To All:

[This is the 5th place I'm asking - yes, I'm bouncing
around. I'm hoping you people can figure out my
problem.]

I'm having a wierd printing problem. The printer
works at setup, but fails after a reboot. I keep
having to initiate the printer setup over and over
if I want to print anything.

----- details -----

I recently installed PCLinuxOS 2007.

I used

KDE control center
-> peripherals
-> printers
-> etc (administrator mode, add printer,...)

to setup this antique canon bjc-1000. Everything
works fine whether I am in KWrite, Oo, etc. I
named the new printer "canonbjc1000".

Reboot (I turn the PC off at night - save energy.)

Printer does not work. So I go back to the KDE
control center, setup-ed another printer and named
the new printer "canonbjc1000_2". Everything
works whether I use "canonbjc1000" (note: the old
one) OR "canonbjc1000_2". In other words,
something in the setup of "canonbjc1000_2" enabled
"canonbjc1000" to work (that fails when rebooting).
[The the old printer is still there after a reboot,
it just doesn't work until KDE printer setup initiates
something.]

Reboot

Printer does not work - "canonbjc1000" and
"canonbjc1000_2". I proceed to slowly add another
printer.

-> administrator mode [screen prompts for root password]
"canonbjc1000" does not work
-> [enter root password]
"canonbjc1000" does not work
-> add: add printer/class [welcome screen pops up]
"canonbjc1000" works!

Apparently the last action is triggering something
that ceases everytime I reboot.

-----

Other tidbits:

1.
After a reboot (but before a new printer setup), cups
is running, i.e.,

# /etc/init.d/cups status
cupsd (pid 3130) is running...

2.
I tried to see if anything is different is running
by doing

ps -ef > before_adding_printer.txt
ps -ef > after_adding_printer.txt

There is no difference between these two files (except
the pid for the "ps -ef" command).

3.
In one forum, someone suggested using chattr. I tyr
this command without success.

4.
If I use the lp command after a reboot (but before
setting up the printer again), no useful console
information are output, i.e.,

$ lp code.scr
request id is test-20 (1 file(s))
(code.scr is just a short file)

but nothing prints. Just the job shows in the job queue.

5.
I really would like to know what console commands are
executed in the KDE control center - printer. It is
executing

/usr/bin/kcmshell printer

Where are the KDE modules? In specific, the printer module?
Can I read it?

6.
The same issue occurs if I use CUPS via

http://localhost:631/ .

-----

Do you have any clue on what is happening? Any
help/tip/comment would be appreciated.

Sheng-Chieh

Is the printer on the parallel port? (You say it is antique).

Maybe the installation procedure causes some driver to get loaded for the parallel port, which gets lost on reboot. Try comparing the output of command 'lsmod' before and after re-installing the printer to see if any extra modules get loaded.

Probably also check the output of 'dmesg' after reinstalling to check for any relevant system messages.

Do you know which device the printer is on? You can usually see if any data is going through with something like

echo 'Hello Printer' > /dev/lp0

and seeing if the printer reacts.

I believe the KDE print manager is just an extra layer on top of CUPS. You can check the log files in /var/log/cups if you want to see what it is doing.

Thank you for replying.

Yes, it's parallel port.

I did lsmod before and after a new printer setup. The difference is 3 lines extra
for the "after lsmod", i.e.,

parport_pc 27652 1
lp 12584 0
parport 36392 2 parport_pc,lp

What is parfoot? I can't find in google - keep getting a person, [first name] Parfoot.

I haven't study the rest, but will do so. This "parfoot" addition is interesting.

Sheng-Chieh

Parfoot? You mean parport?

Anyway, that looks like your problem. Next time you reboot run commands

modprobe parport
modprobe parport_pc
modprobe lp

(as root) and see if your printer works.

To make the fix permanent, you have to load the modules automatically on boot. Not sure how you do that in Xandros. On Debian you just add parport, parport_pc and lp to the list in the file /etc/modules.

Thank for the tip. I'm using PCLinxOS, not Xandros
(I'll update my OS). I'm one of the many whom left
Xandros after they signed the patent deal with
Micro$oft.

So this OS is a RPM distro. PCLinuxOS splitted from
Mandrake a few years ago.

Sheng-Chieh

Then I think you can add the extra 3 lines to /etc/modprobe.preload.

The 3 lines made the printer to work (hooray!).
In

/etc/modprobe.preload

I suspect I need to add

parport
parport_pc
lp

not

modprobe parport
modprobe parport_pc
modprobe lp

Correct?

Thank for your help especially after posting
in 5 previous forums with no concrete help!

Sheng-Chieh

Yes you are right. Careless slip. Glad it's working.

Sheng-Chieh,

I (too?) just became a Xandros refugee before I really became a Xandros user. -- Just when I got a 0-$ edition, someone's extra "Linux Magazine" desktop 4 DVD, I heard about the sellout.

There's another distro I won't be recommending to my migrating friends.

PCLinuxOS has a lot of respect, but no known primary users here at H(ouston)LUG; which is strange because one of its stated advantages is that it is "local", i.e Texas based. If the differences between it & Xandros due to .rpm vs. .deb are too great, consider SimplyMEPIS or Kubuntu. I have a strong personal preference for SimplyMEPIS because, I don't like the sudo method of dealing w/ admin. privilege. SimplyMEPIS uses a traditional root acct., like Xandros, & might be very comfortable for you.