HELP! Losing DOS printing but can print from Windows

[Fran]

I have one user (Windows 2000 pc) that is having an odd issue...
She can print to windows printers all day long (word, excel, notepad,
etc) but when she runs our DOS based app it won't print. I can't even
type DIR > LPT1: or DIR > PRN and get a print job.

If I turn off the printer and the PC, turn them both back on (after
about a minute) it will print for a while but then it just quits
again.

This is a new event on this PC. She has been able to print for a long
time on this machine using this DOS software.

Any thoughts? What can I test? Is there any tracing program that can
detect these errors?

Thanks, I'm desperate on this one!

-Fran-

 

[Paul Baker]

The output of the DIR command is intended for the console, not a printer.

Most printers will accept plain text, but many require a form feed at the
end of a page. The output of the DIR command does not include a form feed.
Therefore, it could be stuck in the printer buffer until the paper is fed
manually or a page is full.

Paul

 

[Fran]

Hi, Paul,

When I reboot I can print (I hit the paper feed and see the print
out.) When I have problems printing from the DOS app I cannot print
using the DOS app OR the DIR > LPT1: ... the printer has NO activity
on the redirection in the DIR command or the DOS app's print.

Keep in mind, too, that this has been working OK for quite a while.
But for the last week I have had these problems ONLY with this
computer.

could this be a corruption with the OS? Could it be hardware related?

-Fran-

 

[Nick Hawthorn]

I have one user (Windows 2000 pc) that is having an odd issue...
She can print to windows printers all day long (word, excel, notepad,
etc) but when she runs our DOS based app it won't print. I can't even
type DIR > LPT1: or DIR > PRN and get a print job.

If I turn off the printer and the PC, turn them both back on (after
about a minute) it will print for a while but then it just quits
again.

This is a new event on this PC. She has been able to print for a long
time on this machine using this DOS software.

Any thoughts? What can I test? Is there any tracing program that can
detect these errors?

I'd just like to report a similar problem. Up until roughly 20 Dec
2004, I had no trouble printing from DOS by commands like "copy file
lpt1" or "dir > lpt1". Since then, these commands print nothing.
Nor do they show error messages on the PC. I'm using Windows 2000
Professional and a networked HP LaserJet 4200n. I haven't found that
turning PC and printer off and on (via shutdown for the PC) makes any
difference. I have tried some combinations of "net use" and "devcon"
with no improvement. (I did start a thread in this newsgroup called
"Cannot print to DOS LPT1:" -- using devcon to disable LPT1 came out
of that thread.) Yes, I can still print from Windows. Is a printer
setup problem possible?

I do notice, if I have the printer menu displayed when I try to
print, the file to print shows as spooling for a little while,
and then just disappears. I don't think it can be to do with the
printer requiring form feeds, because DOS printing used to work.
I do have semi-automatic network upgrades of the operating system
from MicroSoft (which I don't know the proper name for). Could one
of these be responsible? (I know, there is noone easier to blame
than MicroSoft.) Then, you'd expect quite a few users to find that
DOS printing used to work and does no longer. I'm the user. The
computer support people have run out of ideas, and are not familiar
with DOS.


Nick Hawthorn n dot hawthorn at auckland dot ac dot nz

 

[Fran]

After extensive testing today I discovered the following:

1) If I shut off the PC and turned it back on I can open a command
window and print to LPT1 using DIR > LPT1:

2) I can print from Windows no matter what

3) After printing from Windows if I go BACK to the command window
and do a DIR > LPT1: I get an error "Access is Denied"

Now, I had the genius stroke of luck to open the device manager and
review the settings for the LPT1 port. I changed the port settings
from "Never use and interrupt" to "Use any interrupt assigned to the
port" (I'm using Windows XP now but I was using WIndows 2000 and I
don't know if these dialog is different between versions.)

When Winders saves the setting I can go back to the command prompt and
print! Unfortunately as soon as I print from Windows I can no longer
print from DOS unless I go change something in that Port Settings
dialog again.

I did notice that I don't really NEED to change anything, just click
on a different setting the back to the original setting. This
apparently forces Windows to release whatever "lock" there is on the
port and I can print in the DOS window again.

Although I haven't yet narrowed down who the cultprit is in this
illegal behavior I have decided that it's an OS issue and that
something is not playing well.

If someone knows some other avenues to try I'm all ears (to quote Ross
Perot.)

-Fran-