Problem Printing from Fedora Core 4 to HP Deskjet 3845 on a Windows XP Home PC

ad3y · 10-31-2005, 08:06 AM

Hi everyone, apologies in advance if I am asking a common question but after searching these forums I haven't found an answer...

I am trying to print to a shared HP Deskjet 3845 connected to a USB Port on a Windows XP Home PC.
I am using Gnome and have tried adding the printer through 'Printing' in the 'System Settings' folder using both SMB and LPD (after installing Unix Printing on Windows XP and opening Port 515 on the firewall).
I have also tried using CUPS directly to add the printer both through SMB and LPD.
The problem is that everything seems fine and when I print, the Linux box packs the job off to the Windows Box.
Once it arrives at the Windows Box, the printer clunks and clicks as it prepares to print the job but then it does nothing.
When I look at the Print Queue on Windows, the job is sat there with a status of 'Printing'.
To cancel the Print Job, I have to restart the Print Spooler on Windows otherwise the status changes to 'Deleting...' and does no more.

Does anyone have any ideas on this at all?

Thanks in advance,

Adrian Hall.

steve1972 · 11-01-2005, 10:18 AM

CUPS can print to Windows servers in one of two ways:

1) Samba
2) LPD

From the CUPS website (http://www.cups.org/) there are articles (VERY SHORT!) about doing this:

Print to Windows Server using Samba

http://www.cups.org/articles.php?L294+I0+TMine+P1+Q

Print to Windows Server using LPD

http://www.cups.org/articles.php?L281+I10+TMine+P1+Q

ad3y · 11-01-2005, 11:16 AM

Hi,

Thanks Steve but I have already configured CUPS as described in those articles.
Actually getting Linux to send the print job to Windows seems to work, it is when the print job is sat in the Windows Queue that things stop working.
Whilst it sounds like a Windows issue, I think the solution will be to change something on Linux - I'm just not sure what

Cheers,

Ad3y.

ad3y · 11-04-2005, 06:47 PM

If anyone is interested, I have found out why this was not printing (thanks to Linuxprinting.org).
Despite what I thought before, the fix is doesn't have anything to do with Linux.
On the Windows Printer properties there is a tickbox that enables Bi-Directional Printing (allows the printer to tell Windows when it's out of ink etc).
This should be unchecked so that Bi-Directional Printing is disabled.
Works great now

Cheers,
Ade.