Re: network printer is ready but error when printing

Oh I'm so sorry. By directly connected, I meant directly connected to company's switch/router. ridiculous me. (otherwise I wouldn't have been here in windows.server.networking, because I'd like to know in what way networking plays a role here, and the ports for troubleshooting)
Sorry for puzzling you. English is not my first language so I might miss some key words once in a while. My bad.

I wish I could add more details here but I got lost of the case. Anyway, thank you.
And I appreciate your comments, as I wanted an affirmation of what I learned about network printer troubleshooting (though disaffirmation most of the time!), so that I could apply it confidently next time in similar cases.

"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]" <lanwench@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 在郵件張貼內容主旨 OU$E5JsXJHA.256@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 中撰寫...
mixty <here@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks so much for your clear description. I will ensure we won't do
any of those mistakes.

After a sleepless night of research, and thanks (really!) to
everybody's help here and elsewhere, I want to post my refined
questions before I go to work.

Let me state again that it is a network printer directly connected to
a Windows Server

Directly connected? When you write it that way, I read it as a *local* printer, not a network one, If you're using an Ethernet cable and the printer is connected to your switch / LAN, then it's a network printer.

(not shared to client PC yet since we're at testing
stage, so I think it is not related to RPC/SMB ports)

I've found some ways to troubleshoot network printing issues. Please
correct me if there's something else we should do.

1) [Firewall issue] If the driver's fine, maybe the communication
between Windows and the network printer is blocked. I was looking for
the listening port for TCP/IP network printers to telnet/netcat to.
It should be 515 (network printer should use LPD/LPR implementation),
yet I'm confused HP JetDirect and others seem to use 9100 or others
as listening port (informed by a web page below).
http://members.cruzio.com/~jeffl/sco/lp/printservers.htm

Do you have the Windows Firewall enabled on your dual-NIC server? If not, this is not an issue. If so, well, I'd disable it, because I just don't see the point.

PS: I wish to have a way to reproduce this problem and test it at
home but could not... there's no such thing as virtual IP printer. I
only found a Virtual Printer at best.

3) [Do a lowest-level test print] I'd like a method (maybe command)
to print directly to the printer by IP rather than first setting it
up. Something like "dir > IP_192.168.0.123" would go to printer
directly at the lowest possible level to eliminate any other causes.

Why not just see if you have problems with the printer first?

Then I found that it can't be done without first sharing the printer
(that means passing though RPC/SMB, not lowest-level):

Share the printer. What are you worried about? It won't hurt anything.

a) Remapping printer to LPTx by "net use LPTx \\host\share" and
printing with "copy abc.ps LPTx /b".
b) print /d:IP_192.168.1.123 c:\abc.txt (no response, unless again first sharing it - print /d:\\192.168.1.133\Canon1 c:\temp.txt)

Don't do that. There should be no reason to use LPT1.

Later I found some more ways that works without sharing:

i) 'Enable printer pooling' for both LPTx and IP_192.168.1.123 ports.
Then printing to LPTx by the copy command would go to the IP port.

You don't need LPT.

ii) LPR command seem to do it the lowest level as the name suggests?
LPR -S 192.168.1.133 -P "Canon MP988" -o c:\abc.ps

iii) Or, simply setting up the printer by Standard TCP/IP and do a
"Print Test Page" in the printer properties would be low level enough?

(by 'works' I mean it gives response, errors are still there tho)

3) [Confirm driver is working by examining the raw output] First
print to file using "Keep printed documents" or "FILE:" port with the
Canon driver, then use PCLReader / PostScript viewer (GSView) to view
the raw printout to check if it is the driver that makes bad
printouts that causes the error.
However, during the test of both programs using another working Canon
printer, both PCLReader and PS viewer (GSView) can't decode the file
but show weid codes. I went on and checked a .pcl file printed by a
HP printer. It works tho. What could be the issue here? Isn't the
Canon using either PCL or PS?

You're making this far too complicated, I think. It's just a printer.

1) Install the printer driver in Windows via a standard TCP/IP port using the printer's non-changing LAN IP address.
2) Print a test page from Windows
3) If the test page works, share the printer
4) Install the printer on a workstation (using the wizard or merely going to \\server\ and finding / right-clicking on the shared printer, and choosing Connect.
5) Print a test page on the workstation.



"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
<lanwench@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 在郵件張貼內容主旨
uR6rqbfXJHA.6000@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 中撰寫...
mixty <here@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi there.

We've set up a Canon MP988 network printer (connected to router) in
the printer server (running Windows Server) of a company。We can see
its status is ready, which I suppose should mean the driver has been
properly installed and everything is OK, even its management web
page can be accessed fine. However, it gives error when printing.

What could be the cause?

Sorry for sounding newbie-ish, but I would really like to know the
ports the network printer uses for sharing, as I want to telnet to
the port to see if there's anything (e.g. strict firewall rules)
that is blocking the communication between the network printer and
the Windows server.
If that path is not blocked, then maybe we need to send the printer
to repair; if the path is blocked, then it should be firewall,
correct? "How Network Printing Works"
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc783789.aspx#w2k3tr_prntt_how_fxbi

I checked this Technet article for the ports I need but I really
lack this knowledge. Is this what should be tested? Port 9100 for
"Standard TCP/IP port monitor" (RAW)"

I don't think it is about SMB / RPC ports as the network printer is
a Windows OS. Am I wrong in saying so?

Thanks and sorry for my ignorance.

mixty

I'm confused as to your mentioning "connected to router" or where
your firewall would enter into this at all. What firewall are you
talking about? Can you ping the prinnter's IP address?

Let me describe a typical setup of this kind:
You have A network-capable printer connected to your LAN (meaning, an
Ethernet switch or hub, not a router).
The printer's network card is assigned a non-changing IP address on
the LAN - either a static or a DHCP reservation.
The Windows print server is configured with a standard TCP/IP port
that specifies that IP address
The printer is configured as a local printer on the print server,
using the latest supported drivers.
The printer is shared from the Windows server so that workstations
can print to it.

Does that sound right?

If you're having problems with printing gibberish, then it's most
likely a driver problem.



.

Relevant Pages

  • RE: xp pro sharing printer
    ... How to troubleshoot network printing problems in Windows XP ... SMB-connected print server ... Incompatible print driver ... and then redirect the port to the network server. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)
  • Re: USB device detection via query registry information
    ... specific parts of a driver. ... it correctly enforces exclusivity to the port ... for Windows being crash-prone? ... serenum opens the port, detects the device, ...
    (microsoft.public.development.device.drivers)
  • Re: network printer is ready but error when printing
    ... a Windows Server ... printer is connected to your switch / LAN, then it's a network printer. ... between Windows and the network printer is blocked. ... the listening port for TCP/IP network printers to telnet/netcat to. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.networking)
  • Re: USB device detection via query registry information
    ... it correctly enforces exclusivity to the port ... WHQL is realistically not going to be able to catch all bugs before shipment, so maybe the answer is for WHQL signing to require a commitment from the driver developer to participate in the BSOD crash dump program and issue timely bug fixes. ... Yes these things would not come free, but is it important to Microsoft to shed the reputation for Windows being crash-prone? ... serenum opens the port, detects the device, ...
    (microsoft.public.development.device.drivers)
  • Re: Print button on toolbar linked to specific printer, way to do?
    ... It sounds neat re getting the driver. ... to install stuff at work but jeez, it's such a pain the way things are ... Just open windows ... >Now I had a printer connected to the correct network printer and ...
    (microsoft.public.excel.misc)
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