Printing problems

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Has anyone else seen and/or solved this problem? I am running Office2000 under Win98 with an Epson Stylus 820 printer. If I boot up with the printer switched off, then switch on the printer and try to print either the Win98 test page or from XL or from MYOB v11, I get a message that says the printer is offline. If I switch the printer on before booting up everything works fine.

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This should not happen if your printer is connected to your parallel printer port. Is the printer networked or connected via USA, FireWire, or SCSI? If so, you might have a driver or network connection problem.

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Hi there,
I hate to disagree with more experienced loungers, but I would consider the behaviour described above to be perfectly normal. When I started on my first PC I was taught that peripherals should be turned on first before booting the PC and specifically that Windows (3.1 at the time) needed a (parallel port) printer to be ‘on’ for Windows to recognise/acknowledge the existence of the printer. These days presumably a USB printer can be powered up at any time and as for Firewire etc I wouldn’t know. I always advise people to boot the PC last but perhaps I’m overly cautious! I welcome other opinions.

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I agree with you Tony, but some USB hardware NEEDS to be turned ON on startup of the computer. These include printers and scanners. Also a hint, is, if the device needs to be disconnected by using the icon in the systray, the device should be on berfore starting up computer.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Maybe I’m just lucky but my household has 2 laptops, a Canon USB scanner and a Lexmark 3200 parallel printer. Both peripherals work fine if connected after the PCs are running. Don’t tell me something has finally gone unusually right for me.

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I agree with both Tony & Dave. To prove my point, I just installed a Brother 5in1 printer. Model MPC-5100C and to my dismay I noticed that there was no on or off switch. When I spoke to the company they assured me that this was supposed to not have one because it was always supposed to be on. By the way it’s connected to the USB port. So to keep people from accidently or delibertlty turning it off, there is no switch..

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I have used a Xerox XK35C Print /Scan/ Copier (Parallel connection) for 2 1/2 years. Had nothing but problems with it from the get go. I left the power turned on all the time with that machine, Did not dare to try something so bold as turning it on after the computer was already on. Had to reinstall it about once a month. Xerox Techs could not offer any advice other than reinstall. I did use their latest drivers and tricks just to make it work.

Last week I bought a new Cannon S900. (I wanted a good photo printer anyway). It is a USB-ONLY connection. Doesn’t even have a parallel port. Have not had a single problem with the Cannon. It even has a built in power saver feature that will turn the printer off after (X) number of minutes, and turn it back on automatically when you want to print something. You decide how long to have it stay on before it shuts off automatically. Or you can use the power button. It did cost a bit more, but with individual ink tanks for each color, the ink cost so much less, the savings in ink cost will pay for the printer.

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Hi Duchess,
Interesting point – probably why my Agfa SnapScan 1212u (USB) scanner also does not have a power switch. It has a separate dc psu incorporated in the mains plug which of course generates heat. With all such peripherals I use switchable mains sockets and have them switched off unless I plan to use the device. Bitter experience with PC parts and in the Electrical industry has shown me that the OEM dc adaptors are usually underrated for current draw and heat dissipation and the least reliable part of a peripheral device. (Any Lounger in England got a spare psu for an HP DeskJet or Syquest SparQ for instance?)
Thanks Dave for the tip about USB device icons in the systray. Probably explains the BSODs I got when unplugging a USB SmartMedia reader on a test machine recently. The icon didn’t always appear in the systray and of course the instructions failed to mention this. (I might start a thread on the Hardware board about the various types, and problems!). With any other USB stuff I turn them on with the // printers and serial bits and make a cup of tea while they warm themselves and the room up, and then boot the PC!
Sorry for the length but I wanted to ‘kill two birds with one stone’.

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