After working for months, printing re-starting and repeating

[Stephan G.]

Hello.

My print configuration on my LAN has been working fine for months.

Here is the configuration:

Wireless Network, Linksys router.
Vista Computer (lets call it computer A)
XP Computer (lets call it computer B)
Another XP Computer (lets call it computer C)
Linksys Wireless Print Server
HP LaserJet 1012 printer

As stated above, everything had been working fine. For no reason that I
can determine, starting today, printing has been a problem from the
Vista Computer (Computer A) only. The XP computers (B and C) seem to
print just fine.

The problem on the Vista Computer (A) is that any document, when
printed, comes out just fine, but that the print driver "restarts" the
print job, so it prints again, and again, and again.... as long as you
allow it to. Even if you power cycle the printer, the print job will
start again. So clearly, on the Vista computer, there is some message
getting there that the print job has not completed properly, so it is
trying to restart it.

This is the case even if the "print job" is the "Test Paper" from the
printer.

I have tried to hook the printer directly up to the computer, but it
can't seem to install the driver through plug-n-play, I think because
there is no Vista-Certified driver for the HP 1012. However, as I said,
it has been working fine as a network printer for months and months.

Additional information:
Print Driver: HP LaserJet 1012
Not shared on Vista computer -- of course it is a network printer.
Port is named 192.168.1.99, which is the IP address of the print server.
Port Description is "Standard TCP/IP Port".
Protocol is "RAW". (I have tried "LPR", but it didn't change the
behavior).
Print processor is IMFPrint.
Default Data type is IMF (although I have tried "RAW", and that didn't
change the behavior).

Any clues on how to get my printer back working on the Vista machine?

Any advice warmly greeted...

-stephan

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Did you try the basic uninstall and reinstall method?
http://www.coribright.com/windows/Article_One.htm

 

[Stephan G.]

I had tried (basically) this step prior to posting - to no avail.
However, for reasons I don't fully grasp, the problem seemed related
somehow to anti-virus software (avast) that I had been using for months,
but does update itself from time to time.

When I de-installed avast, the printer-restart-repeat problem went away.
Then I installed AVG instead, all is fine.

Which is anxiety-provoking only because it seems so random, and I have
no particular understanding of what went wrong.

Thanks again.

-s