Network Printer Problems

Raistlin · 15-06-2005, 21:01

Hi Guys,

Please help me before I throw my computers and my printer out of the ferkin window

The setup is:

Windows 2003 Server > [USB] > Lexmark X1180 Printer

Laptop > [WIRELESS] > Linksys Router > [ETHERNET] > Windows 2003 Server

Network is working fine, can access files from the shared folders, from either machine.

I have added the Lexmark printer to the Laptop as a network printer, and it is being shared by the Server.

I can send a document to print and it shows up in the printer manager on bothe the Laptop and the Server. The problem is that it never bl**dy prints!!
I can't cancel the job either, if I choose the document and then tel l the print manager to cancel it (from either machine) it changes the status to "Deleting - Printing" and then does nothing else.

I have had this setup working in the past, I've actually managed to print documents without any problems. every now and then this happens. The only way that I can clear the print manager is to completely reboot the server (obviously not ideal).

Heeeeeeeeeeeeelp! (Please

)

Tricky · 15-06-2005, 21:04

Can you print locally from the server? Try the good old test page method....

stopping and starting the spooler may avoid the reboot?

Raistlin · 15-06-2005, 21:13

Will try that and let you know, thanks.
__________________

Ok, I can print locally.

I'll test the print spooler theory.
__________________

Ok, that's odd.

It appears to be printing across the network without any problems now.

Thanks for the help, no doubt I'll be back and complaining about it again soon

paulyoung666 · 15-06-2005, 22:25

i wonder if it is a good old windoze

gremlin

greencreeper · 15-06-2005, 22:32

Network printer? Not the right-click variety that works when it feels like it and some day soon will just stop and have to be recreated?

Add a printer - local one. Untick the auto-detect thingy. Local port - \\servername\printershare or \\serverip\printershare if static IP. Install driver. Away you go.

Dicky spooler...

Start... Run... net stop spooler

c:\winnt\system32\spool\PRINTERS
OR
c:\windows\system32\spool\PRINTERS

Delete the contents, which usually are listed as "Shockwave" files

Start... Run... net start spooler

If it doesn't stop or start, try...

Right-click "My Computer"... Manage... Services and Applications... Services... Printer Spooler - check the status and stop/start there

Raistlin · 15-06-2005, 22:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

Network printer? Not the right-click variety that works when it feels like it and some day soon will just stop and have to be recreated?

Won't even pretend I know what you're talking about here

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

Add a printer - local one. Untick the auto-detect thingy. Local port - \\servername\printershare or \\serverip\printershare if static IP. Install driver. Away you go.

Ok, so I need to set it up as a Local printer but give the path to the network share, rather than setting it up as a Network printer?

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

Dicky spooler...

Start... Run... net stop spooler

c:\winnt\system32\spool\PRINTERS
OR
c:\windows\system32\spool\PRINTERS

Delete the contents, which usually are listed as "Shockwave" files

Start... Run... net start spooler

If it doesn't stop or start, try...

Right-click "My Computer"... Manage... Services and Applications... Services... Printer Spooler - check the status and stop/start there

Thanks, I'll try that next time I get problems (shortly before I kick the bl**dy thing out of the door

).

greencreeper · 16-06-2005, 00:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raistlin

Ok, so I need to set it up as a Local printer but give the path to the network share, rather than setting it up as a Network printer?

Yes. That's what I normally do - much more reliable. Just redirects the spooler.

Stuartbe · 16-06-2005, 09:51

Open the run command and type \\machine name , you should see the printer listed with the shared folders.

I take it that both computers are on the same domain. It may be worth checking that :-

1. the time and date are the same on both computers.
2. The user rights are correct on the shared printer.
3. There are no firewalls blocking the trafic

HTH

Nemesis · 16-06-2005, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuartbe

Open the run command and type \\machine name , you should see the printer listed with the shared folders.

I take it that both computers are on the same domain. It may be worth checking that :-

1. the time and date are the same on both computers.
2. The user rights are correct on the shared printer.
3. There are no firewalls blocking the trafic

HTH

Look, I've warned you about making sensible posts ....

Stuartbe · 16-06-2005, 09:54

My appologies.... Let me try again...

O.K.

Turn the printer upside down then open a command prompt and type the command " ibble wibble " This will move the megabillybite stack into the hypermegabyte.

HTH

Nemesis · 16-06-2005, 10:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuartbe

My appologies.... Let me try again...

O.K.

Turn the printer upside down then open a command prompt and type the command " ibble wibble " This will move the megabillybite stack into the hypermegabyte.

HTH

See, doesn't that feel much better

Stuartbe · 16-06-2005, 10:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon M

See, doesn't that feel much better

A little

Raistlin · 16-06-2005, 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuartbe

1. the time and date are the same on both computers.

You might be on to something there.

For some reason the clock on the server seems to run slightly faster than on the laptop.

The Laptop clock is synched to the internet, the server doesn't have any access to the net and therefore doesn't have a time synch.

Is there any way of synching the time between the server and the laptop but using the laptop's time to update the server?

If that was the problem, wouldn't that always be a problem though? I managed to print a couple of documents last night without problem but I can almost be sure that it won't work tonight when I try.....

Stuartbe · 16-06-2005, 16:10

Well.... 2000/2003 server has a default margin of 5 mins (in the domain controler security policy) If the time is out to much it will cause problems with NTLM and kerberos authentication. It may be that the time difference is on the boarder of that margin.

2000/2003 server has a time server built in - but it relies on connection to an external NTP server. You check this from a command prompt by typing "net time". If you use the command " net time /SETSNTP:server " You could try putting the laptops ip in the server field. You will need an NTP server running on the laptop though. Netclock is a good one....

HTH

Raistlin · 16-06-2005, 17:34

Ok,I can't install as a local printer because XP doesn't have the drivers for it as standard.

I don't know where the driver file is located on the server.

The setup disk that comes with the printer won't let me install the software/drivers unless the printer is physically connected to the Laptop.
__________________

Been looking at Netclock, I take it that there's a fee for using it?

If so, are there any free versions available (tight, sorry but I'm skint at the moment

).