Problems installing print driver for bjc-250...Help.

I have installed Ubuntu x86 (dapper), with kde desktop post install. All running on a AMD 64bit 3400+(perhaps and architecture problem). I am trying to install a printer driver from gimp/gutenprint (the recommended drivers in the set up). However whenever I try to install my printer bjc-250 through the systems settings gui, it freezes when I click on add new printer. And my processor clocks up to 2200 (the max) and temp soars to 78 degrees from 43. Even when i kill the process after waiting 10 minutes, the processor wont throttle down (I have to restart), what going on here? How do I bypass this? Any help would be appreciated.

I am by no means a print driver expert.
I have seen problems on AMD64 that do not exist elsewhere.
I assume you are following along with a page such as this.
When I go to kmenu(start menu) -> System -> Adept and type "cups" in the search box, "cupsys-driver-gimpprint" is one of the choices. Does this work?

Thanks for the reply.

I installed "cupsys-driver-gimpprint" which was marked as un-installed...so I guess I didn't have the collection of drivers it offers. However bizarre problems arose when I tried to install the printer. I went into kmenu, systems settings, and tried to add my printer (in administration mode). This time it didn't freeze, however when I tried to install the recommended gimp-print drivers for my printer I get this message.

"Unable to load the requested driver:
Unable to create the Foomatic driver [Canon-BJC-250,gimp-print]. Either that driver does not exist, or you don't have the required permissions to perform that operation."

Did I install the right drivers?...am I missing something?...wouldn't administration mode have taken care of any permission issues?

In a separate attempt I tried to install the print drivers (the .ppd file for bjc-250 I found somewhere in the guts of the file system...I am not familiar with it yet...so I cant remember where I found it) through the browser method, it asked for a user name and password, when I entered my user information, it gave me the old access denied, so I tried root (and Root/ROOT) as user name and same password, (failed)...I honestly cant remember if I set a root password or if I was even asked. From what I've been reading ubuntu doesn't ask for one, your supposed to use su. The problem is I have no idea how to install my printer through the terminal.

Thanks in advance for any help

Okay, a bit of an exercise in frustration here.
My HP Deskjet is almost always detected and set up automatically at install. It was not with my Kubuntu install.
Trying to add it from the kmenu -> system settings -> printer got me the same error message you got.
Some further posts suggesting adding various users to various groups did not seem to change anything.
What seemed to do the trick was to type "http://localhost:631/admin" (no quotes) into the browser address bar to access to cups administrative mode. I used my own username and password when asked. My printer was working in minutes.
Give it a try.

By default root comes in a dormient state. To give root a passwd type in

sudo passwd root

it will say password. Here I give it the password I want to give to root. It will then ask for password again and once more. After that root should then have a password and you shall be able to do an su then.

"By default root comes in a dormient state. To give root a passwd type in

Code:
sudo passwd root
it will say password. Here I give it the password I want to give to root. It will then ask for password again and once more. After that root should then have a password and you shall be able to do an su then."

Ok did this, it confirmed the change as successful.

"What seemed to do the trick was to type "htp://localhost:631/admin" (no quotes) into the browser address bar to access to cups administrative mode. I used my own username and password when asked. My printer was working in minutes.
Give it a try."

Did this again, as I have done this before about 10 times (really 10 times)

still gives me the access is denied prompt, as root and as my user account. This is why I said its bizarre. Could it have anything to do with the fact that I installed kde as a desktop environment after I installed Ubuntu, could there be some sort of conflict.

Also assuming I do get all this to work. Is the .ppd file I have been using correct. I found it in this directory “/usr/share/ppd/gutenprint/5.0/en” under the file name “stp-bjc-250.5.0.ppd.gz”.

Finally is there a way to do all this from terminal, if so, can anyone post the exact syntax...as I have not learned the language yet.

Thanks again

Originally Posted by primectown [I]"By default root comes in a dormient state. To give root a passwd type in "What seemed to do the trick was to type "htp://localhost:631/admin" (no quotes) into the browser address bar to access to cups administrative mode. I used my own username and password when asked. My printer was working in minutes. Give it a try."

Must have changed it. it used to be 901 but then again that may be for samba. Anyways I don't think your installation of kde would have had any effect on this.

Try giving this site a look through and see if it can help. http://www.cups.org/documentation.php/options.html

"Try giving this site a look through and see if it can help. http://www.cups.org/documentation.php/options.html"

I tried a few of the basic commands, like the ones used to bring up a list of detected printers, they do not work, they give me messages like this...

lpstat(1)
bash: syntax error near unexpected token `1'
or
lpstat (does nothing)
or
:~$ lpstat -p
lpstat: No destinations added.
:~$ lpstat -d
no system default destination

I don't think that any of the commands listed on this page help with installing the actual printer, they seem to be geared towards managing a printer that you have already successfully detected.

