Lesson 5:Troubleshooting Setup and Configuration Problems

During setup and configuration of a printer, problems can occur. This lesson introduces you to a few common problems that you might encounter and provides some suggested solutions.

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After this lesson, you will be able to

• Troubleshoot network printing problems

Estimated lesson time: 5 minutes

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Troubleshooters

Windows XP Professional helps you interactively troubleshoot problems you encounter. To troubleshoot problems with a printer, click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Printers And Other Hardware. In the Printers And Other Hardware window, under Troubleshooters, click Printing. The Help And Support Center window appears with the printing troubleshooter displayed, as shown in Figure 6.11.

Figure 6.11 Printing troubleshooter

Notice the series of questions on the page. As you respond to these questions, the troubleshooter asks additional questions and makes suggestions to resolve your problem based on the answers you provide.

Common Troubleshooting Scenarios

Table 6.6 lists some of the common setup and configuration problems that you might encounter. It also gives probable causes of the problems and possible solutions.

Table 6.6 Common Printer Problems and Possible Solutions

Problem	Probable cause	Possible solution
Test page does not print. You have confirmed that the print device is connected and turned on.	The selected port is not correct.	Configure the printer for the correct port. For a printer that uses a network interface print device, make sure that the network address is correct.
Test page or documents print incorrectly as garbled text.	The installed printer driver is not correct.	Reinstall the printer with the correct printer driver.
Pages are only partially printing.	There might not be enough memory to print the document.	Consider adding memory to the print server.
	The printer might not have enough toner.	Try replacing the printer's toner cartridge.
Users report an error message that asks them to install a printer driver when they print to a print server running Windows XP Professional.	Printer drivers for the client computers are not installed on the print server.	On the print server, add the appropriate printer drivers for the client computers. Use the client computer operating system CD-ROM or a printer driver from the vendor.
Documents from one client do not print, but documents from other client computers do.	The client computer is connected to the wrong printer.	On the client computer, remove the printer, and then add the correct computer printer.
Documents print correctly on some print devices in a printer pool but not all of them.	The print devices in the printer pool are not identical.	Verify that all print devices in the printer pool are identical or that they use the same printer driver. Remove inappropriate devices.
Printing is slow because the print server is taking a long time to render. the job.	The print server's disk could be in need of defragmenting or could be getting close to capacity.	Try defragmenting the print server's disk and check that there is adequate space for temporary files on the hard disk
Printing is slow and print jobs are taking a long time to reach the top of the queue.	If you are using a printing pool, you might not have enough printers in the pool.	Add printers to the printing pool.
Documents do not print in the right priority.	The printing priorities among printers are set incorrectly.	Adjust the printing priorities for the printers associated with the print device.

Lesson Review

Here are some questions to help you determine whether you have learned enough to move on to the next lesson. If you have difficulty answering these questions, review the material in this lesson before beginning the next chapter. The answers for these questions are in Appendix A, "Questions and Answers."

1. How do you access and use the printing troubleshooter?
2. What should you check if documents print correctly on some printers in a printing pool but not all of them?
3. What should you check if printing is slow because the print server is taking a long time to render the job?
4. What should you check if pages are only partially printing?

Lesson Summary

• Windows XP Professional helps you interactively troubleshoot problems you encounter. To troubleshoot printing problems, use the printing troubleshooter.
• There are common setup and configuration problems that you learn how to handle as you encounter them.