printer prob

[StoneColdWhat]

Wow sometimes i just hate printers so much, so I have a printer, it works on 1 comp, I switch it to an other and it stops working. F-GREAT. Both comps running xp so running off the same drivers, I've checked the cables and paper and ink on the printer and its all good, what happens is when I print it'll take the paper in a bit and then the paper light error will come on to indiciate no paper or paperjam or something similar, I checked for paperjam which there was none of an I tried just using 1 piece of paper at a time and that was no good either. I've tried reinstall drivers and doing all that junk and different program as well and its still giving me the same error. Help i'm going crazy

[redwudz]

A few questions: How are you switching it to the other computer? Or is it on a print server or a LAN, or do you just unplug it?

A printer has on-board memory that can hold settings and get confused when you switch to a different computer, but that is usually reset when the power is disconnected.

Last question: What printer is it? One of our members may have fix for a particular printer.

[StoneColdWhat]

Yeh I'm just unplugging it, its a HP deskjet 670c, its been pretty good to me until now.

[hech54]

I love that old printer...I have one back home in the states.

[guns1inger]

USB ? If so, make sure you always plug it back into the same port you installed it in. USB is supposed to be hot swappable plug and play, but sometime, especially with printers, it can get lost and insist on tying itself to the original port.

[kschang]

A reboot never hurts.

My Deskjet 500C is still running fine on my desk here... Thought I have a Laserjet 1100 to keep it company. (The Laserjet IIp gave up the ghost late last year)

[StoneColdWhat]

Nah not usb, its the big printer cable. I've rebooted plenty of times.

[redwudz]

It's a parallel port printer. In that case I would check the parallel port settings on the computer that works and duplicate them on the other if they are different. Look in BIOS for those. That is my guess, anyway.

[StoneColdWhat]

Well I can't do that, I've reformatted since unplugging the printer from the working comp...

[Nelson37]

BIOS settings do not change with a format.

Did you try switching it back before the reformat? It is possible it just happened to break at the same time as you moved the cable, and the move had nothing to do with it.

Were both the printer and the PC switched off when you moved the cable? If not, possible damage to the printer can happen.

[StoneColdWhat]

Yeah I usually turn off the comp b4 unplugging stuff, and as far as bios checking goes, I switched mobos when i reformatted so no checking the workin bios .

[Nelson37]

Well, there are only a couple different Parallel Port settings to try.

Have you checked to make sure the paper sensor is not jammed, no pieces of paper or foreign objects in the paper path? If not, your issue sounds like an electronic problem. Does it manifest with the printer cable unplugged from the printer? Can you generate a test page from the printer? Most models, turn on while holding paper feed button.

Replacement value of that printer less than $50.00

[TJohns]

You haven't got the default paper size set wrong on one PC? Printer might be set for A4 paper but PC wants Letter & the "pause" is the printer wanting a paper size change????

Trevor

[StoneColdWhat]

hMMM actually I havn't thought of the paper size, never bothered to look mmmm I'll give that a shot tomorrow and see how it goes.

[handyguy]

Every HP printer I bought has the paperfeed issue. You can get a free kit from HP to correct it.

[kschang]

If they are still available. Older printers like LJ1100's kits are only available from eBay.

[guns1inger]

One other thing to check, as I had this happen just yesterday. Perfectly good printer attached locally via USB. Can see the print queue OK, says the printer is online. Send a print job through, and it appears in the spool queue, then disappears. But the printer doesn't bat an eyelid. No reaction. Send another one. Same non-response. Printer is still on-line though. Uninstall and reinstall (with a reboot inbetween for good measure). Print. Same thing.

Finally, stopped the spool queue (services), went to the spool queue folder (windows/system32/spool/PRINTERS/) and there was a print job that had been there for 2 weeks. Deleted it (spool service must be stopped to do this), restarted the spooler, and away it went.

Best I can figure, someone sent a job to the printer, but logged off while it was still spooling. The half-formed job in the spool queue didn't register, so the queue seemed empty, but it was enough to screw everything up.