Here's a good one, wonder if anyone can help me? Please ...
XP SP2 PC with HP laser printer attached.
98 SE PC.
Both PCs plugged into 8 port hub/switch.
Both PCs on same workgroup with doc folders shared. Both PCs using TCP/IP and IPX/SPX for good measure. Both PCs logging on using Client for Microsoft Networks. incidentally both PCs using the same user name and password (lower case), they were originally two different users, but I set to the same just for testing.
HP Printer is shared on XP machine and installed on 98 machine with original CD and set as network printer.
Anyway the ability to see each others data works fine and the ability to print on both is fine. However, intermittantly the 98PC will say "There was an error writing to \\Chris\blah... The network printer is no longer available. Contact your system administrator. This printer will be set to work off-line". If you go into control panel printers on the 98PC and untick use offline, then press F5, the printer is no longer greyed out and will print fine. Wierd huh!
OK so I thought the network connection must be powering down every so often so I checked in XP PC's Device Manager/Network adapters/the adapter/properties then click the Power Management tab and the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is UNTICKED which is correct. I also checked the Advanced tab and nothing in there seems to affect it, for example Link Down Power Saving is on Disable. The 98 PC isn't Powersaving either. I haven't checked the BIOS yet (PCs aren't here), but has anyone heard of the BIOS powersaving on network cards and Windows not overriding this, it seems unlikely. The XP's Network card is built into the motherboard.
I also googled the hell out of the error message but it only seems to happen to people who can NEVER get the printer to work, not people who have it "drop out" on them.
btw, the XP machine used to be a totally different 98 PC with the HP attached and there were never any problems printing to it then. The problem therefore must be with the XP machine as that's the only thing that has changed (well the 98PCs network settings needed to be tweaked), unless something needs to be set on the 98PC to get it to work properly with the XP PC (seems unlikely).
The XP machine has AOL on it, standard XP firewall etc. The failure to print occurs even if the users have not used the internet and not looked at each other's files. It always prints when booted up, it just seems to Time Out.
Before you ask, the HP printer doesn't have a network port so I can't plug it into the hub/switch, bummer.
you could think, bad connection or faulty cable or hub/switch but how come all the same stuff worked before, unless I broke it? (unlikely)
Help!
XP SP2 PC with HP laser printer attached.
98 SE PC.
Both PCs plugged into 8 port hub/switch.
Both PCs on same workgroup with doc folders shared. Both PCs using TCP/IP and IPX/SPX for good measure. Both PCs logging on using Client for Microsoft Networks. incidentally both PCs using the same user name and password (lower case), they were originally two different users, but I set to the same just for testing.
HP Printer is shared on XP machine and installed on 98 machine with original CD and set as network printer.
Anyway the ability to see each others data works fine and the ability to print on both is fine. However, intermittantly the 98PC will say "There was an error writing to \\Chris\blah... The network printer is no longer available. Contact your system administrator. This printer will be set to work off-line". If you go into control panel printers on the 98PC and untick use offline, then press F5, the printer is no longer greyed out and will print fine. Wierd huh!
OK so I thought the network connection must be powering down every so often so I checked in XP PC's Device Manager/Network adapters/the adapter/properties then click the Power Management tab and the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is UNTICKED which is correct. I also checked the Advanced tab and nothing in there seems to affect it, for example Link Down Power Saving is on Disable. The 98 PC isn't Powersaving either. I haven't checked the BIOS yet (PCs aren't here), but has anyone heard of the BIOS powersaving on network cards and Windows not overriding this, it seems unlikely. The XP's Network card is built into the motherboard.
I also googled the hell out of the error message but it only seems to happen to people who can NEVER get the printer to work, not people who have it "drop out" on them.
btw, the XP machine used to be a totally different 98 PC with the HP attached and there were never any problems printing to it then. The problem therefore must be with the XP machine as that's the only thing that has changed (well the 98PCs network settings needed to be tweaked), unless something needs to be set on the 98PC to get it to work properly with the XP PC (seems unlikely).
The XP machine has AOL on it, standard XP firewall etc. The failure to print occurs even if the users have not used the internet and not looked at each other's files. It always prints when booted up, it just seems to Time Out.
Before you ask, the HP printer doesn't have a network port so I can't plug it into the hub/switch, bummer.
you could think, bad connection or faulty cable or hub/switch but how come all the same stuff worked before, unless I broke it? (unlikely)
Help!