printer probs

[hopharrigan]

My printer (HP) is going out of its mind, when told to print it runs a couple of random characters on a page, then spits it out and takes a new page, does it again, and will continue to do this until it is either manually stopped or runs out of paper. It is not the first printer I have had that does this, and it does it on various computers as well, but this combination has, until now, been pretty stable.

Anyone else had this problem, is there a fix, and how do I tell it to drop the print job, if that is what is causing the problem, without pulling plugs, which seems to be the only way I can purge the faulty print messages now?

[Danza]

I've had the same problem on networked printers at work. The easiest solution was just to keep feeding the paper back through and eventually it will stop and get back to 'normal' printing.

[amanoffewwords]

hopharrigan,

is it connected via a parallel cable by any chance? If so quick and permanent fix is to swap to USB if possible (after changing the port from LPT1 to USB of course).

Otherwise I've never really found a perfect solution short of changing the parallel cable to a better quality, shielded one.

hth
amofw

[Saab Dastard]

In most Windows OS, you can usually cancel a print job from Start, Settings, Printers (that's XP, but I know others are similar). You can also get to Printers from Control Panel.

Once the print job is cancelled, you can switch off the printer safely. I like sorting out paper jams in Laser printers, so I just switch off :E

As others have said, check the cable (assuming parallel) is seated properly, not more than 5 metres and isn't damaged. Are you passing through a printer sharing / switch box?

Check the printer driver hasn't been altered / corrupted. If you have the drivers, re-install them (or create a new printer with them). Check HP's wesite for updated drivers (they are most likely to be on the Windows disk if the printer is more than a few years old).

SD

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

hopharrigan,

If you are running Win9X, I would start with corrupted Printer Drivers. After removing the HP Drivers from Add/Delete Programs, go in to your Windows Directory and delete all the hp drivers. (The HP Drivers do not get completely removed without manually removing them.)

Then get the latest drivers from the HP website and install them again. You should be all set. (If not, then it could be hardware related.)

Take Care,

Richard