bad printers

[TerraFrost]

so... let's go through a list of hardware that has failed on me...

a 60gb 7200rpm hard drive
a 700mhz celeron based laptop with 128mb ram and a 20gb hard drive.
a 17" crt monitor
a palm m505
a palm m515

there's probably more, hehe, but i don't want to think about it too much, heh.

anyways, to this list we can now add a printer! i hardly ever use it, so i don't know exactly *when* it failed, but... sufficide to say, it has. i suspect the problem is in the power cable, too. when it's plugged in to the wall outlet (whether it's plugged into the printer or not doesn't seem to matter) it has a hum.

this is the second printer i've had. the first one i didn't like because... well, i didn't like it, heh. it was big and bulky, and the sheet fed scanner that was built into it ruined a few things i tried to scan. so, i got this smaller printer. and, lo and behold, it stops working too, heh.

while i enjoy messing around with computers, i don't particurarly enjoy messing around with periphial hardware... you have to deal with tangles, and all that, but... above all that, i, myself, have always had to contort my body in uncomfortable positions to get at it, too. my computers are pushed right up against the wall, and that simply doesn't make the plugs very accessable, and in order to see them, without hitting anything else... bah. i also have to use a flash light, sometimes, too. and same goes for the power outlets... they're in a really horrible place, and blah. i've been planning, for some time, now, on rearranging my room in my appartment. i actually plan on doing this around the christmas vacation, but blah.

[TerraFrost]

To add some stuff to the list...

3x IBM USB keyboards (one came with my computer, I bought one, and I got one from an RMA)
2x Belkin KVM switches with DVI / USB / Audio connectors (bought one, got one from RMA)
1x PNY Verto GeForce3 Ti500
1x Sound Blaster Audigy 2
1x some Lexmark printer (well, the power cable actually failed. I then bought a new one, swapped power cables, and returned the old one, leaving me with two working printers)

Other things I suspect may be bad (or going bad) are...

1x ViewSonic USB keyboard
1x Plextor PX-716A DVD Burner
1x 1.8GHz P4 IBM laptop (or more specifically, the 100mbit ethernet connection)

I honestly do not understand how I can have such failures. I do not buy cheap equipment. And warranties, unfortunatly, provide little solace. I mean, when having them fulfilled, I still have to wait several weeks while they're in transit. *sigh*

Also, shahmask may claim that Belkin has a reputation as a second-rate KVM switch manufacturer, but if so, then that's certainly not a reputation I'm aware of. In fact, to be quite honest, before shahmask said anything, I was under the impression that Belkin had among the best reputations. Perhapes that's just ignorant naivite on my part, but unless someone can tell me just who, exactly, does have a good rep as a kvm switch manufacturer, I'm not gonna take much stock in that.

Finally, about the keyboards... I don't really fault those for failing. When I get mad at my computer (well, my desktop), I hit my keyboard. It's certainly quiter than yelling at ones computer...

[shahmask]

interesting. all ive had gone bad on me are about 2 desktop harddrives, 1 crt monitor, and a host of laptop stuff--1 laptop hard drive, 2 laptop screens, 3 laptop batteries, 1 laptop video card, 1 laptop power supply, and 2 laptop motherboards. btw, i am never ever buying another dell.

as for your troubles, it appears that parhaps ibm, like dell, uses very low quality stuff and are therefore prone to die. as for printers, i have never had a printer go bad on me. my really really really old hp inkjet still worked until we threw it out of the house from uselessness and my old epson inkjet still works but will probably be thrown out becuase of uselessness.

have u tried cleaning your plextor's head? if that doesn't fix it, it's probably bad. since plextor is semispecialty, choke the death of it to that. your sound blaster, well, i have not bought a sound card in years and years (probably abou 6 or 7) because all computers come with them built in and for most people, especially non-compulsive-gamers, are truly more than they even want and are not willing to spend so much money on one. same goes for high end video cards. u always run the risk of getting a "bad one" because they are brand new, unproven for reliability, and are unrevised. like most things, getting a second or third pass one usually gets kinks out of the hardware and software.

and for your kvm switch, i suggested that maybe it is a second rate maker of kvm switches. until just recently, i had never known anyone with a kvm switch.

just my thoughts.

[TerraFrost]

have u tried cleaning your plextor's head?

You mean the laser diode thing?

Anyway, I actually shipped it off to Plextor or a warranty repair.

[shahmask]

ok. and they call it the head. there are these cd/dvd sized devices with electrostatic filiments at a specific location. u run it and it removes the dust from the head.

[Murrian]

Hmm - all i've had go bad on me is an 80gb maxtor hdd after five years serious abuse and a psu for a barebone after three years abuse (it actually died after a powercut so i'm blaming the local power supllier).

The harddrive actually still works (just) but is sat on the side as the buffers gone so it won't be long before it wears out and dies so I don't trust it to have any data on it.

The psu's truly gone though - it went "fizz-bang" with a big white flash after trying to reconnect it after the power-cut. Shame it was for the barebone, i have 3-4 full size atx power supplies lying around but can't get a replacement for the sff one - so for now it looks quite weird with a full atx psu hanging out the back and a big hole in it where the original was seated.

[TerraFrost]

external power supplies are a sure sign of geekyness

unfortunately, i guess that means that i'm not a geek

[jooney]

How do I connect to my printer at home with my work laptop? I have a wireless network set up using a workgroup. My work laptop is set up using a domain. I can share the internet connection, but I can't share files or my printer. How do I access my printer from my work laptop?

[TerraFrost]

You can try enabling File and Printer Sharing and then share the printer. Then go to \\your_computers_ip_address in Windows Explorer and you should be able to add the printer to your own computer.