Weird Printer Problem

[EricG]

I have a remote printer installed with a wireless router. I install the
printer on a wireless notebook PC using Vista’s wizard, and initially
everything works properly. However, if I turn off the PC, or reboot it, or
sometimes only if just a few days elapses the PC will no longer be able to
get the printer to print. If I have the spooler enabled, the pages appear to
be sent to the printer, but nothing happens. If the spooler is disabled,
then the process just hangs until I abort it. The only other symptom I’ve
seen is that when the problem is occurring the printer’s status shows it is
offline, but when I try to change it to online the status simply changes to
“offline.offlineâ€. Wireless connectivity does not appear to be a source of
the problem, since I have no interruption of other network activities,
including Internet.

The only solution I’ve found so far is to uninstall the printer and
reinstall in again. Then process repeats itself. I have been fighting this
problem without success. Any thoughts on a potential resolution will be
greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Alan Morris [MSFT]]

Is the printer using a Stand TCP/IP Port? Can you ping the printer
hostname or static address when the printer goes to offline?

If the port is configure for SNMP, disable this setting. The printer won't
go offline but you will get an error printing if data cannot reach the
intended hostname or IP.

--
Alan Morris
Windows Printing Team
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here:
http://support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[EricG]

Thanks for the reply Alan. Yes, the printer is using a Standard TCP/IP Port,
with an IP address using the router’s address, plus a suffix number added to
it. I also disabled the SNMP setting for this port, as you suggested.

I actually have two levels of problems with my configuration. The main
problem is as I described earlier, is indicated by the printer status being
stuck in “offline†status, and no printing whatsoever can be accomplished by
anyone. That problem is not occurring right now, and so far today I can’t
seem to make it occur. I’m afraid that we’ll just have to wait for it to
occur again before I can completely answer your question about pinging. This
shouldn’t take long unless the SNMP change has a positive impact.

The sub-problem is more frequent and seems to be user class specific. While
running as administrator, the printer prints correctly regardless of whether
the print job runs through the spooler or directly to the printer. However,
while running as a non-administrator and with the spooler enabled, the print
job shows that it prints, but nothing happens. When this occurs I can still
successfully ping the printer. However, if I change the properties to print
directly to the printer, then afterwards the job will print regardless of the
administrator status in focus at that time. This is usually the first
symptom of the overall problem.

I hope that I have more clearly described the symptoms for you. Thanks
again for your interest and advice.

 

[Bob F.]

Thanks for the reply Alan. Yes, the printer is using a Standard TCP/IP
Port,
with an IP address using the router’s address, plus a suffix number added
to
it. I also disabled the SNMP setting for this port, as you suggested.

I actually have two levels of problems with my configuration. The main
problem is as I described earlier, is indicated by the printer status
being
stuck in “offline†status, and no printing whatsoever can be accomplished
by
anyone. That problem is not occurring right now, and so far today I can’t
seem to make it occur. I’m afraid that we’ll just have to wait for it to
occur again before I can completely answer your question about pinging.
This
shouldn’t take long unless the SNMP change has a positive impact.

The sub-problem is more frequent and seems to be user class specific.
While
running as administrator, the printer prints correctly regardless of
whether
the print job runs through the spooler or directly to the printer.
However,
while running as a non-administrator and with the spooler enabled, the
print
job shows that it prints, but nothing happens. When this occurs I can
still
successfully ping the printer. However, if I change the properties to
print
directly to the printer, then afterwards the job will print regardless of
the
administrator status in focus at that time. This is usually the first
symptom of the overall problem.

I hope that I have more clearly described the symptoms for you. Thanks
again for your interest and advice.

Does it run with UAC turned off? If so, some of the support files may be in
a folder (or folders) where you don't have permissions. What printer /
Manufacturer are we talking about. Most new install files for Vista will
perform the installation correctly when done as the installation
instructions call for. I am not promoting keeping UAC off. This is just a
test.

 

[Alan Morris [MSFT]]

Since the router does not support the printer MIB SNMP specification
(correct me if I am wrong but I've not meet one yet), setting the port
configuration with SNMP enabled will force the queue to offline status when
the port monitor queries the device for printer status and a response is not
returned.

