Frustrating Print Job Lock Ups

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SputnikYuri

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Hello [H]ard Forums.

Hello world.

Lets keep the intro short. Was once a fan of Gen[M]ay and learned about all the wonderful antics everyone has participated in. I've been tinkering with computers for a decade and I've come across a pretty crappy problem...

I've got a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit machine I built for a client. Loaded Windows 7, a couple essential drivers (video, motherboard, network), and then passed the computer on to a slightly over-eager client waiting to replace his dinosaur machine before it had a chance to finally kick the bucket. I didn't have a chance to properly burn the machine running Windows Update and all driver installs.

The night passes, and another talented individual I know arrives to transfer information from the old computer to the new one. The client purchases a new HP laserjet printer and the talented individual performs the installation.

Currently, the client experiences a problem where print jobs lock up in the spooler. They display as 'printing' in the spooler but the printer sits idle. The printer is attached directly via USB. Upon shutting down Windows to reboot the computer, Windows will proceed to the 'Shutting Down' screen, but never actually power off. Upon hard resetting the computer, Windows boots and the locked print jobs print...

I've removed and re-installed printer drivers (and will do it again). I've checked the ram timings, I checked the Powerdownaftershutdown registry key, and set it to 1. I've had the client replace usb cables and other peripheral cables. I have NOT tried another printer on the computer, or the printer on another computer. The client wishes that I not remove the computer from it's operating environment.

Aside from the printing problems, I have not experienced any issues shutting down Windows. I have not been able to re-create the problem myself. The computer has been operating for about a month now with no other troubling symptoms.

I'm simply wondering if anyone has experienced a similar issues with a printing in a Windows 7 64-bit environment, and what they may have done to resolve it. I'm not expecting a one-solves-all answer. I'm mostly concerned with isolating this to software and not the hardware I assembled for the client.

Build:
--- CPU (AMD FX-6300K) and [edit:] Motherboard (ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3)
--- EVGA Nvidia GeForce GT620 Video Card
--- Crucial Ballistix 8GB
--- Seagate 240GB Solid-State Drive
--- Seagate 1TB Hydrid Hard Drive
--- Samsung DVD Burner
--- Rosewill 630W Power Supply
--- Rosewill Mini Tower Case
--- Rosewill SATA III Cables
--- Windows 7 64-bit Professional

Printer in question:
http://www8.hp.com/emea_africa/en/products/printers/product-detail.html?oid=5096259#!tab=features

Thanks for your time.
 
Have you tried going Office Space on the printer?

In seriousness, I haven't had problems other than crappy software from printer manufacturers. Are you using vendor-specific software for the printer, or windows generic? Whichever one you've tried, I'd try the other (completely remove drivers in between).
 
Anything showing up in event viewer logs?

Did you install the full featured software suite, or just the drivers? HP software can be problematic at times and I normally avoid the full feature install if I can.

Check for firmware update on the printer.
 
That's pretty much where I'm at as far as the drivers are concerned.

The client is in a state where he thinks he'll have to buy another computer....completely neglecting the fact that he could just buy a new, different PRINTER...

so the IT saga continues...
 
I have one of those running at an office in California. Works fine but it is networked. 5 Windows 7 machines print to it and no issues. I'd definitely check for firmware update. I stopped buying HP printers a while back due the their unpredictability. I have definitely had to update firmware on a few new HP printers. I buy Dell printers now because I can get on site service warranties on them.
 
It's probably the print driver. HP drivers have gone way down over the past few years.

I would completely uninstall the printer and drivers. Once done, I would try to add an native windows driver, not one from HP. The one that I recommend is the HP Laserjet 4 (or a variant of). It won't allow you to do anything fancy, but it should work with any HP Laserjet printer.
 
Or I would try the HP Universal driver....Ive had a few customers that had issues where some sort of flash/shocwave file gets dropped in C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and then the spooler stops and no one can print.
changed to the unversal PCL6 driver and it went away
 
Ok so...this is how things went today

I uninstalled all drivers (two pcls were installed...)
I restarted and windows installed a pcl driver
A ream of paper was printed trying to reproduce the error, i think it might have happened once.
Suddenly printing stops responding, jobs are not spooled and disappear from queue, and they may be deleted from the queue. I remove the driver.
Can't get windows to install its native driver again. The printer was offering and still offered an autorun everytime the usb cable connected. Installed this driver. Now, the same issue with the job locking up returns. Sometimes the computer can be restarted/shutdown when this happens sometimes it can't. Very sporadic and unpredictable.

In the end we put the new printer on his old machine behind it (win 95...they still use floppy disks). We put the old printer there on the new machine. Hoping this alleviates the printing issues.

I'm starting to suspect some kind of electrical interference or short. I built the pc...and...idk I've been doing this a pretty long time and don't see how I could have messed it up. I've built multiple pcs for multiple business class environments that demand uptime and have had good results. Occasionally, when rebooting the PC (and also when first starting it), the monitor powered on but then shows a solid power light, wont respond when hitting it's touchsurface power switch, and only upon unplugging from power and plugging in again does the signal come through. Is there some sort of short in the system? I'm prepared to bust out a volt meter and check but I have no earthly clue how to really...

Basically its a different question now. IF this different printer still has similar issues then it can be caused from whatever is up with the hardware. So far the only thing I can do is stand by my build quality (I've been building pcs for about a decade, for fun mostly, but I've worked as a service tech on business servers and don't really have a bad rapport) and say things like "newer technology is more sensitive to voltage flux" and "it seems like the cable/peripheral is catching a signal...but how and from where" which frankly just makes most people stare off into space or look at you like you're not just a wizard...but a retarded wizard. but sometimes that's the best i can come up with.

anyway I'm gonna read up how to check for shorts or flux
 
maybe the PC's PSU? or maybe the USB ports? (usb mode maybe needs to be changed in the bios..)
 
This is what I think will fix it:
1. Plug in and turn the printer on.
2. Go to the Device Manager and remove all the HP printer objects in there including the USB Printing support.
3. Unplug the printer from the computer.
4. Remove ALL the HP software from the add remove programs section.
5. Reboot if needed and then run the manual removal tools that should be on the HP Printer disk.
6. Reinstall the software but in no uncertain terms, do not plug in the printer until it asks.
7. It may work after that but you could be right, it may be an electrical issue. Just be careful not to get electrocuted if there is a hot ground.

Hope this helps.
 
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