I just bought a Brother HL-2140 laser printer which is supposed to work with the drivers from here:

http://solutions.brother.com/linux/e...nload_prn.html

I downloaded the 2 rpm packages and installed the them with the --nodeps switch and it seemed to unpack ok and I can set the printer up as the default printer but cannot print a test page. It's USB.

I am using the 64 bit install of Fedora Core 10 and have done a complete update. How can I get this printer to work?

Why did you use the --nodeps switch? The rpms probably need those dependencies in order to function.

I just followed the directions for installing those rpms that...there were installation directions on that page that I followed but I think those rpms are for i386 arch and not for x86_64..

Did you do the prerequisite "ln -s /etc/init.d/cups /etc/init.d/lpd" ?

I did the prerequisite.

got it working....not sure exactly what did it, though. I used rpm to remove both of the Brother rpms. Then I used yumex and installed all the cup packages that were 386 that I didn't have...41 packages were installed for what I picked and the dependencies. Then I used the same rpm -ihv --nodeps file.rpm for both of the Brother rpms. The directions on the Brother page say to use the --nodeps switch. All installed ok and then I opened up a terminal as the su and enter system-config-printer and saw a new printer called HL2140. I printed 3 test pages (1 for 300 dpi, 1 for 600 dpi, and 1 for 1200 dpi) and all 3 test pages looked good when I adjusted the Printer Settings to Legal paper size.

Marty,

Out of all those things, what was it that did it? I've tried versions of what you described and I still can't get it to work.....

Thanks

Which distro are you using?? I got it working with Fedora Core 10 x86_64.

I'm on Ubuntu Jaunty. So that may be part of it...

For anyone else trying to install the HL-2142 etc, I tried the Brother drivers and although CUPS recognised the printer nothing actually printed. I then uninstalled the drivers and let CUPS do the install, accepting the highlighted driver, which had helpful things like "CUPS" in it. This at least woke the printer up if I tried a test print, but still nothing came out.

So I deleted it and tried again, this time selecting the "Brother HL-2060 Foomatic/hl1250 (recommended)" driver. This works

odd. I've never heard that one before. I do know not too long ago, a couple of versions of cups had trouble with usb printers, and its best to use cups 1.4.2 which is the latest.

13:14 Sep 11, 2009 by mike, 1 comment
CUPS 1.4.1 fixes several reported printing, web interface, PPD compiler, and CUPS API bugs.

Actually the rpms work but the deb pkgs don't. Install both rpms and you'll be able to print at 1200 dpi. The driver for 2060 works at 300 dpi but not at 1200 dpi.

package unreliability? Thats lame. You guys should try Sabayon Linux and tell me if you like it. That is the distro I use, its like a form of gentoo for users that want the power and speed of gentoo with the ease of use of ubuntu. We have a gnome version and kde version as well as x86 and x86_64 versions of both. automatic updates we can use binary packages as well as portage (opensource compiling). As for binary packages, we keep everything pretty up-to-date and try to stay with the portage tree. But we also make sure everything works. I'm a beta tester and have been for a while now, I switched over from Slackware (was my main distro for years).

We have chat room help, forum, and many eager noobs as well as experts of the linux world. And I personally think we're a nice community. (disliked gentoo community for shunning n00bs and being rude in forum etc.)

Just a suggestion. Its worth a try . We try to keep everything in working order out of the box. BTW, its the best x86_64-bit distro I've ever used with great compatibility unlike some distros such as bluewhite64 (64-bit only). I've never had compat. issues.

Good Luck with this silly issue.

I would not recommend Sabayon Linux to anybody because it is too graphics intensive even if all the eye candy is turned off. Installing any program is more complicated than it should be. Also the documentation does not help at all. Though using a different distribution will not help if you do not know the problem is because all distributions will have the same problem.

It is best to change the value info for "LogLevel" in /etc/cups/cupsd.conf to debug or debug2. The value debug2 will provide more information about the problem.

Using the latest stable version for a program may not be a stable system wide. For Gentoo, CUPS version 1.3.11 is stable for system wide. This means any program uses CUPS headers to provide an interface to CUPS internals is stable. If CUPS version 1.4.2 is used, stability will be a problem.

Its not nice to say things that aren't true...

Logs aren't for the basic user, if they know how to change it and wish to, they can. Basic users, usually don't know that stuff. The option is there for them if they wish it. We aren't trying to get elite hackers, we just want an out of the box experience any computer user can use and be happy with.

I use cups 1.4.2 and its completely stable. Not to mention, we are meant to be bleeding edge to a point that allows stability. If its not stable we pretty much will toss it. If its pretty stable, we keep it. I'm in staff so I know what I'm talking about. I also beta test.

Which distro is nice is all based on user opinion. I merely let them know of the distros existence and allow them to try it for themselves. Sabayon is fully customizable, and works exactly the same as gentoo! plus we have a few extras that allow things to be easier and less time consuming for the basic user, such as binary package manager (that is compatible with portage meaning both can be used) with GUI (graphical user interface allowing user point and click usability without the need to know command line or bash).

If you have any issues with Sabayon, you are welcome to join the forum and post them. We would be happy to fix them in a jiffy and hopefully to your satisfaction

We also have a chatroom available if you need help with anything and don't wish to use the forums