Problem With The Printer Cable

If the printer self- test worked, but the operating system printer test did not work, the problem might be with the printer cable. Check that the cable is firmly connected at both ends. Many businesses use a switch box (sometimes called a T-switch) to share one printer between two computers. A printer cable connects to the printer port of each computer. The two cables connect to the switch box. A third cable connects from the switch box to the printer. A switch on the front of the box controls which computer has access to the printer. Switch boxes were built with older dot matrix printers in mind. Some switch boxes are not recommended for ink-jet or laser printers that use a bidirectional parallel cable, and can even damage a printer. For these printers, remove the switch box.

Try a different cable.

Try printing using the same printer and printer cable, but a different PC. Enter CMOS setup of the PC and check how the parallel port is configured. Is it disabled? Set to ECP or bidirectional? An ECP parallel port requires the use of a DMA channel. Try setting the port to bidirectional.

Problem With The Operating System Or Device Drivers

If the printer self- test worked, but the operating system printer test did not work, the problem might be with the operating system or device drivers. Try rebooting and then print another operating system test page. Try printing from DOS. Access a DOS prompt (real-mode DOS, not a DOS box) and print a directory list. Use the command DIR > LPT1. If nothing prints, press the Form Feed button. Sometimes a partial page needs to be ejected by this method before it prints when using DOS.

If you can print from DOS, but not from Windows, try removing and reinstalling the printer driver. To uninstall the printer driver, right-click the printer icon in the Printers window, select Delete to remove the printer, and then reinstall the printer. Check the configuration of the parallel port in CMOS setup. Try another printer driver. It may not print graphics correctly, but if another driver does work at all, then you can conclude that you have a faulty driver. For example, if you have an HP LaserJet 5L, try using the HP LaserJet III driver. Verify printer properties. Try lowering the resolution or printing a different document.

Try printing from NotePad. If you can print from NotePad, the problem is with the application. Reboot the PC and try to print from the application again. In the printer Properties dialog box, try disabling Check Port State Before Printing.

Reboot the PC. Immediately print a text document in NotePad or WordPad. If you can print from DOS, but not from Windows, try disabling printer spooling. Go to the printer Properties dialog box and select Print Directly to the Printer. Spooling holds print jobs in a queue for printing, so if spooling is disabled, printing from an application can be slower.

The print spool might be stalled. Try deleting all print jobs in the printer’s queue. Double-click the printer icon in the Printers window. Select Printer, Purge Print Documents.

Also in the printer Properties dialog box, click Disable bidirectional support for this printer. The PC and printer might have a problem with bidirectional communication.

Check the resources assigned to the printer port. Open Device Manager, select LPT1, and click Properties. Verify that the resources are assigned correctly for LPT1 (I/O addresses are 0378 to 037B) and that Device Manager reports “No conflicts.”

Problem With The Applications Software

If you can print from Notepad or WordPad, but cannot print from another application, try closing and reopening the application. Verify that the correct printer is selected in the Print Setup dialog box. To set the printer as the default printer for Windows, using the Printer Window, right-click on the printer icon and select Set as Default from the shortcut menu.

Try printing a different application file.

Try creating new data in a new file and printing it. Keep the data simple.

Try printing from another application.

If you can print from other applications, but not this one application, consider reinstalling the application.

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