Here and There

That title deserves a sub, something like: Installing software on a Windows-based PC.

Last night, I attempted to install printer software on the PC* of a good friend. After searching and searching for the optical drive on her 2006 HP laptop, and pressing what I was sure was the release button at least three times, a clunky tray opened up. I inserted the disc, and amazingly, miraculously, after only about 100 seconds of waiting, an HP installation window popped up. Great, we’re on our way, hobbled and eager.

I clicked through an eternity of “Next” buttons (though I was not once prompted for an admin password) and got to a point where I let the thing run while I went online. About, oh, 10 minutes into this, a window popped up over my browser telling me I had “A fatal error,” and after slowly realizing this didn’t mean I had killed a new law student’s notebook computer, I started (what else?) clicking “Next” buttons.

Then I was told the software will check with an HP help page and try to troubleshoot the problem. Fine. You break it, you fix it.

Alas, to no avail: Computer will now uninstall installed components and restart.

Upon reboot, I happened to notice that the printer software was (let’s say, magically) installed. I fired up Microsoft Word (because a true computer novice never learns his lesson) and typed up a quick test page. Sent that to the printer and … nothing. I checked the paper to make sure it was queued correctly and … oh, you’re probably bored by now. I’ll sum up.

After canceling my test page and completely removing it from the print queue, the page printed. Then, I powered the printer down and started it back up, at which point it proceeded to print a test page (not at my prompting). I tried several more times to print both my own test page from Word and the Windows printer test page, all with no luck.

I checked to make sure the computer was reading the printer (it obviously had in the not-too-distant past) and sure enough, it was. It just wouldn’t talk to the damned thing enough to tell it to print.

I just realized this post feels like a bulletin-board gripe.

I haven’t had this much trouble doing something so simple in years. The point here is, I don’t care how many inconvenient battery recalls and sketchy stock option schemes are tied to Apple. They simply make far-superior, completely user-friendly computers. Lesson (re-)learned.

*Though I prefer to use “Windows-based PC,” I will often resort back to the more colloquial (yet not altogether accurate) “PC.” A Mac is, after all, also a personal computer.

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