background printing is a joke in xp

[martha]

this is the 2nd time I post this, cause seems to me
half of the times I post something that's against xp
it gets ... tangled up somewhere in the twightlight zone...

I used to be able to send a doc to the printer, but also
proceed with other kind of work while that was going on.
Now in XP (x stands for suX), I have to wait before I
try to do anything on that same document. Sure I can go to
other applications, or even open a new one, but to return
to the same document, forget it...

martha

 

[Colin Painter]

What you are describing is not a normal experience at all. But then again,
you have not said what application you are using to process this document
and send it to the printer.

There are people who can help you with this if you can supply some more
details: what app you are using and what sort of printer is it? Can you tell
us more clearly what happens when you return to the app and doc? Is this doc
really huge by any chance?

 

[Cari MS-MVP]

I have seen this problem but only on a couple of occasions. On those
occasions the PCs in question were all HP units... and using old
discontinued printers on an LPT port. Switching them to USB printers cured
the problem completely.

Cari
www.coribright.com

 

[Dwight Stewart]

I used to be able to send a doc to the printer,
but also proceed with other kind of work while
that was going on. Now in XP (x stands for suX),
I have to wait before I try to do anything on that
same document. Sure I can go to other applications,
or even open a new one, but to return to the same
document, forget it...

Many factors can impact this, Martha - the application, the printer, the
printer driver, printer connection used, the size of the file, the type of
file, any of these individually, several of these together, and so on. And,
yes, the operating system is a factor also. But it's not the sole factor, so
shouldn't be blamed solely until all else is eliminated. In my case, with my
hardware and software, I haven't experienced the situation you describe.
That tells me XP alone isn't the souce of your problem.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

 

[CWatters]

If it's not to obvious......

Printer properties -> advanced tab

and then check the spooler is enabled eg

"Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster"

 

[martha]

-----Original Message-----



Many factors can impact this, Martha - the application, the printer, the
printer driver, printer connection used, the size of the file, the type of
file, any of these individually, several of these

together, and so on.

ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE REJECTED, one by one!

And, yes, the operating system is a factor also.
But it's not the sole factor, so
shouldn't be blamed solely until all else is eliminated.

I have the old 98SE box still under my desk.
The helpdesk folks unplugged everything from that box
and connected it to the new box running XP. The old was
a DELL Optiplex GX110, the new one a black DELL Optiplex
GX240 much fatter that the first one.

Just to give you an idea, I am still using the old keyboard
and mouse.

I print the same way, the same files, on the same network
on the same printer.

So, NO SIR, its not the printer, its not the driver,
its not the printer connection, its not the size of the
file, its not the type of the file, and its not the silly
excuses people might just try to pull.

ITS XP!!!

In my case, with my hardware and software, I haven't
experienced the situation you describe.

Well, then, never mind you. I asked for help, not excuses,
and if you dont have any experience on it, please...

That tells me XP alone isn't the souce of your problem.

That tells me you havent experienced much.

 

[martha]

It was and still is already checked...

-----Original Message-----
If it's not to obvious......

Printer properties -> advanced tab

and then check the spooler is enabled eg

"Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster"

 

[martha]

-----Original Message-----
What you are describing is not a normal experience at all. But then again,
you have not said what application you are using to process this document
and send it to the printer.

Word, Excel, Textpad, Internet Explorer, you name it.

There are people who can help you with this if you can
supply some more
details:

Can you tell us more clearly what happens when you
return to the app and doc?

Nothing happens, business as usual. It doesnt do anything
wrong, it doesnt mess up anything, I just get the busy
cursor inside Word or Excel etc, while its spooling.
At the bottom of my screen I have the task bar, and I can
click on a different program, say Lotus Notes, and read
my email, NO PROBLEM. But if I print a document from Word
2000, then while its spooling I can do NOTHING else in
Word...

Is this doc really huge by any chance?

No, not at all. It does the same for docs of 1 page,
5 pages, 10 pages, or 100 pages, I've printed various
ones already and I know. Also, I have 5 or 6 different
printers installed, really good ones, and it behaves the
very same way on all of them. Oh yes, they are network
printers. My officemate's machine has not been updated yet,
he is running win98 and does not have this problem.

 

[martha]

my machine is a sharp-looking fat DELL one,
the network printers are fast and mean,
certainly not on an LPT port,
and certainly cannot be switched to USBs...

See, now you've seen the problem on more than just
a couple of occasions, and with different setup.