Printing stopped

[Guest]

Hi all,

I have been noticing that there are more posts in the last few days with
this problem, and I am wondering if it could be malicious code causing it. I
have had a couple clients that are having this problem.

Windows XP Pro- SP2
Various motherboards/system configurations/ HP III, 4Si, 4+, 4, 5+, and others

I have been trying to figure out why some of my clients computers, that were
operating well, suddenly have stopped printing altogether. I will usually
get an "Out of Paper" error when trying to print to the parallel ports (I am
trying the USB ports tomorrow). I have removed the drivers from Windows,
reinstalled the HP print drivers fresh (both the native XP and downloaded HP
drivers), and even went so far as to look for conflicts in recently loaded
programs, etc. On one machine I installed a new PCI parallel port controller
card with two new parallel ports and tried to print to LPT2 and LPT3 to no
avail.

The only change on that particular machine was a reload of Office 2000 Pro.
This happened on 2/2/2006. Any ideas? I am about at the end of my rope with
this one.

 

[Guest]

Hi syndata,

I've had the same problem on a Dell 8400 with a HP 7350 Photo"smart" printer
since mid-December. The printer worked flawlessly for a year and a half then
suddenly stopped working. I don't suspect malicious code; I keep both my
antivirus and anti-spyware up to date daily... almost obsessively (if you
have ever spent days cleaning dozens of infected computers you would be
too). My suspicions lie more around reckless code.... Microsoft patches and
automatic "update". The printer appeared to stop working a couple of days
after a security update; I didn't have to print anything at home for a
couple of days.

Microsoft blames the HP driver, HP says it's a Dell problem and Dell is
clueless.

If you would like a detailed account of things that I've tried see my post
in this newsgroup dated 2-2-06 - "WindowsXP and HP 7350 USB Printing Woes"

Good luck, I've been trying for over 2 months and still don't have a
solution. The printer is OK, it prints when other Windows and Linux boxes
are attached to it. I have it on a print server now so the other PCs around
the house can print on it.

Tom R.

 

[Chuck]

There are some known problem areas.
First, it may be necessary to remove and reinstall the Windows USB
controller and port drivers.
Next, there are a few USB support chips on MBDs that do not really meet the
newer USB standards. The same thing is true of some printers. SP2 tightend
up the required compliance with the standard.

 

[Guest]

Thanks.

I thought I was crazy there for a minute. I think it might be the way
certain drivers might be interacting with this update. The only difference
in machines is the hardware (MB, video, etc.) in the two machines. One is
printing... the other is not.

One is an AMD Sempron 2800+ on an MSI K8VMM motherboard, and the other is an
older HP with a PIII 700MHz. Both have Windows XP loaded... the same date,
and both are updated with SP2. Both have the latest and greatest patches
installed. I too am obsessed with keeping bugs out... so both are loaded
with Norton AV 2006 and have the latest DAT updates. Both were swept for
malware after the problem occurred.

The problem is occurring on the AMD machine. As a fix, I have installed the
printers over a network using HP JetDirect hardware, and both are printing
fine. I am a little pissed that I had to do this, as it is obviously not a
printer driver that is causing the problem. It acts like a print service
problem, which would make sense... since your problem is with a USB printer
and mine is an LPT printer. The reason I say this makes sense is that the
two are on completely different busses.

I will visit your post from 2-2-06 and hopefully we can get some sort of
resolution down the line.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Guest]

Oops... I meant to say that it is acting as some sort of weird interrupt
problem. Since the printer is working on that machine over the network, it
can't be the print service that is causing the difficulty... hardware driver
issues. I have uninstalled the various drivers on the system and reinstalled
all the updated drivers to no avail.

Chuck, this particular printer is not using USB but LPT ports. Do you know
of a commonality other than OS that could be an issue with both USB and LPT
ports? I am thinking... chipsets, maybe? Just for curiosity's sake, what
kind of chipset do you have on your MBD, thomr01? This one has a VIA K8M800
chipset.

Thanks to both of your for answering on this topic.