After one month of perfect MEPISLite operation, including over 150 print ops, the CUPS server or service has suddenly quit working and I cannot get it started. Cannot add printer, and error msgs advise no server. I cannot start cups service because no cups server found. I of course cannot see cups running as a service. Have edited client/server conf files per CUPS.org "help" how tos, but no luck. Have reloaded various cups apps, no luck. The backend app for adding printers is not offering any valid options (probably needs the cups server). Log once indicated no /dev/usb/lp0 but sys bios says usb ok. The same sys can read usb stick without problem. The printer, when hooked up to another sys, prints ok with same usb cable, etc. Lastly, I have no other problems either with the sys, an IBM laptop, or other services/applications.

I suspect I changed something for this otherwise reliable service to suddently quit.

For what it's worth I believe that MEPISLite distro is great for old systems. I now have it on two systems, one with 128mb ram, the other only 92mb. Apps have been pretty reliable.

The question is: what did you change recently?

As for general diagnostics:
Check the output of lspci for the USB chipset(s).
Check the loaded modules (lsmod).
Locate cupsd.conf, up the logging options to debug2, and
restart it; see whether the log holds anything useful then.


Good luck!


Cheers,
Tink