Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Unplugging: Another Classic

Plugging in...

Unplugging, not quite the same thing as unplugged, but close...

How 'bout those wireless printers, eh? Printing from the sunny deck, printing from in front of the cozy fireplace, printing, um NOT - what happened? Three people were happily printing photos, documents, and emails until, a lovely Lexmark printer message came bounding across the screen - can't find printer.

Well, everyone could see the printer, it was powered on, the little green wireless symbol was lit up light a Christmas tree, the internet was working perfectly, so what the heck?? The way a wireless printer works and behaves is directly related to the wireless router which not only provides wireless internet capabilities, but also allows printers to be used without cables tethering them to computers - like the cutting of an umbilical cord: the printer child is alive and well and functions on its own without the cord. Usually.

A wireless printer gets assigned a number, like a street address, from the wireless router, when first installed. When the printer failed to print (in this instance), it lost its address and there wasn't any particular reason why, nor did any of the three people using the printer directly cause the problem.

When the printer squeaks out messages that defy the printing Gods and Goddesses, what is a lowly mortal to do to get the printer to print again? UNPLUG the power cord from the printer and wait several seconds before reconnecting the power cord. This resets the printer internally and almost magically (unless there are BIGGER problems) finds the wireless router, locates its address, and voila, the printer once again prints when asked. Isn't that just like a human? Sometimes it does nothing when asked, and sometimes it does everything when asked...

 ALWAYS REMEMBER: before calling for help - is it plugged in, was it unplugged and re-plugged in, and is it turned on?

 Unplugged

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