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Printer Help for Windows Printers

By: Paige Price

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When your printer runs perfectly during a self-test, but sends out an error message when you try to print from Windows, this signals that there is a communication

problem between your computer and printer. The first printer help step to get your computer and printer talking is to make sure that the printer cable is securely connected. Also check the printer cable for bent pins. Straighten any bent pins that you find with needle-nose pliers. If the computer still doesn’t work, try switching the printer cable to be 100% sure that the problem doesn’t lie with the cable, as is often the case.

Once you have determined that the printer cable is working satisfactorily, the next printer help step is to update and reload your drivers. Download the latest version of the driver software for your printer and open the Printer’s Folder. Right-click on the printer icon and select delete. Then double-click on the Add Printer icon and reinstall the driver software by following the Add Printer wizard directions. After you have done this, verify the printer’s properties by right-clicking on the printer’s icon and selecting Properties. Make sure that all of your printer's properties are configured according to the recommendations of your printer's manufacturer. The guidelines should be in the packet that came with your printer. It can also be found on the manufacturer's Web site.

If the problem is not with the driver, the next stage in printer help is to move on to your parallel port settings. Do this by going to the printer’s Device Manager. Double-click on the Printer Port (LPT1) and select the Resources tab. Check the "Conflicting device list" box to see if there is an interrupt request line (IRQ) conflict. If you find a conflict, disable the offending device. To disable a device, find it in Device Manager, open its Properties dialog box and check "Disable in this hardware profile."

If this doesn´t work, move on to deleting temporary spool files. Do this by restarting your computer in DOS command prompt by selecting Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu. At the command prompt, type the word "set" and press Enter. Change your TEMP directory to the location that appears. For example, if TEMP is set to C:WindowsTemp, type "cd windowstemp" and then press Enter. Delete any temporary files that might be there, by typing "del *.tmp" and then pressing Enter. However, don't delete these files while Windows is running as the files might be in use. Switch to the spool files by typing "cd windowsspoolprinters" and pressing Enter. Remove any spool files you find in by typing "del *.spl" and then pressing Enter.

For more printer help, you might want to try http://www.virgindigitalhelp.co.uk This site offers many free useful printer help and other pc-related articles along with Telephone Support, Home Visits, Fixed price help and a Digital Helper which is jam-packed with software to fix and fine-tune your computer. The sites http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/ and http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ are also worth checking out for their printer help and other pc-related articles.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Terry Adams provides printer help for companies throughout the UK.

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