Default Printer Resetting

[Mocacius]

Win XP Pro, SP2

I have set my default printer, on my notebook, to one on our LAN, and it
works fine, I can print to it without any problems. However, I hibernate
the notebook, go home, and next day when I come to office and reconnect to
the LAN, my default printer is all of a sudden an internal PDF printer. I
set the default to the LAN printer again, and the next day I come in, I have
to repeat the process.

What am I doing wrong? Why is my default printer device being reset?

*M*

 

[Steve N.]

Win XP Pro, SP2

I have set my default printer, on my notebook, to one on our LAN, and it
works fine, I can print to it without any problems. However, I hibernate
the notebook, go home, and next day when I come to office and reconnect to
the LAN, my default printer is all of a sudden an internal PDF printer. I
set the default to the LAN printer again, and the next day I come in, I have
to repeat the process.

What am I doing wrong? Why is my default printer device being reset?

*M*

Please give details on the network printer setup.

Steve

 

[Mocacius]

Please give details on the network printer setup.

Oops... Sorry don't know what details you are looking for. Lan-ready
Laserjet connected to the network as a LAN node (not attached to any
computer). What specific details would help in identiying the problem? I
can provide whatever is needed.

*M*

 

[Steve N.]

Oops... Sorry don't know what details you are looking for. Lan-ready
Laserjet connected to the network as a LAN node (not attached to any
computer). What specific details would help in identiying the problem? I
can provide whatever is needed.

*M*

Port settings on your notebook for the printer. Right click the printer
icon, select Porperties, Port, Configure Port or perhaps Port Settings
(depending on make/model).

Steve

 

[Mocacius]

Port settings on your notebook for the printer. Right click the printer
icon, select Porperties, Port, Configure Port or perhaps Port Settings
(depending on make/model).

Here it is:

Port = \\MAIN\RLaser
Description = Local Port
Description = Auto Laser Printer 1700

Thanks

 

[Steve N.]

Here it is:

Port = \\MAIN\RLaser
Description = Local Port
Description = Auto Laser Printer 1700

Thanks

If the printer supports static IP settings (most will) I'd program the
printer network interface with a static IP address (consult the manual
for the printer on how to do this) and on the notebook setup a Local
Port, Standard TCP/IP port matching the printer's IP address rather than
rely on peer-to-peer or shared printer port settings.

Steve

 

[Bob I]

Are you connecting it to a network at home and "unhibernating"? If so,
the laptop is switching to an available printer as the network one
doesn't exist.

 

[Mocacius]

If the printer supports static IP settings (most will) I'd program the
printer network interface with a static IP address (consult the manual for
the printer on how to do this) and on the notebook setup a Local Port,
Standard TCP/IP port matching the printer's IP address rather than rely on
peer-to-peer or shared printer port settings.

I'll try that, thanks.

 

[Mocacius]

Yes, I am connecting to a home network, but it doesn't connect to an
available printer on *that* network, either. It defaults to a PDF interal
printer. If it found and defaulted to an available printer, each time I
"unhibernated" and conected to a new network, that would be great.

It does not.

*M*

 

[Bob I]

The "PDF printer" is available. Now perhaps if that wasn't
available? You may want to do some testing?

 

[Mocacius]

Yes, but so is at *least* one more *real* printer on each of the networks.
Why not default to one of those, *available* printers each time? Not that
it should make any difference, but the PDF printer is not even the first or
last printer in the list (to say that it was just blindly picking the first
printer, or something). Making the PDF printer unavailable is NOT an
option, since it's needed, so I'll keep looking trying to find some rhyme
and reason to this behavior.

*M*

 

[Mocacius]

I tried what you suggested, assigning a fixed IP to the printer and then
setting the port to a standard TCP/IP in Control Panel, Printers & Faxes,
but it did not solve the problem. Hibernated, went home used the notebook
(did not print or otherwise access a printer), came to the office,
restarted, defaut was once again reset to PDF.

This is driving me nuts...

 

[Bob I]

Are you hibernating at both ends?

I tried what you suggested, assigning a fixed IP to the printer and then
setting the port to a standard TCP/IP in Control Panel, Printers & Faxes,
but it did not solve the problem. Hibernated, went home used the notebook
(did not print or otherwise access a printer), came to the office,
restarted, defaut was once again reset to PDF.

This is driving me nuts...

 

[Mocacius]

Yes, I am hibernating at both ends. So, I guess I'm trying to empirically
discern what is the process of assigning the default printer, when the
system comes out of hybernation (since I haven't been able to find any
details on any MS, or related document).

What makes it even more puzzling is that this si NOT the behavior I was
observing on another notebook, also running XP Pro, with pretty much the
same setup, for the last year, or so.

*M*

 

[Bob I]

Do you spose it could be caused by the "Automatically search for network
folders and printers" setting in Control Panel, Folder Options, View?

Or How about taking a different tack and do a Net Use LPT2:
\Server\printer and then do a local install of the printer on the "lpt2"?