At 09:19 06/23/05, Edward Whitnall <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I have an irritating printer problem where whenever I boot up my
>machine (Dell 8200 with XP, SP1 & SP2) connected to a laser printer
>(HP or Dell), the printer during the boot cycle spits out a sheet
>of paper with only a few characters on the top left (e.g. v}}zhlj
>or the like).  After that it prints normally.
>
>The same machine connected to an HP DeskJet or HP OfficeJet
>printer doesn't do the same.
>
>I haven't been able to find a setting or other change that will
>correct this.
>
>Any ideas? Ed Whitnall


Hi Edward

A couple of ideas...

I had this problem with my HP Laser Printers back in the Windows 95
days. There is a Microsoft article "Extra Page Printed with Each Print
Job" at <http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;132425>.

"When you print to a Hewlett-Packard (HP) printer (or a printer that
emulates an HP printer) that is connected to a computer using a
PS/2-style parallel port, you may receive an extra page before each
print job. The extra page contains PJL codes or a single character in
the upper left corner of the page. The output on this page depends on
whether you have enabled bi-directional communications."

So the problem only occurs with HP Laser printers or ones that emulate
them, like your Dell. Ink jet printers shouldn't be affected.

For Win95, the solution was to replace the file "Windows/System/Lpt.vxd"
with a later version, which was in to a special folder on the Windows
95 CDROM. Not much help if you're using Windows XP. But the article
does suggest two other things that might be helpful to you:

"Configure the port in your computer's CMOS settings to a non-PS/2 mode
(for example, use standard LPT mode, or ECP or EPP mode)."

So try a different printer port setting in your computer's BIOS.

"Note that the symptoms described in this article can also be caused by a
printer switchbox. If you are using a printer switchbox, you may want to
disconnect the switchbox to see if the problem persists."

Are you using a switch box to change from one printer to another?

Finally, I'd suggest you try to find different printer drivers, either
older or newer.

Regards,
Bill

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