The problem with technology and gadgets is that they sometimes work (or don't) and nobody can understand why. You can't do much when even the 'authorised' service centres and their technicians are clueless. All you can do is to helplessly wait till something 'happens' that will solve the problem.

One fine day, my printer decided to go on a go-slow agitation (for reasons best known to it). It started printing at a snail's pace. No amount of coaxing it by restarting or reinstalling the software or drivers worked. To add to the confusion it started sending out messages through the computer, and it seemed to me that the intention was to make me run around in circles. There were constant error messages of the 'cartridge not installed properly'. I removed and installed the cartridges at least 20 times till I realised it was only trying to fool me.

As several techies I consulted were also clueless, I decided to send the printer to an authorised service centre. It turned out that the service centre guys were in a hurry to catch the last train home. They returned the machine the next day saying it was working properly in their office. Now, if the printer was printing properly in their office, but not at my home, meant there must have been some ghosts in my house preventing it from printing fast.

Another engineer came home, had a look at the printer, and decided the motherboard had conked off. No, it was not possible to get another motherboard as the printer was outdated, he helpfully said.

My friend, who runs a computer shop advised me to put up with it till it breathed its last. "There is no point in wasting time and money servicing it. Wait till it stops fully and buy a new printer. There is no point in wasting money and time on it," he said.

I decided to take his advice. I waited. The printer continued to print slowly. One day finally, the two cartridges ran out of ink. Now I had a brainwave. Wasn't the computer constantly giving me error messages about the cartridges? What if I tried out new cartridges? Though it was a costly experiment (the cartridges together cost around Rs 1,500).

The costly experiment turned out to be a success. The printer went back to its normal self. The problem had been with the old cartridges. They were either fake or had some serious manufacturing defects.

What I still don't understand is why all the so-called experts missed the simple solution (or problem). I still don't know whether the cartridges were fake or just had some manufacturing defect, but what could have been a part of a checklist was obviously not there.

So, next time your gadget behaves in a funny way, may be it's better to just wait.