Diagnostics

[Captain_Nick]

Just curious to know if a 'diagnostic', in any of its forms (level 1 diagnostic, full diagnostic etc), has ever yielded any useful information at all.

Is there an episode of TNG where that happens?

I've made it to the middle of season five and so far, no luck.

 

[Timo]

I guess no result is a result, too. It rules out certain explanations to the mystery of the week at least - and in "Future Imperfect" is a telling element of the mystery itself.

Just goes to show that our heroes in "Lonely Among Us" and "Contagion" were right to be frustrated with even the first minor indications of malfunctions: 24th century technology just plain doesn't fail, not on its own anyway.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JirinPanthosa]

If the diagnostic could solve the problem the episode would be over.

That might make an interesting episode though.
"Captain, the engines aren't responding, the warp core isn't getting any power!"
"Run a level three diagnostic!"
"Diagnostic shows that there is an anodyne relay that is malfunctioning!"
"Replace the relay."
"Done. Engine is starting up."

And the rest of the episode is Picard sitting in his ready room reading Shakespeare.

 

[Melakon]

^ Yes, when diagnostics all find nothing wrong, it makes the characters look like geniuses when they find the cause of Problem Of The Week. "The bilinear invective manifold was off by zero point zero four five millifractals."

 

[Louigi Verona]

If the diagnostic could solve the problem the episode would be over.

That might make an interesting episode though.
"Captain, the engines aren't responding, the warp core isn't getting any power!"
"Run a level three diagnostic!"
"Diagnostic shows that there is an anodyne relay that is malfunctioning!"
"Replace the relay."
"Done. Engine is starting up."

And the rest of the episode is Picard sitting in his ready room reading Shakespeare.

Bwahaha! Nice one

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

When my Pc has a problem and I run a diagnostic I always end up clicking "no" to the "was this Information helpful?" question.
So quite realistic.

 

[jimbotron]

It's funny in Cause and Effect that when presented with the number 3, Riker suggests they run a level 3 diagnostic on all systems. Yes, Riker. They sent a message into the past to run a scan. You dolt.

 

[Melakon]

Now you know why he's still just a first officer.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Gotta love Star Trek. Their mission is to discover weird shit in space, yet as soon as something weird starts happening, they decide it must be their equipment malfunctioning and start running diagnostics.

 

[Tosk]

The diagnostics are actually incredibly helpful. Running them solved hundreds of problems over the course of years...we just didn't see them because those are the boring days. Same reason all the episodes start just a few minutes before something' funky happens instead of a few hours before.

 

[Trekker4747]

It's funny in Cause and Effect that when presented with the number 3, Riker suggests they run a level 3 diagnostic on all systems. Yes, Riker. They sent a message into the past to run a scan. You dolt.

What gets me about that suggestion of his is that it's pretty damn stupid. What can be learned from a Level 3 diagnostic that wouldn't be learned from a more intense Level 2 or Level 1 diagnostic? Granted, both may take longer than a Level 3 but would gleam just as much and like more information.

Also, he says turning around would be a bad idea because it could be what gets them in the trap they're stuck in. Which makes sense... If there was a reason for them to turn around the first time through to cause them to get into the trap, which there isn't so the fitst time through they would have gone through normally. Meaning turning around would be a wise choice.

 

[jimbotron]

Speaking of Cause and Effect, that's the second time they consider stopping and turning around (Time Squared) only to decide to continue on their current heading, and then run right into the thing they were hoping to avoid.

They use the logic that they might have tried that already, and it didn't work. Except .... only now are they getting reason to turn around based on new information, so they should probably give it a try.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I used to tell my boss we needed to run a level three diagnostic when ever we had computer problems. He was a Trek fan so I'm sure he got it.

 

[MacLeod]

What no percussive maintenance.

 

[Captain_Nick]

Spoke too soon. Geordie's diagnostic on Data's head in Time's Arrow 2 was actuallu useful. Well done son.

Now, if only I could find an episode where Worf gives another ship more than 1 second to respond to a hail ..

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Speaking of Cause and Effect, that's the second time they consider stopping and turning around (Time Squared) only to decide to continue on their current heading, and then run right into the thing they were hoping to avoid.

They use the logic that they might have tried that already, and it didn't work. Except .... only now are they getting reason to turn around based on new information, so they should probably give it a try.

Maybe I misunderstood the episode, but why is "turning around" the only option presented? With all 360 degrees of space to choose from (and that's just along one axis!), why not head off at some weird, oblique angle that would otherwise never have occurred to them?

 

[jimbotron]

Even though Trek is set in space, it's generally always portrayed on a 2D plane, as if it were on the ocean. There were a handful of exceptions, like the Mutara Nebula fight, the AGT Enterprise-D.

 

[f14peter]

Diagnostic checks are like guards ...

Want to not find a problem? Run a Level Frappenjammer Omega Diagnostics check

Want a prisoner to escape custody or allow an adversary to sneak into a secure facility? Assign a guard.

 

[Melakon]

The guard is only there so he can demonstrate how ruthless the bad guy is.

 

[MacLeod]

It's funny in Cause and Effect that when presented with the number 3, Riker suggests they run a level 3 diagnostic on all systems. Yes, Riker. They sent a message into the past to run a scan. You dolt.

What gets me about that suggestion of his is that it's pretty damn stupid. What can be learned from a Level 3 diagnostic that wouldn't be learned from a more intense Level 2 or Level 1 diagnostic? Granted, both may take longer than a Level 3 but would gleam just as much and like more information.

True, but as you point out eh more intensive level 2 and 1 diagnostics take more time, time they might not have and a level 3 would be deep enough to discover something in the time they do have.