Locked by "Administrator"

[cmk2112]

Please provide me with the instructions to "Unlock" my printer's settings so that I can get done what should've been already complete.  Do not send a private message unless you post in very unambiguous language WHY this level of secrecy is needed.

I am an MCSE 2003, among others, and have been working in IT for decades. If I can't easily find the solution, then no one will easily find that solution.  It is absolutely unacceptable that you as a company would create a situation where this software would "Lock" itself, and then you would subsequently MAKE IT VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND THE SOLUTION WITH EASE, OR HIDE THE SOLUTION by communicating with board members in private.

WHY THE SECRECY?!! DO NOT SAY THAT IT IS FOR OUR BENEFIT BECAUSE THAT IS ABSOLUTE NONSENSE.  WHERE IS THE PASSWORD PROMPT ON MY PRINTER'S LED INTERFACE? 

I value my time, and you have already cost me the value of the purchase price of your printer by a factor of 10.  And - as happens on a regular basis -  if a user chose a setting whereby they unknowingly "Locked" the control panel, then why on earth wouldn't my software IMMEDIATELY PROMPT ME - THE OWNER - FOR THAT PASSWORD UPON THE VERY FIRST ATTEMPT AT ACCESS IS TO ANY OF THESE "PROTECTED" SETTINGS?

[The_Fossette]

@cmk2112,

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community.

[cmk2112 · Accepted solution]

Mr. HP Man: Once you know where to look, it takes literally under 5 minutes to remove the Administrative Lock that HP has allowed to occur erroneously across the planet.  So now I'll ignore you since you have ignored the most important aspect of my queries in your little abusive exercise here...

To all others, who actually use this forum to efficiently and effectively answer the questions of those owners who need actual solutions to the problems that they are having with HP Products, and the owners themselves:

Every HP printer has a HIDDEN SERVICE MENU that they will not openly admit to because they think you are not capable of being responsible troubleshooters.  You will need to access this menu so that you can do a partial reset of the printer, thereby bypassing the BUG THAT HP REFUSES TO CORRECT.  OCCURRING ACROSS PLATFORMS AND PRINTERS FOR YEARS, THEY HAVE ALSO KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS. SO, IMHO THEY NO LONGER DESERVE THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT AS TO THEIR MOTIVE FOR KEEPING AND EVEN MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO AND WHETHER OR NOT THEIR INTENTIONS ARE DESIGNED TO SOLICIT SUPPORT CONTRACTS VIA THIS 'WAR OF ATTRITION' THEY HAVE ENGAGED IN.  

Here is THE ACTUAL ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION FOR THE HP OFFICEJET PRO 6978:

HAVING USED THE LED INTERFACE ON YOUR PRINTER, YOU WILL ALREADY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE 'BACK ARROW' THAT THAT IS DESIGNED TO BACK-STEP THROUGH THE MENU AS YOU HAVE HAVE DRILLED DOWN THROUGH THAT MENU PERFORMING VARIOUS TASKS DURING YOUR NORMAL DAILY USAGE.  AS INTELLIGENT HUMAN BEINGS, I HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO POINT OUT TO ME EXACTLY WHERE THE BACK-ARROW IS LOCATED ON THE FRONT PANEL WHETHER OR NOT IT IS VISIBLE WHILE BEING BACK-LIT.   THIS IS THE KEY.

START FROM THE 'HOME' POSITION ON THE MENU.  THE BACK-ARROW WILL NOT BE VISIBLE, BUT IT WILL STILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE YOUR INPUT.  TOUCH IT 4 TIMES IN SUCCESSION AND VIOLA: YOU HAVE ENTERED THE SUPERDUPER TOPSECRET HIDDEN SERVICE MENU THAT HP HAS INTENTIONALLY HIDDEN FROM YOU. THE REST IS SELF-EXPLANATORY. If it is not, then I would suggest that you exercise caution and seek further advice.  There is no shame in asking for help as we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and if HP doesn't delete this post, then feel free to ping me here in the response section and I will help you out.

To HP's credit they have obviously NOT deleted this info/solution for other printers in other posts.  However, I would suggest that it may be simply because they haven't got around to it because they're too busy sending private messages in the most inefficient manner possible: 1 owner at a time, as they see the post and are able to respond.

Good luck, owners.

Christopher