Command box printing to parallel port stopped working

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alan Meyer
  • Start date Start date
A

Alan Meyer

I have a Panasonic KX-P1124 which always printed fine from my Windows
XP SP2 system until just recently. Suddenly it stopped working. I presume I
made some change, but don't remember what. I know I made no changes to
the printer setup. I have downloaded some Microsoft critical update patches
since it worked last, but don't remember what they were. I have installed
some software in that period, including a new version of the Java SDK and
probably some other stuff - though I don't remember exactly what. I install
new software fairly often.

It still works fine from Windows GUI applications, but no longer prints from
DOS applications running in a command window. I can't even get Windows
utilities like "copy xyz lpt1" to work or "print xyz" or "copy XYZ to prn:"

The printer is connected by a parallel cable and configured for:

Sharing (but changing to no share has no effect).
LPT1.
Using the WinPrint processor (but changing has no effect.)

I deleted the printer from the printer control and re-added it, but still no luck.

When I print from DOS, nothing appears in the print queue. When I print
from Windows, an entry appears and the printing takes place.

The fact that printing from Windows works fine proves that there is no
hardware problem.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks.
 
Alan said:
I have a Panasonic KX-P1124 which always printed fine from my Windows
XP SP2 system until just recently. Suddenly it stopped working.
Click to expand...
....

I have just solved the problem.

It turns out that I had a "printer" named "Active Touch Document
Manager". Although the Microsoft printer description box is too
small to see it, my Panasonic printer entry in the printers list
had a note beside it saying that it was an Active Touch Document
Manager. I hadn't noticed it before, because the box was small
and just showed "Activ" - which I assumed meant that my printer
was the active default.

Not so. When I put the cursor on the line, the full display
appeared that said "Active Touch Document Manager". When I
deleted the Active Touch Document Manager printer entry (not my
Panasonic), then rebooted, my printer worked again.

Just deleting and re-adding my Panasonic printer didn't work.
Apparently "Active Touch", is also "persistent touch", or maybe
"grab by the throat". When I deleted and re-added my Panasonic,
the Active Touch succeeded in grabbing it again.
From a bit of research on the web, it appears that the Active
Click to expand...
Touch Document Manager is silently installed when a computer
participates in a "Webex" conference. It's a killer for DOS
printing.

Don't you love it when some too clever programmer silently screws
you because he thinks he's smarter than you are and can silently
modify your machine and make it better without informing you?

Alan
 
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