Please Help - Wierd Print Problem 2000 Server XP Clients

[Peter Brooks]

Apologies in advance if this is the wrong group or my problem
explanation is incomplete. Have done a Google search on this but can't
find an answer.

I am having strange problems printing with a fairly basic set-up.

We have 2 printers (HP LaserJet 1010 and Epson Photo 2100) attached to
USB ports on an IBM 325 Server running Windows 2000 and acting as a
simple print server. It's a very basic network (Workgroup, not Domain)
and I can print to both of these printers from applications on the
server (Notepad etc.).

However, when I try to print from any of my networked XP Clients the
whole thing goes through as if it's printing - that is, in the Printer
Monitor the job status goes through the expected cycle of Printing,
Deleting Printing, Printed. But nothing comes out of either printer..

If I set Keep Printed Documents in (Printer, Properties) Advanced the
document doesn't print but after the above cycle stays there as
expected. If I then try to Restart it from Print Monitor, it goes
through the same cycle, but again does not actually print. But if I
copy a Notepad document to the server and print it locally it prints
just fine with exactly the same message cycle as the remote print.

I have tried test prints from either printers Properties with the same
results.

An old Epson Stylus 2, which is attached to the Parallel Port on the
server works just fine from the XP Clients so I am guessing it's
something to do with the USB which is an Intel 82371SB PCI to USB
Universal Host Controller. There are no other USB devices connected to
the Server.

Print jobs from the clients appear under the user Guest which has print
privileges in security.

Have checked everything I can think of and am now at a loss.

The HP is on port DOT4_001 and the Epson on USB001 on the server if that
helps.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Regards and Thanks In Advance

 

[Bruce Sanderson]

A couple of possibilities:

1. some printers never work over the network because the printer drivers
must be in constant two way communication with the printer while printing,
which is not possible for networked printers. I don't know if either of the
HP LaserJet 1010 or Epson Photo 2100 are of this ilk. If printing on these
printers works fine from a Windows 2000 client computer, then this is not
the problem here.

2. You may not have a Windows XP compliant driver on your print server.
Many of the Windows 2000 printer drivers are printer driver model 2 and
these often don't work correctly with Windows XP (see the item "printer
driver" at http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/Glossary.htm for some information
about this). If this is the case, you might want to try downloading and
installing the XP driver as an Additional Driver on the print server. See

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/AddDrivertoOldOS.htm
and
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/NetPrinterNoPP.htm

3. if I understand your symptom correctly, you sometimes see this if the
special group called CREATOR OWNER does not have Manage Documents permission
for the printer on the print server.

 

[Peter Brooks]

A couple of possibilities:

Hi Bruce, and thanks for your response.

1. some printers never work over the network because the printer drivers
must be in constant two way communication with the printer while printing,
which is not possible for networked printers. I don't know if either of the
HP LaserJet 1010 or Epson Photo 2100 are of this ilk. If printing on these
printers works fine from a Windows 2000 client computer, then this is not
the problem here.

Good thought but, whilst you can't put Jet Direct cards into them to
network them direct, both printers are networkable as 'shared devices'
directly connected to servers or other PCs in a Work Group or Domain
according to HP and Epson.

2. You may not have a Windows XP compliant driver on your print server.
Many of the Windows 2000 printer drivers are printer driver model 2 and
these often don't work correctly with Windows XP (see the item "printer
driver" at http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/Glossary.htm for some information
about this). If this is the case, you might want to try downloading and
installing the XP driver as an Additional Driver on the print server. See

Thought of that and tried loading the drivers straight off the CD and,
when that didn't work, off the Server. All to no avail........ Even
the Net showed me I'd got the latest drivers...... :-(

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/AddDrivertoOldOS.htm
and
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/NetPrinterNoPP.htm

3. if I understand your symptom correctly, you sometimes see this if the
special group called CREATOR OWNER does not have Manage Documents permission
for the printer on the print server.

Didn't think of that, but following your logic I gave absolutely every
possible user full permissions and that still didn't work..... :-(

In the end, in sheer desperation, I put the printers on one of the other
XP clients and lo and behold - all the XP clients could now print to
them...........

Downside is, that it looks like I've got to upgrade a really basic Print
Server to Windows XP just to keep on using it.........

Thanks again for your kind assistance.

Best Regards