Ok, here's the details guys:
I have 2 users in one room Hooked up to an Epson Printer. The printer is relatively old, old enough that it has to be plugged into the Old Printer port in a relay box and that box is connected to the network, sending and receiving the printers commands.
One user can use the printer without issue. There is absolutely no problem with his computer. However, across the room from him is another user who, until recently, was able to print to this printer as well.
Now, when she tries to print to this printer, it comes up as invalid on the program she is printing from. I tried to print a test page, and it just held the job in the queue without printing it, to the point of having to delete it so I could change settings. I have reloaded the driver for the printer via the wizard twice, after deleting the printer each time. Both times, it still had the yellow triangle over the printer icon. I tried the MS Auto Troubleshooter, twice, and both times it told me to reinstall the printer, which I did, only to have the same result.
I also tried this from the dedicated admin account for the network, and it still had the same result. I have tried printing directly to the printer, and spooling the print job, same result. I even connected to the printer via its IP address, and same result.
Usually, when I go so far as to reinstall the printer on a system, that does the trick. I have never had a printer go this crazy.
Also, this may be related, but several other older printers around the network are doing the same thing. I am trying as hard as possible to not have to replace these printers, because at times they work. And, to replace them all would be a great cost to the company, which I cannot incur.
Any ideas to help me out? The initial user who cannot print is responsible for 90% of our invoices, and if she cant print she has to email the invoices across the office and wait for the other employee there to have the time to print it. This is a vital function of this particular office, so any and all help or suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.
Best Answer
My initial suspicion is that the relay box has a problem for some odd reason, can you post what the relay box is? Also, have you tried restarting the relay box?
Next question: The LQ-590 as shown on Epson's site has a USB interface in addition to the parallel interface. Have you tried plugging it directly into one of the user's computers and then having that computer share the printer over the local network?
It's not an optimal setup because the computer that does the sharing has to be on for the other person to print, but by eliminating the network relay box, you eliminate one point where things can go quite drastically wrong.
Updated: Have you compared firewall settings on the two computers (affected vs. non-affected)? I'm not at all sure how the remote print device works, but it's not inconceivable that something triggered a firewall change, and that led to printer disfunction.