"Fill System/Press Steam"

Remove the tray at the front of the machine. Look inside and you will see a rubber flap which separates the right and left side of the machine. Gently lift this to the right and look inside to the left (a small mirror like from a womans compact and a flashlight will help you see in there.) You will find a small circular screen (about the size of a half dollar.)  You need to wipe ALL the coffee grinds off of this screen. That should fix the problem. If you use dark beans, you are probably grinding them to fine and some of the oily residue is sticking to this screen. Try grinding the dark beans more coarsely. Only change the grinder WHEN IT IS GRINDING by adjusting the litlle knob in the box where you place the beans. If the problem started just after changing the filter you may have air in the water line and it needs to be flushed. Try running the tea portion hot water until it clears. These suggestions were given to me by Capresso and actually worked for my machine. Good luck. Gary

Melissa Write's solution to the "fill water" problem in her post of 28 December failed to shift the float in my water tank, But I found that emptying the tank and blowing warm air into the tank from a hairdryer then giving the tank a smart tap next to the float dislodged the stuck float in a couple of minutes.

80-90C hot water pours to the water tank, press steam and let go through the cycle when the next "press Steam" appears again, press and go through again. (Re-cycle hot water in a microwave oven). It takes like 5-7 minutes of "Fill System" & "Press Steam" exercise to clean up. It works now.

The system seems to get into this mode when it wants you to empty the steam chamber. If press steam does not clear the area, and no steam is coming out, the frother is blocked. You have to disassemble it down to the pipe - pull off the frother, the trim which hides the pipe, and reveal a plastic piece which is screwed on. Remove this plastic piece and the machine should steam properly. Clean or replace the plastic piece - you should see daylight through a pinhole in it.

I removed the water tank, took out the filter and shook as much water as I could out of the filter. The idea being to access any place flow could be restricted to the system. I replaced the filter, and filled the tank with hot water from the faucet. I don't recommend water hotter than that.
I cleaned the inside of the unit as best I could with long cotton swabs (the wooden type) and damp paper towels. Amazing how much gunk gets trapped inside there. I also made sure the tip of the steam port was not clogged.
I replaced everything and hit the steam button. It sputtered at first. The second time I pushed the steam button, everything started working correctly.
I'm an engineer but not a coffee machine repairman. But I think the hot water will help eliminate any air bubbles that might be blocking water flow. Good luck if you have this problem.

On mine, I found that the black float in the water container (in an oblong plastic box near the place where the water goes into the system) wasn't floating anymore thus making the system think that the water was empty. I had never cleaned the container (oops) so I took the reservoir off and poured vinegar and soap in it. That dislodged the float and I was able to fill the system by pressing the steam button. Then just for good measure, I ran the vinegar through the system. Works like a charm again. I think it's making more creame now -- It may be my imagination.

There was a little device that looks like a clear plunger that came with the S9 ... I've never used it, but it fits perfectly on top of the water intake on the side of the machine (with the water container removed).  I just have to figure out whether it is to ... push water in ... push air in ... or what.  Unfortunately, the manual came on CD ... and the version I have is for Mac OS 9, which I can't any longer open under the new OS.  
Anyone have a user's guide that can tell us how to use the plunger?