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Computer Fixin' Lifehacks Software System Administration

Extend Toner Life on Your Brother HL-2270DW By Enabling Toner Continue Mode

I’ve got a number of Brother HL-2270DW laser printers around the office, and they’re wonderful. I even have one at home. Wireless-capable with built in duplexing, and on sale the unit is under $100. What’s not to like?

Toner is fairly inexpensive too, but I like to squeeze as much of the life out of them as I can. By default, the toner life is strictly regulated by the page counter, and once the limit is reached, the printer stops until you replace the toner.

Enter the all important Toner Continue Mode. If the printer is networked, you can simply bring up the control panel by browsing to your printer’s IP in your browser. Click on Printer Settings (log in with username ‘admin’ and password ‘access’ if you haven’t changed the defaults) then make sure you set Replace Toner to Continue. Hit Submit at the bottom to save, and you’re set! You’ll be able to take the cartridge and shake it until you can’t shake it any more, just like the good ol’ days.

Brother HL-2270DW - Replace Toner

Important Note (12/20/2012): I just caught my error and updated the screenshot and post, but there’s a difference between the Continue Mode on the settings screen and the Replace Toner option. I think the Continue Mode will toggle the printer for recovering from a printer error, for example, after you unjam the printer. Replace Toner is the option you want to set, and isn’t available on all Brother printers. It’s super confusing because they call them the same thing…

I’ve found that after changing toner cartridges, this mode will often be reset, so you’ll need to remember to change it back when swapping cartridges.

The other method to set this is useful if your printer is in USB mode, directly connected to a computer. I just found out about this today. To quote Brother’s FAQ:

To enable Continue Mode, please follow the steps below:

Press the GO button 7 times (quickly). All of the LEDs should flash twice, and the Ready LED should turn on. Continue mode is now enabled.

To disable Continue Mode, please follow the steps below:

Press the GO button 7 times (quickly). All of the LEDs should flash once. Continue mode is now disabled.

I would assume this would also work for a networked printer, but it’s nice to know that this can also be set for a standalone one. There’s no setting in the driver to adjust this option, so here’s how to do it.

For more information:

Categories
Lifehacks System Administration

Synergy and Text Expansion Programs on Windows 7? Don’t run as admin.

Synergy is great. And text expansion/replacement tools are great (ie, PhraseExpress or AutoHotKey). And Windows 7…well I guess it’s alright as well.

Synergy lets me share my mouse and keyboard between my Windows desktop, my Macbook, and even a linux machine (if I still ran one at work). It even synchronizes the clipboard betweeen screens. Great stuff.

PhraseExpress is my current favorite text expansion tool. I use it to insert my signature into emails and other places where I might repeatedly type something. And it’s free for personal use. I’d use TextExpander on my Mac, but I’m cheap.

Now here’s the problem: if you run Synergy (either 1.3.8 stable or 1.4.8 beta at the time of this writing) and install it to autostart on login, your text expansion tool will problem not work.  So just run it manually after you login, and you’ll be okay. The autostart process for Synergy requires administrative rights, and seems to interfere with the hooks that the text expansion tools need to work.

After switching to a new workstation, I installed my necessary programs including the ones listed above, and noticed that PhraseExpress didn’t work. I thought it was a problem with that specific program. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling and updating, and even tried AutoHotKey for a bit (which is great, but it’s

Until I come up with something smarter, I’ll just start Synergy manually when I restart my computer. That’s not the end of the world, and at least PhraseExpress will work.

So beware. Two great programs, but don’t run them as admin.

Categories
Lifehacks

Rain-X Makes Ice and Snow Scraping Easier!

So this was a pleasantly random but surprising find:

Applying Rain-X to your windshield during the fall and winter months will make scraping snow and ice much easier!

Rain-X, for the uninformed, is the mystery window treatment that makes water bead up on the windshield, and will virtually slide up and off the windshield when driving 35+ mph. Apply it during the afternoon during a dry fall or winter day, preferably after cleaning the windshield. Be sure to treat the rear window, your side windows (at least the front ones) and don’t forget the side mirrors.

If you’d like to really see what a difference it makes, don’t treat the back side windows. Then just wait for a frosty morning.

On a related note, buy yourself a Fantastic Ice Scraper. $2 for a great scraper with a brass blade. If you want more info, see the Cool Tools review. Buy them as stocking stuffers for your family!