Our print server services the six color copiers scattered throughout our district, so replacing toner and, occasionally, a full toner waste receptacle is a common chore. This morning, however, I got a ticket from one of the Pre-K teachers saying that the color printer that services the three Pre-K rooms has a “waste toner full” error message that needs attention.
As I was walking down there, I began to think, “None of the desktop color printers in the district have waste toner receptacles, and I’m sure this one doesn’t have one, either.” Knowing users and the way they say stuff, however, I figured the teacher may have botched verbalizing the problem.
When I arrived, though, the printer had the error message on it! I popped open the door that usually gives access to that receptacle, but none was present. Opened the only other two doors on the device, but no dice. So, I decided to read the guide on the display, which shows step by step instructions. Um … ? I read it again … and one more time. I was sure I was not understanding what I was reading, but I decided to give it my best.
Open door “A”.
Open door “B”.
Close door “B”.
Close door “A”.
Press “OK”.
Somehow, though I did absolutely nothing, the “problem”, which was obviously only in its little chip of a mind, was solved.
Computers are susceptible to psychosomatic symptoms and can be treated with placebo procedures.
Feels weird to say it out loud, but 40 years in the field make me absolutely believe it.
ETA: @TriPolar probably has the rational explanation: for whatever F’d-in-the-head design reason, door “B” had to be closed before door “A”, and the error reporting logic was botched so that this fault got misreported as “waste container full”.
“Computer Science is an occult science” is a saying passed down from generation to generation in my family (since my father told it to me and I told it to my son)
Seems like the above might be some sort of clear error code. Seems very silly that the software needed this clear error code, but couldn’t just activate it automatically without human involvement.
Next time try up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A and Start.
A long, long time ago I discovered a UDP (I think so, but I could be wrong) command (via dodgy websites) to hijack the display of the brand of printers we had in the office.
So I could control what they said. As this was an ad agency, and therefore a bunch of printing was done.
Several interns suffered, but I didn’t dare with the senior DTP people, whose relationship with their large-format printers was akin to a teenager and his first muscle car.
Corporate has set up this “printer installation” web app that makes it easier to add a printer to your PC without having to go through the “Devices and Printers” in Control Panel. A couple of months ago I was helping set up a new PC and could not get the local printer installed. The web app showed our location, showed the printer, but when I tried to add it got some sort of “unrecognized printer name” error (which was odd, since the name was showing right there in the app). I had to loop in our local IT guy, who futzed with it for about half a day before he had to reach out to someone in corporate IT. In the end they wound up giving the printer a new network name and then everything worked fine, but I’m not sure anyone was actually able to figure out what the problem was.
As to the “F’d-in-the-head” part, I’m going to guess …
The doors physically overlap. They’re normally closed when the machine is in use. To open them the sequence is A then B. They chose that labeling so the letters are in order for the first operation the user must perform: opening it up.
Which means of course that closing up must be in the reverse order. It’d be much weirder to have to open the doors in B, A order then close them in A,B order. Which is the only other possibility assuming order matters at all. Which it will if they physically interfere or overlap with each other.
Or if there are other activities, say replacing toner cartridges, that require only one door but not the other, it makes sense to label the common use one “A” and the less-commonly used one “B”.