Printing Problems with Windows SP2

I apologise for posting in 2 areas but i didnt know if it was a hardware problem or the printer software.

Changing the spool settings made no difference at all but i noticed that if i change the paper type settings prior to printing (ie plain/photo/glossy/transparent/coated etc) it changes the print % before it stops/freezes.

With plain paper in the tray and plain paper setting it will load the paper and freeze prior to printing anything on the paper ie nothing gets printed at all. However if i have plain paper in the tray and select "coated" in the paper type it will print 99% and then freeze.

Ive tried all of the paper settings with different types of paper and nothing works to 100%.

Does the printer itself, or the printer software on the computer, throw any kinds of errors when it stops?

Does the printer sound like it's having a mechanical problem? Odd noises etc...

What happens after it freezes? Does it spit the page out or do you have to yank it out or what?

Also check the manufacturer's website for any updates and patches for your printer model.

Will it also freeze if the page is very simple? Like for example, write the word "hello" in your word processor and try to print it, what happens there?
Does it freeze with EVERY program you print from? Print from word processor, print from IE, from paintbrush, from notepad etc...

Maybe those will lead to something, and give any more details you can.

Does the printer itself, or the printer software on the computer, throw any kinds of errors when it stops?

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No error messages at all. The printing software will tell me its completed 99% or some other number (sometimes 34%) and simply stop.

Does the printer sound like it's having a mechanical problem? Odd noises etc...

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Doesnt sound like any mechanical problems. It can for some reason print faxes without a problem. I wonder if its related to my other problem where my computer cannot detect my iPod?

I posted that problem in the Misc Software and Utilities section and here is a link https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic52233.html

What happens after it freezes? Does it spit the page out or do you have to yank it out or what?

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It doesnt spit the page out it simply stops. I have to turn the power off and then the page will get spooled out. Then i turn it back on.

Also check the manufacturer's website for any updates and patches for your printer model.

Click to expand...

I have done that and there was no change at all.

Will it also freeze if the page is very simple? Like for example, write the word "hello" in your word processor and try to print it, what happens there?
Does it freeze with EVERY program you print from? Print from word processor, print from IE, from paintbrush, from notepad etc...

Click to expand...

I have tried very simple pages with very little text on them and they still dont finish. It can be quite random at times. Sometimes it will do 99% and then freeze other times it will spool the paper and then just before it prints a single pixel it will freeze.



I cant help but think that SP2 has done something to prevent my comp from properly using hardware like my printer and my iPod.

Is there any way I can remove SP2 without formatting my computer... maybe that will help?

Well, since your printer and your iPod are both USB, it's not imposable there is a communication problem.

For this, you could perhaps unplug your USB devices, delete all the USB drivers from Device Manager, and restart the PC, letting Windows reload them again. If that doesn't do, you could research your motherboard model and see if you can reload the drivers from the mobo manufacturer's website.

If updating/reloading the USB drivers doesn't work, then it could be deeper I guess. Does your printer support Parallel connection? You could try that just to see, as it won't use USB.

Once last thing you can change in your printer properties is the print processor.
Go into the print properties to the advanced tab and click the print processor button. Whatever it's set to, try another one.

As for SP2, if you chose the option, you should have a uninstaller in the add/remove programs in control panel.
If not, there may still be a way to uninstall, but it's advanced, a last resort.

For this, you could perhaps unplug your USB devices, delete all the USB drivers from Device Manager, and restart the PC, letting Windows reload them again.

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Thanks this did the job

However my iPod isnt on USB its on Firewire and so my iPod still isnt working. I tried deleting my 1394 Firewire driver and seeing if that would work but it didnt

Device Manager

Sai
Next time you may want to see the device manager to see if all is well with USB ports. When I intalled XP prof as an upgrade from XP home, it did not recognize USBs. Had to delete each and install each with driver CD.

Printer itself could be fine but the USB's do not work. This can be pulled out from device manager. HTH