TITLE: Possible Printing Solutions for NWL v1.1 DOCUMENT ID: TID1200405 DOCUMENT REVISION: 5 DATE: 25Apr95 ALERT STATUS: Yellow README FOR: NA NOVELL PRODUCT and VERSION: NETWARE LITE V1.1 ABSTRACT: NA --------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: THE ORIGIN OF THIS INFORMATION MAY BE INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL TO NOVELL. NOVELL MAKES EVERY EFFORT WITHIN ITS MEAN TO VERIFY THIS INFORMATION. HOWEVER, THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR YOUR INFORMATION ONLY. NOVELL MAKES NO EXPLICIT OR IMPLIED CLAIMS TO THE VALIDITY OF THIS INFORMATION. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSUE: Possible Printing Solution for NetWare Lite v1.1 Before going any further, if you have not applied patches for NetWare Lite v1.1, please get document 13869 from the FaxBack service or TID013869 from the NSE Pro or Compuserve. This document includes information on where the NetWare Lite patches can be obtained, how to install the patches, and specific patch information on each patch. ***** WARNING ***** The following information is about printing problems you may encounter. Every effort is made to confirm these solutions, however, they may not work in every case. With the variety of possible causes of print problems, Novell cautions you to make a backup of your data before trying any of these suggestions. Also, all information is about NetWare Lite v1.1only. If you have not already done so, please upgrade to NetWare Lite v1.1. If you have already upgraded from NetWare Lite v1.0 to v1.1 and are having printing problems, a possible solution is to physically delete the network printer files and network printer definition and recreate the definition using NetWare Lite v1.1. Do the following steps to make the necessary changes: 1. Go to DOS and make sure that you are on your C: drive. 2. Change to the NWLITE directory by typing CD\NWLITE 3. Change to a hidden directory called NLCNTL by typing CD NLCNTL 4. There will be a directory for each printer on your machine. Delete the contents of the directory, then delete the directory. (The name of the directory may be SLPT1, SLPT2, SLPT3, SCOM1, or SCOM2.) The following are examples of how to delete the files and directories: Using DR DOS 6.0: XDEL SLPT1 /RSD Using MS-DOS 5.0: DEL SLPT1\*.* and press , then type RD SLPT1 and press . NOTE: Do not delete any files in the NLCNTL directory. Only delete the files in the directories for the printers as outlined above. 5. Change back to the NWLITE directory by typing CD.. 6. Type NET 7. Go to "Supervise the Network," then to "Network Printers." 8. Delete your network printer. 9. Recreate your network printer. (See the printer setup below) 10. Exit the NET UTILITY. NOTE: You may set Capture settings under Network Printers, if you wish, before Exiting or continue with step 11 below. 11. Capture your network printer. 12. Print a file from DOS with the network loaded (COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT LPT1). 13. Print a file from your application. Printer Setup If you are having printing problems, Novell presumes that the Network Printers are not setup properly. Because this has been the source of some confusion, it is necessary to check this information first. To do so with the Network running (Server loaded and supervisor logged in), do the following: 1. Type NET 2. Select "Supervise the Network," 3. Select "Network printers." 4. If a printer does not exist, do the following: a. Press the key, and a list of existing servers will come up. b. Select the Server where the printer is physically located. c. Enter a printer name. (Novell recommends using a name that will identify the printer such as HP_LASERJET_III.) 5. Then select a port to which the printer is connected. 6. The next screen shows default information for the printer. At this point you can press for information and details of each option. 7. You may now escape out of NET (press several times until an EXIT message comes up); EXIT; and reboot your server. After you are back up and running, you can issue your NET CAPTURE statement to specify the port and printer name and any other valid capture parameters. See the NetWare Lite manual for details on NET CAPTURE; or at the DOS prompt, type NET CAPTURE ? for help information. Additional printing information can be found in document 1200404 on the FaxBack service or TID1200404 from the NSE Pro or Compuserve. Questions and Answers Q1. How do I eliminate the banner page at the beginning of each print job? A1. The Banner default is set to y(yes). Eliminate the banner by putting the following command in your Net Capture statement: b=n Q2. Each print job ejects a blank page when it finishes. Can I eliminate this wasted page? A2. Yes. The formfeed default is set to y(yes). Turn it off by putting the following command in the Net Capture line: f=n Q3. Can I capture to a printer on my Client only machine? A3. No. You can only capture to a Server or Server-Client. Q4. I have two people sending print jobs at the same time. When the files print they get mixed up. Some part of each job prints on the same page. How can I prevent this? A4. Make sure you are not printing directly to the printer port. The