights, my account (all accounts) are locked down tight.
Convincing the computer of working like it should be is not what I'm paid for. I have a never ending task list, troubleshooting my own system is not on it.
I get to sit and watch and do nothing while someone remotes in.
I also think the computer is playing the long con. It tsunts, "It worked this time, but one day ,not tomorrow, not next week, but one day, you'll have do a fresh install."
There's also the phenomenon where you make a forum post and then immediately solve it after (or even before) you submit it. Although that is more because it forces you to think through the problem systematically.