Troubleshooting Printing Problems


Objective:

Troubleshoot print queues

Troubleshooting problems with the Windows Server 2003 print system is a straightforward endeavor. Problems can occur in one or more of the following six areas:

  • The physical print device The printer itself can experience problems including paper jams, paper feed problems, ink depletion, toner cartridge malfunction, power surges, or failed memory/control chips. In most cases, clearing out the paper, replacing print cartridges, and cycling the power restores the printer to operation. If not, consult the printer's manual for additional troubleshooting steps before calling a repair technician.

    One of the most common problems is a simple oversight of making sure the printer is online. Some printers must be manually enabled to receive print jobs; others automatically switch into online mode after their power-on self-test. If you've changed or manipulated the default settings of the printer, you might want to issue a memory/setting reset to return the printer to its factory defaults.

  • The print driver The most common driver-failure problem occurs when a disk becomes highly fragmented or a virus infection causes a corruption in a driver file. In most cases, reinstalling or replacing the driver resolves the issue. In rarer cases, updating Windows Server 2003 might change print driverdependent DLL files. In these cases, you need to obtain newer driver files that have been tested with the new service pack from the manufacturer. In some cases, the problem can be found in the logical printer itself. If replacing the driver fails to resolve the problem, try deleting the logical printer and re-creating it from scratch. Keep in mind that if the logical printer is shared with the network, you need to re-create the logical printers connecting to that share on every client. (The name might be the same, but to Windows Server 2003, it is a completely different object with a new SID.)

  • Access permissions Resolving print-related access permission problems involves the same steps as resolving them for any other type of security object. First, try accessing the object from another account with the same or similar privileges. Next, test the problem account from different clients. Then test a Manage Document, a Manage Printers, and an Administrator account from the original fault client. These tests should tell you whether the problem is specific to a user account, a computer, or the object. In any case, you should check the permission settings at the print server to make sure you've set the access correctly. You might want to review the group memberships through the User Manager.

  • Network shares Network sharerelated problems revolve around failed network connections, unshared printers, offline servers, or congested traffic pathways. To determine whether the problem is printing related, try accessing other shared objects from the suspect client and server. If these succeed, check to see that the printer is actually shared. If they fail, inspect the network for a point of failure and make sure the server is online.

  • Communications and connections Communications between the print server and the physical print device are essential to the printing process. If they are disrupted, printing will cease. Resolution of these problems often centers around disconnected cables. Release and reconnect all connections between the print server and the printer (whether locally attached or network attached). Next, verify that the protocol required by network-attached printers is installed on the print server and is properly configured on both the print server and the print device.

  • Spooler The spooler is the final place to check for problems. It is possible for the spooler to be interrupted so that it hangs in the middle of an operation. This can happen when the Windows Server 2003 Kernel grants more processing time to tasks other than the print system. Hung spoolers might continue to accept new print jobs or might reject them. (This means either the client receives an error or the print job is dropped with no error.) Usually, spooler problems can be corrected by stopping and restarting the Spooler service through the Services applet. If this fails to resolve the problem, check to make sure the spooler's host drive has at least 50MB of free space. If it doesn't, change the spool host drive and reboot the system. In some cases, a simple reboot corrects the spooler problem. In addition, sometimes it's necessary to delete the .spl files from the spooler and restart.

If these suggestions fail to resolve your printer problems, you might want to contact the vendor or a licensed printer repair center for further help. In rare cases, reinstalling Windows Server 2003 might solve the problem. It is recommended, however, that you exhaust all other options before attempting this final solution.




MCSA. MCSE 70-290 Exam Prep. Managing and Maintaining a MicrosoftR Windows ServerT 2003 Environment
MCSA/MCSE 70-290 Exam Prep: Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0789736489
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 219
Authors: Lee Scales

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