Slow network printing to 98 machine and blocking port 445

[Bret]

Hello-

I have attached a short thread below. Just two posts. The first is my
problem tit for tat. The second is a solution that makes great sense. Does
anyone know how to accomplish what this person suggests? How to block
outgoing 445 requests? I have this trouble on 3 different networks. I'm
suprised I don't see more online when I search for it. Everything I've
tried in the GUI does not work. I'm sure it's command line. I've tried
netsh firewall set portopening TCP 445 DISABLE. This did not help. This
seems like a great workaround although it is a 'dirty fix' as this person
suggests. Anyone know a real fix?

Thank you.

Hi:

Printing from my new Dell Windows XP machine to the networked printer
is incredibly slow, from all programs. Printing from Notepad is
pretty much impossible.

I have a simple peer-to-peer network: Windows ME machine, Windows XP
(Home) machine, Microsoft Router, FastPort Model 3420X print server,
Epson Stylus Photo 890 printer. The print server uses NetBEUI which
may ,or may not be, part of the problem. The Windows XP machine
couldn't "see" the print server until I found and installed NetBEUI on
the XP machine.

The "Windows XP" machine replaced a different Windows 98SE machine
about a week ago. When the Widows 98SE machine was in place
everything worked just fine, so my problems seem to have something to
do with Windows XP.

I've checked to see that there's nothing wrong with the setup of the
printer, i.e., not printing text as graphics, quality not "high", and
so forth. I'm using the latest and greatest print driver for XP
provided by Epson. I've uninstalled and re-installed the printer.

If I connect the printer directly to the XP machine everything is
fine; I'm guessing the issue is more a "network" problem than anything
else.

In casting around for the solution to the problem the only thing that
seems relevant is the suggestion to *not* have mulitiple protocols
bound to the file and print sharing. I haven't made that "fix" yet as
I'm through for the day as far as this problem goes and I have a
niggling feeling that's not the problem: the same setup (all protocols
bound to file and print sharing) worked just fine when the Win98
machine was there in place of the XP one.

Hi,
since Win2000 and also in WinXP, when windows networking is bound to
TCPIP, the system tries a network connection to remote IP port 445, and
only if this fails, uses ports 137 to 139. As Win98 and WinME don't have
a port 445 open (and would not know how to handle those incoming network
packets to port 445), WinXP keeps trying for some time or number of
attempts. (I'd like to know where this is defined, because after update
with SP2, this takes forever.)
During these attempts, the printing process seems to be frozen.

So your problem may very well go away if you unbind file and printer
sharing from TCPIP on the WinXP machine. I would like to know whether
this helps.

I can't do this because NETBEUI is not supported on our LAN, but
astonishingly the freezing of the printing process also goes away if I
deny outgoing connections to remote port 445 in the firewall.
Now that's a dirty fix, because the system SHOULD use 445 when
connecting to other Win2K or WinXP machines, and I will allow 445
connections as soon as all other machines are upgraded to Win2K or
WinXP, but until then ... if only someone could tell me where to set the
connection timeout so that the freezing stops after that time
(it's NOT affected by the setting of
HKLM\SYSTEN\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanworkstation\parameters
SessTimeout=dword)

 

[Interrogative]

Hello-

I have attached a short thread below. Just two posts. The first is my
problem tit for tat. The second is a solution that makes great sense.
Does
anyone know how to accomplish what this person suggests? How to block
outgoing 445 requests? I have this trouble on 3 different networks. I'm

I don't know where all that comes from in that person's reply.

I have WIN98SE and XP mixed and printing. The slowness of anything on a
network that affects XP is almost always because the network is allowed to
automatically assign IP numbers. I always manually assign them. The network
comes up much quicker and printing from any machine is no problem. I suggest
you try that.

Also, if you really want to block any port easily, download Zone Alarm and
install it for that purpose.

 

[Bret]

Thank you for the quick reply. I will send the text again. I'd rather not
use Zone Alarm. Sounds like he uses SP2s firewall. I'm looking for anyone
who's had and licked this problem.

Hi,
since Win2000 and also in WinXP, when windows networking is bound to
TCPIP, the system tries a network connection to remote IP port 445, and
only if this fails, uses ports 137 to 139. As Win98 and WinME don't have
a port 445 open (and would not know how to handle those incoming network
packets to port 445), WinXP keeps trying for some time or number of
attempts. (I'd like to know where this is defined, because after update
with SP2, this takes forever.)
During these attempts, the printing process seems to be frozen.

So your problem may very well go away if you unbind file and printer
sharing from TCPIP on the WinXP machine. I would like to know whether
this helps.

I can't do this because NETBEUI is not supported on our LAN, but
astonishingly the freezing of the printing process also goes away if I
deny outgoing connections to remote port 445 in the firewall.
Now that's a dirty fix, because the system SHOULD use 445 when
connecting to other Win2K or WinXP machines, and I will allow 445
connections as soon as all other machines are upgraded to Win2K or
WinXP, but until then ... if only someone could tell me where to set the
connection timeout so that the freezing stops after that time
(it's NOT affected by the setting of
HKLM\SYSTEN\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanworkstation\parameters
SessTimeout=dword)