Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Our Printer Finally Burped

Merci:  You should be napping.  Why are you still awake?

Cyndi.

Cyndi:  I'm too excited about having a printer again. We've been without one since March 18 of last year when Win 10 did another upgrade and disconnected it. 

Merci:  Just as a short and hopefully comic version of why we furries have had a collective headache for the past 11 months...  Jan claims she has practically gone blind reading all the info for that printer, as well as all the MC how-to data on it.  Nothing worked!  It was there but it wasn't and it didn't do anything.

Cyndi:  That's when she found out she was not supposed to have a parallel cable plugged into a hub into a usb port on the computer.  But this computer has no parallel and only had two usb ports (until Doug recently added four more), hence the hub. The no-no setup worked just fine for about 3 years.

Merci: Must be the luck of the ignorant.  She didn't know better, so it worked for her.  She did say - repeatedly! - she didn't think the printer's usb port works.  Guess what?  It doesn't! 

Cyndi:  The printer company has been wanting her to call to resolve the problem, but she often has trouble remembering simple everyday words (and names of people she's known for 30 or 40 decades) and didn't want to go through that confusion on the phone with strangers.  (They can't see her waving her arms and turning red .)  To get a response to her emails, she had to sign up for an account and it was in that account she started finding some helpful postings.

Merci: It was not a problem with corrupted drivers, but multiple installs of them on different ports.  Also, there might be something left in the queue that didn't delete and wasn't showing.  She emailed the info to Mr. Doug Thursday night, ran CCleaner, and Mr. Doug showed up the next morning before she could install the printer for the gazillionth time to look for those problems.

Cyndi:  He brought the whole electronic pharmacy - laptop, new cable, etc.- and installed the printer on the laptop.  That's when we learned for sure that the printer usb doesn't work.  A test page was printed a few months ago, but when connected to a computer, the printer wouldn't even burp!

Merci.

Merci:  So why is Cyndi excited about having a printer again?  Because it did print with the parallel cable plugged into a usb cable plugged into  a usb port.  Yep, the no-no set-up is the only one that works.

Cyndi:  Mr. Doug found two test files on here that had not deleted, the printer burped, and now we have a laser printer again.  Eleven months of perseverance, investigation, in/un-installations, confusion and discouragement shortened into one blog post.

Merci:  And Wednesday, two days prior, a very sweet lady gave Jan a brand new ink jet printer.  We haven't had a scanner since the old all-in-one died a few years ago.

Cyndi:  Jan was busy over the weekend printing some files before Win 10 decides to uninstall it again. 

Merci:  Of course, she might spend another 11 months trying to set up the all-in-one.

Cyndi:  Oh, dear, what if that's true? 

Merci:  Relax.  Marcus read all the instructions Jan used and he said if Jan has a problem with the new one, he'll install it himself.

Cyndi:  Marcus install our new printer?  Now I'll never be able to nap!

Merci:  Thank you for your help, Mr. Doug!  Jan said the next time you have a computer problem, it's her turn to come help you.

Cyndi:  You don't really think he'd take her up on that, do you?

Merci:  Not if he has any sense!

18 comments:

  1. I'm glad the printer is finally in action! Certainly took long enough!

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  2. Hari OM
    In all my decades (yes, stretching deep into last century) of working and dealing with comupter technology, I can't tell you how many peripherals (mouse, keyboard, printer etc) I have had to go through. Everything is fine and dandy when the get working. If they don't it can be the cause of mental and physical breakdown!!! I commend Jan - and Mr Doug - for their persisitence!!! Thank you Merci and Cyndi for bringing us the tale of the touchy tool... hugs wags whiskeries, YAM-aunty xxx

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  3. My printer quit after I used cheapo ink instead of HP ink, and I've just carried everything to the office to print after that! Glad you have your set up back; it saves a lot of hassle!

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  4. Man alive! I am all MAC here at the house...but I still have an HP All-in-One printer...a very old C5280. I cannot really scan stuff any more, but I can still print and copy and I can buy printing ink cartridges for a million dollars from HP, not the little tiny things they sell you these days. Thank goodness you guys helped her get the thing up and running again. Marcus, I have faith that your offer/threat to do it yourself did the trick.

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  5. What a story! Wow -- computer problems are always difficult to solve glad this one was!!!

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  6. Yay ! We're glad your printer is finally working. Purrs

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  7. We hope it all hooks up just fine! Our pawrents have All-In-One computers!

    Keep Calm & Bark On!

    Murphy & Stanley

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  8. We're so glad ya'll have a printer again. ya' know, our printer isn't even hooked up to our catputer. Mommy didn't have a vlue how to use it until one day, she just hit purrint and suddenly, there was our printer. Somehow it had connected itself wirelessly to our catputer. We'll never know how that stuff works. but we're just glad we can use it. MOL Big hugs

    Luv ya'

    Dezi and Raena

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  9. I detest technology problems! Thankfully, my husband considers such things to be fun challenges and he loves fixing things.

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  10. HOLY CAMOLY!! At least you had sumthin' to do to burn calories in frustration. Hang in there.

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  11. One of these days, I'm going to catch the tiny, fast-writing elves in the printer. That and the red dot!

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  12. Yikes! That does sound like a pain. I am glad you have a working printer again.

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  13. Computer/Printers etc can be so frustrating!!!

    Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrs, Spike William

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  14. Ghostwriter says she's never met a printer that wasn't up to no good!

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  15. Our dad can't cope for an hour without a printer. You girls are heroes!!

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  16. Printers burping again is certainly a good thing gang!

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  17. hello funny farmers its dennis the vizsla dog oh hay wow neerly a yeer shoor is a long time for a printer to go having gas!!! i am glad it finaly got burpd and is wurking agin!!! my dada sez it is amayzing kompyooters wurk at all so i gess it mayks sens that it wood wurk wen it is set up the way it is not suppozed to wurk rite??? ha ha ok bye

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  18. Good you all figured out the troubles with your printer. They can be a royal pain...

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