There seems to be (at least in my case) something horribly wrong with printer permissions, I have no idea what to do to change this problem, I check my user and the lp group is listed as one of my secondary groups...logic seems to have failed, because it should be working...I dunno.

Does any one know if Damn Small Linux would detect my printer as a temporary solution, I really need to print some things out. I have it in iso format, how do I transfer it to a usb key In such a way that I can boot from the key, and how do I ensure that the system will boot from the key and not the hd, or dvd drive? Can anyone walk me though this step by step?

First you need to check in your bios to make sure that it is capable of usb booting. If it is then change your boot order so that your usb will be first. I do think if you enable usb booting then it should be first anyways. As far as the installation of putting DSL on a pen drive I am still working on that so if you accomplish that then pleas post your steps on how you go it to work.

Ok, just to give you more of an idea of the bizarreness...I booted up with a ubuntu 64bit live and copied my docs to the usb key and tried to install my printer again in the live OS. My reasoning was that with live, permissions would be defaulted with no passwords set thus I woulds avoid the permissions problem and be able to focus on actual installation. However, when I tried to add a printer through Ubuntu Live Gui, it took me through all the steps and upon finishing added nothing. I tried to print some text thinking maybe it just needs to refresh, but surely enough the printer i had just installed also did not show up in available printers, only some generic one, which printed nothing (only gave me an error). Then I tried the browser install method, using the .ppd file i mentioned it gave me a an error message saying something like too much information sent (I will admit there was a lot of other technocratic Jargon in the message). I am at my wits end here, so I am summoning a linux GURU to unload their intellectual might on this problem and send it reeling.

If instead ot trying a completely different configuration you continue to work with your desktop (Ubuntu with KDE post installed?) which you have added the gimp-print to already and:
1. Power off your printer.
2. Reboot Linux.
3. Power on your printer when reboot is complete.
4. Open the cups browser interface with "http://localhost:631/admin".
5. Attempt to add your printer.

One permission change that may make sense from a post in the Ubuntu forum is:
sudo adduser <your user name> lp
Maybe do this before trying the above.
Another post had suggested adding "cupsys" to the lp group the same way.
I did both but not sure either is needed as I tried the cups browser config afterwards.
Good Luck.

"If instead ot trying a completely different configuration you continue to work with your desktop (Ubuntu with KDE post installed?) which you have added the gimp-print to already and:
1. Power off your printer.
2. Reboot Linux.
3. Power on your printer when reboot is complete.
4. Open the cups browser interface with "http://localhost:631/admin".
5. Attempt to add your printer.

One permission change that may make sense from a post in the Ubuntu forum is:
sudo adduser <your user name> lp
Maybe do this before trying the above.
Another post had suggested adding "cupsys" to the lp group the same way.
I did both but not sure either is needed as I tried the cups browser config afterwards.
Good Luck."

Ok I tried the permissions stuff first because the printer thing you suggested I have already tried as Ubuntu seems to infrequently be able to detect things at boot that it would not ordinarily post boot (even pnp things like my usb mouse).

So I did this,
:~$ sudo adduser cupsys lp
Password:
The user `cupsys' is already a member of `lp'.
:~$ sudo adduser wha lp
The user `wha' is already a member of `lp'.

After this I powered down the printer and restarted my laptop, turning on the printer before post. The printer made a beep noise during post indicating (I assume) that it was in some way a post acknowledgment.

Finally in kde, I tried to install the printer once again through the browser method, and unfortunately the permissions problem still remains.

This is a question geared towards DSL users, do you think that I will run into the same problems i mentioned booting from Ubuntu live. Does some core feature of Linux in general dislike the my particular laptop/printer combination?

If so either Linux will have to go or the printer will have to, and since this printer is a loyal workhorse (8 years...still going with a dirt cheap TCO), I fear that Linux will have to go (through no fault of its own), or maybe virtual windows just to print (this would be very annoying).

Thanks to all those who have responded in trying to deal with this strange strange problem...

That is about as far as I can go with this.
After my printer was detected so easily by the cups web interface I thought that was the answer rather than adding users to groups.
The other 2 useradds I did were
cupsys to shadow (per a post)
and
cupsys to lpadmin (on my own)
I did receive the exact message you did (with my printer listed) from the kmenu system settings.
I received no error from the cups browser interface. Does that error say the same thing? Posting that could help someone else troubleshoot.
Also the ubuntu post I read mentioned shutting off the printer before starting the computer and turning it back on after the system was started. Probably all the same you turned it on before the OS had booted up.
You are no doubt tired of this by now.

"cupsys to shadow (per a post)
and
cupsys to lpadmin (on my own)"

Ok I did this, but still have the same problems in both the browser and the System settings GUI.
The error message that I receive from the browser method is...

"Authentication Failed. Do you want to retry?"

When you click no, you get this message...

"401 Unauthorized
Enter your username and password or the root username and password to access this page."

As I have said I have entered information for both with no success.

and to 2damncommon, thanks very much for the help