Another Unusual Problem of EPSON LX-310: Not Turning-on

Users calling me because they are encountering a problem on their computer almost every day is only normal for me.

What else do I expect? I am an I.T. professional, it's what I do, it's what I studied on college and most of all it's my job.

Few minutes ago, as of this writing a co-employee of mine called me because his printer is suddenly not turning-on.

As I arrived on his desk, I tried to turn-on the printer, nothing happens. I tried to check the power cable of the printer if it is loose on both ends, but it isn't.

I tried to plug the power cable of the printer directly to an electrical outlet, nothing happens. I tested his printer's power cable on another printer, it works.

With the information that I found out I came to the conclusion that the printer itself is having some problem.

I though his printer is just malfunctioning or overheating.

But before I made my final decision, I decided to unplug the USB cable on the printer and then I tried to turn-on the printer again, and voila, it turns-on.

What possibly happens

A loose connection is out of the question. A defective power cable is also out of the question. It could only be a malfunctioning printer.

Or, it could be a case of electrical anomaly that is happening on the printer circuitry caused by a power surge on the printer's USB cable.

I have experienced it before on Dot Matrix printers using serial cable. When a Dot Matrix is not turning-on, especially an EPSON printer I just unplug the serial cable of the printer either on the printer or on the computer's CPU and the printer is magically turning-on.

What happens when you unplug a USB cable or power cable connected to a printer?

After you unplug both the USB and power cable on the printer itself all electrical charge will be consumed by the printer's circuitry effectively resetting the printer.

Unplugging both cables to reset the printer state is more effective than just turning-off the printer using its power button.

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I am an I.T. professional (Computer Engineer) working in a private company, a blogger, a father and a husband.