Coasting into Trouble

I learned that before you call the Helpdesk to report a laptop that suddenly shuts down, won’t boot up in the docking station and won’t boot up out of the docking station (note that this would be a Really Big Deal for someone working from home!), you should try just plugging the power cord directly into the laptop.  As I say, do this before you call the Helpdesk, not while you are on the phone,

Because it could be that the battery, even though it is brand new, is out of juice, and that something was preventing the docking station from delivering power directly.   Like maybe for example something causing the laptop to be docked at an odd angle.

I also learned not to accidentally leave a big thick stone coaster under your laptop, right by the docking station.