Konica-Minolta and HP have some device drivers that write temporary files
into locations where users do not have write access. Some device drivers
write temporary files into locations that users normally have write access
but due to system configuration changes, the locations are not longer
writable for users. There is one of the antivirus applications that blocks
something in printing but I don't recall which one.


Check the system event logs for print event 6161 with error 5 access denied
for temp file access.

What printer model do you have? Are you using the driver included in Vista
if there is one available for your model?
--
Alan Morris
Windows Printing Team
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here:
http://support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[EricG]

Thanks for the reply Bob. The printer is a Brother MFC420CN connected by
wire to a Linksys wireless router. The PC communicates with the printer
wirelessly through the router.

The UAC has been turned off for about a month. I had this problem before I
turned of the UAC, and have not observed any changes in its behavior since I
turned off the UAC.

Thanks again for your interest.

 

[EricG]

Thanks for following up Alan. I checked the Event Viewer and did not find
any posting for an event 6161 or an error 5. I did notice a couple of days
earlier references to print errors 3 and 4, however. Also, I ran a test this
morning to see if any errors get logged when the spooler is turned on and a
non-administrator attempts to print. The job showed that it printed, but did
not, as usual. And, I did not find any posting in the Event Viewer regarding
this occurrence.

The printer is a Brother MFC420CN connected by wire to a Linksys wireless
router. The PC communicates wirelessly to the printer through the router. I
am pretty certain that the driver is the default Microsoft driver. I tried
to find a driver ID on my PC, but the Device Manager does not list the
printer. If you need the driver ID, please tell me where to find it.

Thanks again for your assistance.

 

[Alan Morris [MSFT]]

When you state the printer is connected by wire do you mean USB or ethernet
wire?

3 and 4 are purge and delete. Do you use remote desktop with redirected
printers? Remote desktop generates these event during log off.

Enable the informational notifications and verify you get event 10 when the
job does "print"

I assume the driver name is Brother MFC 420CN USB.

--
Alan Morris
Windows Printing Team
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here:
http://support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[EricG]

Hi again Alan. The wire connection is ethernet. I think I understand what
you mean by remote desktop with redirected printers, and If I'm correct, the
answer is "no". The subject PC is independent, and communicates wirelessly
to the router only for Internet and printing.

I'm not familiar with what you mean by "informational notifications".
Please explain further and tell me how to turn it on.

The driver in use is called "MFC 420CN Printer". However, there are other
drivers available called "MFC 420CN USB' and "MFC 420CN USB Printer". The in
use driver is the one selected by the wizard during the installation of the
printer.

Thanks again for your interest.

 

[Alan Morris [MSFT]]

Enable spooler informational events on the Printers Folder, right click on
any blank space, Run as administrator, Server Properties , Advanced.

event 10 is generated during successful print events.

"Brother MFC-420CN USB" is the only driver for this device that ships in
Vista.

Set the printer to use this driver and verify users can print. The driver
make not have all the features as the "MFC 420CN Printer" driver but if it
works for the user go for it.

You could also create two queues setting up one printer for administrative
users with one driver and the inbox for normal users.

--
Alan Morris
Windows Printing Team
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here:
http://support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[EricG]

It looks like you may be on thee right track here Alan. I changed the
driver to the one you specified, and now all users can print while the
spooler is activated. Also, event 10 was logged in the Event Viewer. I'm
optimistic that you may have found a solution to my problem, but I won't know
for sure until a week or so has elapsed without the printer becoming stuck in
"offline" mode, or some other problem. I'll monitor this and let you know in
about two weeks if everything is OK. Otherwise, I'll be back in touch with
you sooner. Thank you so much for your help Alan. You may have help me to
resolve a problem that has been nagging me for almost a year.

