Earlier today I mentioned going to help out my friend the local printer with an eBay problem. Unfortunately a very simple problem turned into a very complex one. He knows I’m lost because I told him so. I don’t use expensive printers. I use the type of printers you throw away when they don’t work, not call for a technician to come out for onsite repair.

When we do use printers they are the type that you plug and pray. I know almost nothing about networking printers besides I should be able to plug them into the router and find them with Windows networking and then connect to them. I’ve done a little — very little — amount of tweaking with networks to be able to print (and it’s been more a painstaking than easy process). Heck, I don’t need to print much for my online business and our offline business has a special printer from Dell that only requires toner and drum replacement after a certain number of pages.

But what happens if you plugin a printer and can’t locate the printer on the network?

I went to fix a problem with eBay and ended installing an entire business network including a used DSL modem, Linksys router with multiple computers and tried (and failed) to connect the expensive printer. I was successful in fixing the eBay sales interface issue, browser problems, slow processing computer issues and modem concerns but in the process broke the network connection to the most important piece of equipment in my friend’s print shop:

His printer.

I have no problem admitting when I don’t know what I’m doing and today was one of those days. Why can’t I just plug the network printer into the router and discover it on the network?

Anyway, tonight home I brought the PDF instruction manual for the fancy color laser behemoth printer. I’ll say this, the printer makes beautiful copies and can print huge sized copies. I’ve got a trouble ticket established with Minolta and tomorrow a technician is going to call but wouldn’t commit to when. I’m sure the technician and I will be able to work through the problem and when it’s done my friend will have a much better and much more secure (he wasn’t fully firewalled before) network than he had before I walked through his door today. In the meantime, however, I’m not sure he’ll be calling me to fix his computer again anytime soon.

Here’s what he received from me today:

- a used (but working) DSL modem
- multiple network cables (15′ and 6′)
- Linksys router (hardly used, we replaced with wireless one)
- 5+ hours of my time

I didn’t intend to — and certainly wouldn’t now — charge for this work. I did it to help out a friend. Unfortunately it has turned out worse than expected. I fixed all the issues he wanted fixed but one which was actually working before I arrived. The most critical tool.

Stupid! Stupid!

(forgive me while I slam my head against the wall a few times)

What a completely, utterly screwed up day Argh.

Here’s the model on the outside somebody, anybody out there knows more about networking this printer: Minolta Fiery X3e CN3102e. If anybody reading knows something about networking this model printer, please hit me with a comment below. I need to get him up and running first thing tomorrow.

Off to read the instruction manual. Tomorrow one of the first things I’m going to try is hooking directly to another computer and skipping the network. If I can at least get his printer working with a laptop or or desktop directly than he can copy over what he needs to print to a thumbdrive and then print with that for the time being. At least he will have a semi-working situation until the professional printer technician and I can resolve the network printing connectivity. Right now unnetworked it’s just an expensive copier.

Will check back here later. I did very little RSS reading today. That will have to continue to stack up until tomorrow (915 posts as of this writing).

• The printer prints again!
• Checking out the Xtreme Gaming Router DGL-4500
• Brother MFC-240C scanning
• Ink jet printer safe from prying Secret Service eyes, Laser jet not
• Epson wants to add printing to TV
• Here’s a strange connectivity issue