Hi all,

the passenger operated ticket machine at Huddersfield station issued my
partner with a day return to Slaithwaite today.  Then the screen opened up a
dialogue box headed Windows 2000/NT ran through a series of error messages
and then issued two "test coupons". Ticket stock covered in lines of letters
and figures in different sizes, today's date, the number 9599, the words
"common stock" and a printed on date.

Is this common with these machines?  Anyone come across this before?

Paul

Paul Stevenson wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> the passenger operated ticket machine at Huddersfield station issued my
> partner with a day return to Slaithwaite today.  Then the screen opened up a
> dialogue box headed Windows 2000/NT ran through a series of error messages
> and then issued two "test coupons". Ticket stock covered in lines of letters
> and figures in different sizes, today's date, the number 9599, the words
> "common stock" and a printed on date.
>
> Is this common with these machines?  Anyone come across this before?
>
> Paul


I've found a load of ticket stock on top of a new Southern QuickTicket
machine in East Croydon a short while back. Some tickets has the test
printing similar to what you describe, some were just printed with
'VOID' in large type, and some were blank.

I've also seen a number of different self-service ticket machines
belonging to different TOCs that have crashed, exposing their Windows
innards to the world by means of a collection of on screen error
messages. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence, but then again my
prejudice is probably just an artefact of my having spent too much time
in the past with Windows 95/98 PC's performing at their blue-screen
best.

Paul Stevenson wrote:


> Hi all,
>
> the passenger operated ticket machine at Huddersfield station issued my
> partner with a day return to Slaithwaite today.  Then the screen opened up a
> dialogue box headed Windows 2000/NT ran through a series of error messages
> and then issued two "test coupons". Ticket stock covered in lines of letters
> and figures in different sizes, today's date, the number 9599, the words
> "common stock" and a printed on date.
>
> Is this common with these machines?  Anyone come across this before?


Yes the machine at Preston Park (Southern) printed two of these last
week.

Wayne

Paul Stevenson wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> the passenger operated ticket machine at Huddersfield station issued my
> partner with a day return to Slaithwaite today.  Then the screen opened up a
> dialogue box headed Windows 2000/NT ran through a series of error messages
> and then issued two "test coupons". Ticket stock covered in lines of letters
> and figures in different sizes, today's date, the number 9599, the words
> "common stock" and a printed on date.
>
> Is this common with these machines?  Anyone come across this before?
>
> Paul


I assume you mean the fastticket machines? The two at Coventry are
currently IIRC "out of use due to a nationwide computer fault",
according to the bit of paper stuck on them. Seems like they are having
a lot of trouble with the fastticket network at the moment!

Phil

Repair procedure for windows applications.

Minor fault reboot.

Major fault reinstall.