 

[RRisener]

Eric,
It sound to me like your Linksys Router is dynamically configuring the IP
address of your printer. Hence every couple of days (or when you turn the
system off) you IP address for your printer changes and your laptop can no
longer find it (because it is no longer at the same address.) When you
delete and reinstall the printer the computer searches for and "finds" the
new IP address and then sets up the printer (I suspect Windows Vista does not
even install a new driver each time unless you tell Vista to). The
suggestion to turn off SNMP will change the status of the printer to ready
but this doesn"t fix the problem (the change does not put out the fire, it
simply turns off the alarm). If you want to test for this problem the next
time your printer goes offline right click on the printer icon and click
properties. Click on the ports tab and hit the advanced button. Check the
properties for the port and note the IP address. Then delete and reinstall
your printer. I think you will find that the last number of the IP address
has changed. If this is your problem, then the solution is to get out your
Brother installation CD and under optional applications install BRAdmin
Professional. Run the application and it should scan your network for the
printer. Click on the printer then look under control and "Configure
Wireless Setting" Hit the TCP/IP tab and your printer settings should come
up (IP address, subnet mask, and gateway). Change the IP Config from "Auto"
to "Static" and you should never loose your printer again. Rick

 

[EricG]

Thanks Rick. It turns out that the problem came back today after sleeping
for several days. I also got a weird message today stating something like
"this PC has lost its lease on the network". However, I could not find any
posting of it in the event log.

I followed your advice, and sure enough the IP address did change after I
reinstalled the printer. I also downloaded the latest BRAdmin from Brother's
website, installed it, and got as far as it finding the printer. When I
tried to "Configure Device" (I did not see an option for "Configure Wireless
Setting") I was prompted for a password for the print server. I've tried
every password that I know of associated with the router, and now I'm
wondering if the password exists on the remote PC. I am using WEP
encryption, and there is no problem communicating with the router for
Internet access. Any thoughts you might have about identifying this password
would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again for your assistance. Eric

 

[EricG]

I found the password Rick! It was a default password from Brother, and
that’s why I didn’t know it existed.

It appears that the interface of the BRAdmin software I’m using is different
from the one you describe. There are three column listings on the page I
see. The column on the left does list a “TCP/IP†option, and when selected
the center column lists several items, but no “IP Configâ€. There are two
items listed however, that have both “Auto†and “Static†settings available.
The first is called “Boot Method†which lists “AUTO, BOOTP, DHCP, RARP, and
STATIC†in the right column as options. The second is called “DNS Server
Methodâ€, and lists “Auto and Static†as the only options. Both are currently
set to “Autoâ€. Please tell me if either of these items are the one that you
want me to change. Otherwise, please tell me if there is any other
information you might need in order to further test your suggestion. Thank
you again for your help. Eric

 

[RRisener]

Eric,
Actually you said earlier that you connect your printer to the router by
cable, so the advice I gave you about "configure Wireless setting" would not
apply (because there is no wireless connection as far as your printer is
concerned. I connect my Brother 820cw wirelessly to my router.) When you
run BRAdmin professional and see your printer information (make sure it is
still "online" at this point) try double-clicking on the printer itself. A
panel with 6 tabs should come up (I have never seen any password information
requests with this software). Click on the TCP/IP tab and you should get the
panel that I described earlier with the IP address, subnet mask and gateway
information. To the right of this info should be an IP config panel with 5
options. Change the option from "Auto" to "Static" and you should be all
set. Rick

 

[RRisener]

Changing the IP Config from "Auto" to "Static" writes the IP address to the
printer and locks it in so that your router cannot change it and should solve
your problem. Rick

 

[EricG]

Thanks Rick. The "Boot Method" setting was the only one with five options,
so I sucessfully changed that one to "STATIC". I should know in a week or so
if the problem has been resolved. It usually takes that long for a
malfunction to occur, and I'll let you know how things are going then. Once
again Rick, thank you for all of your help. It is sincerely appreciated.
Eric

 

[RRisener]

Eric,
Sounds good. I don't know why your software version seems so different
than mine, but based on what you discribed the "boot method" should be the
right choice. You might try turning off both your computer and your printer
to see if the IP address resets, reseting your router, etc. But I think we
have found the crux of the problem. Let me know how it turns out. Rick

 

[EricG]

Hi Rick,
Sorry for the delay in following up as I had promised. I had to go out of
town for a few weeks, and just returned yesterday. The really good news is
that you solved my problem! The connection between the PC and printer has
remained stable at all times, including after having everything turned off
for a while. Thank you again for your interest and excellent advice. You
solved a really annoying problem that I've been fighting for almost a year.
Eric