default is NO; however, it can be set to d=y. When the default is set to yes, it sends the print job as soon as it gets it in the buffer and does not wait until the entire job is buffered. This first portion may print out, then the Server must wait for the rest of the job. A second job that is sent directly may print part of its job and start mixing the two together. The jobs in turn wait for the rest of the print job from the sending application but continue mixing up the printing. If this is seen, do not use d=y command. Q5. How come my printing comes out with just a few lines per page? A5. This can be caused from too small of a buffer size, wait time specification, or both. First, increase the w=xx parameter in Net Capture. The default is 10. However, if the print job is large or has many printing codes, graphics or postscript, the system may need more time to send the job to the buffer before the "Wait time" is exceeded and the system assumes that the last of the job has been sent and issues an end of file to close the job. If this happens, you may see the job split up into several jobs in the NET utility. Second the print buffer may need to be increased by doing the following: 1. Go into NET. 2. Select "Supervise the network." 3. Select "Server Configuration." 4. Select your Server. 5. Increase the Print buffer size in the Future column. 6. Press until you get the command line prompt. 7. Reboot the system for the changes to take effect. NOTE: Do not use d=y and w=0. If you set w=0, it will rely on the application to close the file. If it does not, then no printing will occur and the print job will remain open until it is closed explicitly. You will need to do this manually by sending a ^L to the port. (Hold down the key and press key) Example: ECHO ^L >lpt1 Q6. When sending a print job, only a few pages print out, then the printer stops, and then machine with the printer attached to it locks. What can I do to prevent this? A6. First check the WAIT parameter. Try increasing w=xx in NET CAPTURE. Also check for the presence of Caching utilities. Make sure only one is loaded. Two caching utilities loaded at the same time will conflict with each other and cause unpredictable results. If the problem persists, remove all caching and any TSRs loaded, other than the NetWare Lite files. Q7. I have just run the UPGRADE utility to NetWare v1.1. Now, print jobs are okay for the first page or two; then it prints just a few characters per page until the job is finished. Increasing the WAIT time and print buffer size does not help. What can I do? A7. Do the following to solve the problem: 1. Go to NET. 2. Select "Supervise Network." 3. Select "Network Printer." 4. Check the Characters per second. 5. If it is set at 0, change it to 16384, which is the default. Q8. The system sent a message displaying "Printer off line" or "Printer out of paper;" however, neither case is true. There is plenty paper, and it may continue printing without problem. How can I resolve this issue? A8. Increase the Error wait time by 10 to 15 seconds by doing the following: 1. Go to NET. 2. Select "Supervise Network." 3. Select "Network Printer." 4. Add 10 to 15 seconds to the current Error wait time. Q9. The Server locks up intermittently when printing or the print job just disappears without printing. What can I do to prevent this? A9. Make sure there are no hardware conflicts. If using LPT1, do not use a network board set at I/O address of 360. The size of the address overlaps with the LPT1 port address of 378. If you use LPT2, do not use interrupt 5. Get document 1200452 from the FaxBack service or TID1200452 from the NSE Pro or Compuserve for more information on resolving I/O and IRQ conflicts. Q10. What is a typical value to set for "Characters per second"? A10. Normally, the default of 16384 is sufficient. If it is set high, then DOS will be interrupted more often to retrieve characters from the print buffer. If the printer is a serial printer or a slow machine, increasing this parameter may not affect the speed of the printer; however, it can affect the DOS foreground process. A good rule of thumb for setting "Characters per second" for serial printers is the printer baud rate divided by 10. Example: 9600 baud / 10 = 960 This parameter is a value you may need to experiment with and do some fine tuning. Q11. I have several applications from which I print different types of files. Most applications are okay but a few of them print odd formats, ASCII type characters, or just plain garbage. What can I do to resolve this problem? A11. Make sure the NetWare Lite v1.1 patches are installed as specified at the beginning of this document. CLPRNTR.PAT is the patch that will most likely be needed. Q12. When I print from my Client to a printer attached to my Server-Client, it prints just fine. However, if I print from my Server-Client to the same printer, the data is corrupted and sometimes the Server-Client machine locks. I also have noticed many lost clusters on my hard drive and sometimes problems with the drives File Allocation Table (FAT). What causes this, and how can I solve it? A12. This is a known problem relating to NetWare Lite. Use INT28FIX.PAT. See the patch information at beginning