OSPRINT2 - PRINTING ERROR MESSAGES, PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 11/02/94 ================================================================ PRINTING ERROR MESSAGES, PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ================================================================ Please Read Entire Document for Full Explanation of Procedures ---------------------------------------------------------------- This document addresses the following error messages: PRINTER OUT OF PAPER PRINTER OFF LINE SYS004 These messages are usually generated by: Not using the latest level printer driver Incompatible Hardware (such as I/O card) IRQ conflict Printer cable Corrupted INI files 1. Have you called vendor of your printer to be sure you have the latest driver available for OS/2? If not, contact vendor of your printer. 2. Most common incompatible hardware is an I/O card. Please check to see if connected properly. If it is an older version I/O card, it may not be compatible and needs to be replaced. 3. You may have an IRQ conflict. If you have a Sound Card this is the first IRQ to check. The OS/2 documentation lists the defaults for the IRQ levels. Both LPT1 and the Sound Cards, by defaults, use the same IRQ. OS/2 does not share IRQ levels. All devices should have their own IRQ level. For the Sound Card, it is suggested you change to IRQ 10 because it is open. 4. Printer cable should be no longer than six feet. It should be IBM approved. All 25 pins must be connected. If your printer works in DOS and not in OS/2, this could be the problem, especially on higher processor systems. DOS only requires 9 pins be connected, but OS/2 requires all 25 pins be connected. 5. You may have corrupted INI files. System initialization files (INI) have been damaged and need to be rebuilt. Corruption can be caused by: - improper system shutdown - power surges - hardware problems - improper INI updates by applications or OS/2 The two files involved are the OS2.INI and the OS2SYS.INI located in the \OS2 directory on your boot partition. Print object settings are stored in the OS2SYS.INI file. When a problem exists with the way these settings are stored you could run into: - incorrect printer settings info - multiple drivers selected in Printer Driver Tab - multiple ports selected in the Output Tab - can no longer print after previous printing - invalid object under the Set Default listing NOTE: If you backed up your INI files immediately before the problem occurred and you have not changed your configuration since then, you can replace the current files with the backup set: 1. Start with the OS/2 Installation diskette. 2. When prompted, remove Installation Diskette and insert Diskette 1. 3. Press Enter. 4. When the Welcome Screen appears, press Esc to display the A: prompt. 5. Replace BOTH the OS2.INI and the OS2SYS.INI at the same time. If you experience problems when starting up, you should MAKEINI using the following instructions. IMPORTANT: If you have one of the following video cards or chip set, you MUST go back to VGA mode before you continue. IBM Valuepoint ATI S-3 chip set RETURNING TO VGA ---------------------------------------------------------------- Use following procedure instead of SETVGA command if it is necessary to return to VGA mode. Do the steps after starting OS/2 from Installation Disk and escaping to the command prompt. NOTE: X: is startup drive where OS/2 resides Case 1: You installed OS/2 from diskettes A: If RSPDSPI.EXE is in the \OS\INSTALL\ directory type and press Enter after each one: X: CD X:\OS2\INSTALL RSPDSPI /PK:VGA /SK:NONE /S:A:\ /T:X: where: A: is diskette drive you used to install OS/2 B: If RSPDSPI.EXE is NOT in the \OS2\INSTALL\ directory: 1.Insert Installation diskette 8 and unpack RSPDSPI.EXE with following command and press Enter: X:\OS2\UNPACK A:\INSTAID X: /N:RSPDSPI.EXE where: A: is drive containing diskette 8 2. Type following commands and press Enter after each one: X: CD X:\OS2\INSTALL RSPDSPI /PK:VGA /SK:NONE /S:A:\ /T:X: where: A: is diskette drive you used to install OS/2 Case 2: You installed OS/2 from CD-ROM or a LAN A: If RSPDSPI.EXE is in the \OS\INSTALL\ directory type and press Enter after each one: X: CD X:\OS2\INSTALL RSPDSPI /PK:VGA /SK:NONE /S:E:\OS2SE21\ /T:X: where: E: is CD-ROM or LAN drive B: If RSPDSPI.EXE is NOT in \OS2\INSTALL\ directory. 1.Unpack RSPDSPI.EXE with the following command and press Enter: X:\OS2\UNPACK E:\DISK_8\INSTAID X:/N:RSPDSPI.EXE where E: is the CD-ROM or LAN drive 2. Type the following command and press Enter: X: CD X:\OS2\INSTALL RSPDSPI /PK:VGA /SK:NONE /S:E:\OS2SE21\ /T:X: where: E: is CD-ROM or LAN drive MAKING/RENAMING SYSTEM INI FILES: ---------------------------------------------------------------- CHKDSK should be run to ensure that there are no file problems before proceeding with MAKEINI. Running CHKDSK for 2.X, WARP: 1. Perform SHUTDOWN, if you're unable to SHUTDOWN, turn off system for 30 seconds. 2. Insert the Installation Diskette in drive A: 3. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart system if you SHUTDOWN. Turn the computer on if your turned it off. 4. When prompted, remove Installation Diskette and insert Diskette 1. 5. Press Enter. 6. When the Welcome Screen appears: - For OS/2 WARP, press F3 to display the command prompt. - For OS/2 2.X, press Esc, to display the command prompt. 7. Remove Diskette 1 and insert Diskette 2, which contains the CHKDSK command. If you installed from CD: NOTE: X: is the CD-ROM drive - For OS/2 WARP: A. Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive and press Enter. B. Type X: Where X: is the CD-ROM drive and press Enter. C. Type OS2IMAGE and press Enter. D. Type CD DISK_2 and press Enter. - For OS/2 2.X, the command prompt stops at CD drive in DISK_1 subdirectory, change to DISK_2 subdir, type: X:\OS2SE21\DISK_2 and press Enter 8. To correct errors on hard disk, type appropriate CHKDSK command followed by the drive on which OS/2 resides. X: denotes drive where OS/2 resides...C:, D:, etc. For FAT file system, type: CHKDSK X: /F For HPFS file system, type: CHKDSK X: /F:2 9. Press Enter to start the CHKDSK command. NOTE: If you have any errors, run the CHKDSK command repeatedly until all errors are cleared up. ---------------------------------------------------------------- To MAKEINI: 10. Change to the drive containing OS/2. Then switch to the OS/2 sub-directory Example: X: CD OS2 X: is drive where OS/2 resides 11. At the command line type: REN OS2.INI OS2.BAK and press Enter REN OS2SYS.INI OS2SYS.BAK and press Enter. 12. At the command line type: MAKEINI OS2.INI INI.RC and press Enter MAKEINI OS2SYS.INI INISYS.RC and press Enter If you are unable to access INI files, type: ATTRIB OS2*.INI -R Then retry to MAKEINI. 13. At the command line use the ATTRIB command to delete the hidden file WP ROOT.SF in the OS2 startable partition. Type and press Enter after each one: ATTRIB X:\WP?ROOT.?SF -s -r -h DEL X:\WP?ROOT.?SF 14. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart the system. This rebuilds the desktop by replacing the corrupt .INI files with new .INI files. 15. It is highly recommended to do an immediate SHUTDOWN after the system is installed to ensure that all programs and files have been associated correctly. ---------------------------------------------------------------- IBM disclaims all warranties, whether express or implied, including without limitation, warranties of fitness and merchantability with respect to the information in this document. By furnishing this document, IBM grants no licenses to any related patents or copyrights.