Sick HP Network Printer

[roddez]

On a network I manage, I have an HP 4000N Printer connected to an Intel Netport Express Pro printer server.

This is all connected to the network with a Win 2K Server.

The problem is that the printer appears to be possessed. It will just get carried away and start printing a single X on the top of a page of paper. And when it starts, it will happily pump a whole ream of paper through.

The unit appears to be configured correctly, with the latest HP PCL driver. It was working perfectly until a blackout about 4 weeks ago. I had the problem when I first installed it, and it just decided to stop by its self.

Can anyone shed any light on this matter or refer me to somewhere that can?

Drop me a line if you can help (roddez@zgeek.com)

[dogwomble]

Why is my first impression BugBear? I know the initial version of BugBear had a bug in that it tried to spread through network shares, but couldn't tell the difference between a file share and a printer share therefore sending printers psycho.

Otherwise, I know this is going to sound stupid but make sure everyone's using the correct printer driver. It's probably a bit late now but Windows 2000 Server has a facility to store drivers for all the various versions of Windows and the appropriate one is downloaded to the workstation when they connect to the printer.

It also sounds like the print server itself could be a bit dodgy - have you tried plugging it direct into the server and done another test?

[Asmodeus]

i'm assuming that you have this puppy hooked up via cat5 and not a parallel port cable. first, id lunch out the print server box and connect it direct if you can since it should be able to stand aloneother than that, see if you can (re)upgrade its firmware. who knows, somehow the outage might have corrupted something subtle in its internals.

is it every print job, randomly, or at teh end of a run, etc

have you run a check on the print server itself and make sure its not the culprit.

[roddez]

Originally posted by Asmodeus
i'm assuming that you have this puppy hooked up via cat5 and not a parallel port cable. first, id lunch out the print server box and connect it direct if you can since it should be able to stand alone

Man, I wish I could. There is no Jet Direct card in the printer and the Boss decided that the NetPort was cheaper. . . So, the Netport is plugged into the Cat V and the Printer uses one of the Parallel Ports on the Printer.

other than that, see if you can (re)upgrade its firmware. who knows, somehow the outage might have corrupted something subtle in its internals.

I will try and update the Netport Firmware and also the Printer firmware

is it every print job, randomly, or at teh end of a run, etc

It really is random. It will behave its self all day, then when people come in in the morning, they find it has chewed through a ream of paper.

have you run a check on the print server itself and make sure its not the culprit.

Personally, I think the so called Print Server is the Problem, but I can't find a way to fix it.

[thingy]

Bugbear usually prints out reams of random characters, not just a single "x" per page, but I wouldn't dismiss that theory as yet.

Which apps do people use to print to it? Standard office apps or custom/non standard apps as well?

Are the users using Postscript or PCL drivers? My preference is for PCL6 as I've had things similar to bugbear happen on HP printers with PostScript drivers, plus postscript jobs are generally much larger & slower.

What OS is the netport running? Does it support logging? If so, turn it on and see if it can tell you where the job is coming from (that is if it's a job and not a malfunction further down the line).

Those are the only things that spring to mind that haven't already been mentioned. Other than that, our HP's have been pretty darned reliable.

[exekewtable]

sounds like you need the magic HP reset.
You need to hold down the reset or ready button, Yank out the power while the printer is on, keep holding down the button, then plug in the power and count to 35. when the lights flash funny, you can reset the printer firmware etc and it should be sweet.
works for 2100's anyway...

dave

[thingy]

I'm pretty sure it's different for 4, 4000, 5000 & 8000 models, but I can't remember what it is off the top of my head. He said hte problem has been around since it was first installed so I dismissed that idea, but yet again, another thing that shouldn't really be as yet.