so, getting home today, I decided this evening/tomorrow I should start writing the exam for the end of next week, since there's the added complication of posting it on BlackBoard (I actually type the exam in BlackBoard - there's a way to transfer a word document but it can require extensive proofreading, and meh, I'd rather just edit as I go and type directly.
So I thought, I'll print out an old exam to use for reference, I can change up some of the questions and I can get an idea of what I did in the past.
My printer wouldn't print. It said it was broken. So I sighed, and power cycled. No go. So I tried again. Still no go. So I thought: well, even though wal-mart is terrible, maybe I can order a printer and pick it up tomorrow.
Nope. Just one that was a brand I've been warned off of, and one that prints ONLY photos - I never print photos, just documents.
So I tried for Target, considering I could drive down there tomorrow, though I didn't want to. Nope, nothing good in stock to pick up. Looked at Amazon, found the same printer I have (so maybe the same drivers?) but it was nearly $400 and I just don't want to spend that (I called my mom to tell her, she offered to pay me back for it, stating that she had plenty of money, but I don't feel right about that).
Found a lesser one through Wal-mart's "wait for it to be delivered" thing - literally everywhere is quoting times like Sept. 9, and I need a printer now.
So, before I ordered the printer, I went back and fiddled with it again. Pulled out the paper drawers, noticed that there was a plastic tape on the one used for photo paper (I SAID I never printed photos). Shrugged, pulled it off, put the drawers back in. Fiddled with the ink cartridges. Shut it down, turned it back on.
I decided to try scanning a document - I have the old reprint of the Clean Air Act (or part of it) from the Congressional Record that was in my dad's stuff and it's on old newsprint and is in not the best shape, so I thought I'd see if the printer had totally lost its mind or if it might still work.
The whole thing scanned (17 pages, it took a long time. I stood there and played "Homescapes" while it ran so at least I didn't waste time on the game today - I used leftover time).
Decided to try printing the exam again.
It took forever to process and I thought, "shoot, its' gonna give me the error again" and I walked into the room where the printer is to see if the error code came up - then I heard paper moving!
It printed. Apparently it REALLY dislikes printing double sided (I was trying to do that to save paper) though now I wonder if the same vibrations that made my AC quit working (shook the door off the interior unit) messed up the printer's equilibrium and maybe I fixed it? At any rate, I'm glad I didn't order a new one, and I'm glad I can print. (Hm. I should try printing one of my knitting patterns to be SURE....)
Hot darn, yeah, I fixed it. I wonder if it was some vibration from the trenching that unbalanced things. But it's very unhelpful to send a message saying "your printer is broken, goodbye" and basically say "send it to the factory for a fix" which fundamentally means "buy a new one"
In retrospect, maybe it was meant to be there wasn't a quickly-available replacement printer, so I was pushed to persist in fiddling with this one in the desperate hope I could fix it....
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