of this document for an explanation. Q13. My application is setup to output to a COM port. How can I CAPTURE the port and send the print job to a printer on my Server? A13. NetWare Lite will not CAPTURE to COM ports. If the application is hard coded to print to a COM port, you will need to work that out with the application manufacture. If the application configuration can be changed to output to an LPT port, then do so and CAPTURE theLPT port. This may be the problem if you get redirect errors. EXAMPLE: If printer LaserJet is attached to the Server and the CAPTURE command is executed from a client, the following will occur: - Net Capture COM1 Laserjet (Will not work) - Net Capture LPT1 Laserjet (Will capture the LPT1 port of the client and end the print job to the Laserjet attached to the Servermachine) Q14. I run NetWare Lite and Windows and other various applications. When I send a print job from the application, it will go on hold until I exit out of Windows. Then it prints without flaws. What causes it to hold until I exit Windows? A14. First, check the Windows SYSTEM.INI file in the [shell] section. If the application is listed there, remove it from this area and try again. Second, get document 1002903 from the FaxBack service or TID1002903 from the NSE Pro or Compuserve for possible solutions. Q15. All print jobs are printing extremely slow. A15. First, try printing from DOS without any NetWare Lite files loaded. In most cases, the slow down is related to bad or conflicting hardware. Check for the use of any A-B switches or multiplexor hardware connected to the port. If any of these items are in use, remove them and try printing. If it is still slow, the problem may be that the port itself is bad. If it prints fine without NetWare Lite but as soon as NetWare Liteis loaded the slow down occurs, you may need to adjust the print buffer size and try fine tuning the "Characters per second" parameter. Q16. When I try printing, the system displays an error 5 (access denied). Sometimes, the message displayed says "error writing to disk, there may not be enough space on the disk (disk full messages)" even though the disk has several megabytes available. A16. The software used may be calling for the attributes of a device and getting the wrong information from NetWare Lite. Use OPENDEV.PAT from the previous mentioned patches. Q17. Can I set up my printer on my Server-Client machine as a NetWare Lite printer and print to it using Net Capture as well as use it as a DOS printer? A17. No. If the printer is set up in the NET utility as a Network printer and Server is loaded, then NetWare Lite has control of the printer; and it is no longer available to DOS. Be sure to NET CAPTURE the port first, then you may print to it. If you print directly to the printer without capturing, you may corrupt the print job. Q18. Can I NET CAPTURE a nonexistent port such as LPT2 so I can use LPT1 for DOS printing. A18. Yes, provided your machine is not a Server as was covered in the previous question. EXAMPLE: Net Capture lpt2 Laser (If LPT2 does not exist and applications send their print output to the LPT2 port, the print job will be redirected to printer Laser that is attached to a Server machine, and LPT1 will be free for DOS use.) Q19. I can have Net Capture loaded but cannot do a print screen or redirect an ASCII file to the LPT port. Also, some applications doprint okay while others do not. What causes this? A19. This may happen if the printer can be set to different print modes. EXAMPLE: A HP Laserjet IIIsi can be set to PCL or Postscript mode. If the previous mentioned problems occur, check the printer and make sure it is not set to Postscript. The reason some applications work is that they may have been sending Postscript print jobs. If you are sending Postscript, make sure the NET CAPTURE contains the following parameters: b=n (no banner) t=0 (no tabs) f=n (no formfeed) s=default (the default setup string should not have any values when used for postscript printing) Q20. After checking the printer port, cabling, and the printer, the print jobs sent from within Windows still come out as ASCII characters, junk, or just plain garbage. What should I do? A20. Be sure to check for the loading of TBMI2, usually in your STARTNET.BAT file. The README.DOC that ships with NetWare Lite incorrectly states that it should be loaded after IPXODI. Change this and load it after Server and Client. NOTE: TBMI2.COM (Task Switched Buffer Manager) is required for Windows applications that do not run correctly in Enhanced Mode.) Q21. I have print jobs still being corrupted and have followed virtually all options in the previous questions with no results. Now what should I do? A21. It is possible that after all options have been explored and printing is still corrupt or garbage, that you may have some corrupt NetWare Lite files. SERVER.EXE could be the main problem. Simply, reinstall NetWare Lite from the original diskettes and try printing again. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Any trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Consult your product manuals for complete trademark information. ---------------------------------------------------------------------