That's a line from Stan Freberg's classic sendup of Lawrens a-Welg-uh, when
the bubble machine starts overflowing. I just had a similar experience with my
belovéd HP Laserjet 4M.

This (and related 4- and 5-series models) are classic printers. Built like
tanks by Canon, they're still in wide use because they just keep going and
going and going, the Energizer bunnies of printers. The only problem I've had
with mine is a burned-out fuser lamp, which you would expect from a lamp.

Yesterday, the 4M started acting naughty. It first began printing the source
file (rather than creating a document). Then it switched to simply
"swallowing" the input, without doing anything at all. I checked everything,
at both the Windows end and the printer's menus. Nothing. The printer tested
okay in every respect (it would even print its test pages correctly) -- but it
didn't print.

Following Sherlock's dictum, the only logical thing left was a problem with
the printer's firmware, a problem that the printer's self-test system couldn't
locate.

Being poor, I don't have the heat on. It's been quite cold in my condo for
several weeks, and the thought crossed my mind that maybe the printer didn't
like cold weather. Perhaps the memory chips (which include the firmware) had
gotten a bit loose.

I pulled the chips and reseated them. Bingo! Now it works. Of course, it could
be a coincidence...

This falls in the category of "beat it with a stick until it submits". It's
annoying not knowing /why/ something was defective, and /why/ kicking it fixed
the problem -- but at least I didn't have to pay for repairs. And I suspect
the service shop would have had more trouble finding the problem than I did.


"We already know the answers -- we just haven't asked the right questions."
-- Edwin Land