Printer Problems

Printers are mechanical devices controlled by computers, so they can suffer from the worst of both worlds: mechanical failures and bad data. When a printer fails to produce the document you expect, or the document doesn’t look the way you expected it to look, you should look for both types of problems.

Restart the Printer

Sometimes the printer’s options and configuration settings will return to the correct values after you turn off the printer and then turn it back on again. This is a very quick and easy fix, so it’s worth trying first, before you spend a lot of time looking for something more complicated.

No Lights

If none of the lights or LED indicators on the printer is on, the printer probably has an electrical problem. Confirm that the power switch is turned on, and the power cable is plugged into both the printer and a live AC outlet. If the printer is plugged into a power strip, make sure the power switch on the strip is also on. If the printer is turned on and receiving power, look for a fuse in the printer, most often located next to the power cable or power connector. If the fuse blows again, take the printer to a service center.

No Response

If the lights are on, but the printer does not respond when you send it a command from the computer, there can be several possible causes.

Cable Confirm that the printer cable is connected to both the computer and the printer. If the printer requires a bidirectional cable, confirm that you are not using an older parallel cable. The printer manual will tell you what type of cable you should be using. Is there any other device between the computer and the printer, such as a switch, a buffer, or a network server? Is the intermediary device turned on and working properly? Is the switch set to the right position to connect your computer to the printer? Are all of the cables connected?

Printer Error

If the printer has a digital display or a set of LED indicators, look for an error code or an error message. The printer manual should include explanations of all the codes and message that your printer can produce. If not, look for them on the manufacturer’s website. If Windows or an application program displays an error message on your monitor, follow the instructions in that message to clear the problem. For example, if you see an “out of paper” message, add more paper to the printer.

On Line

Confirm that the printer’s On Line indicator light is on. If it is dark, push the button or operate the switch to set the printer’s setting to On Line.

Printer Driver Try reinstalling the correct printer driver. Look for the most recent driver software on the printer manufacturer’s website.

Properties and Preferences

From the Windows XP Start menu, choose Printers And Faxes, or from the Classic Windows Start menu, choose Settings Printers And Faxes, and select the printer you are trying to use. When the printer window opens, choose the Printer menu and then the Properties and Printing Preferences commands. The Properties and Preferences windows, which are unique for each make and model of printer, contain the specific settings and options that apply to that printer. Confirm that all of the settings are correct. When you enter the Print command from an application program, make sure the Select Printer option in the Print window is set to the correct printer.

Ink and Paper

Check the printer’s ink, toner, or ribbon. If there is none left, replace or refill the supply. Confirm that the printer has enough paper to handle the current job. If the printer has more than one paper path (such as a laser printer with a fold-down tray), make sure the pages are not using the alternate path. If the printer seems to be printing, but nothing appears on the paper, check the ribbon or the ink or toner supply.

Paper Jam If the printer reports a paper jam, open up the printer and remove all sheets of paper from the paper path. Then close the printer and make sure the On Line indicator is on.

Not Enough Memory

If the printer stops printing a page that includes one or more complex graphic images before the page is complete, the printer does not have enough internal memory to handle the job. Either reduce the size or definition (in dots per inch) of the image, or install more memory in the printer. If you are trying to print two or more images on the same page, reformat the document to place each picture on a separate page.

Wrong Font

If the document prints with gibberish characters, or if it the text appears in the wrong typeface, make sure your printer recognizes the font used by your application program. Confirm that the font is installed in your computer by opening Start Settings Control Panel Fonts. If you can’t find the name of the font shown in the application program, either choose a different font in the application, or install the font from the application CD. Double-check the connectors plugged into both the printer and the computer to make sure they are firmly seated into their sockets. Make sure the application that is using the printer is not set to “draft output” or another draft setting.

Wrong Colors

If some or all of the text or image is in the wrong color, it’s possible that one or more of the ink or toner color cartridges may be empty, or the ink in a cartridge may be clogging an ink jet. To solve the problem, try removing and shaking each cartridge. If that doesn’t work, replace the cartridge that contains the color of ink or toner that does not print.

Wrong Size

If the text or image runs off the edge of the paper, confirm that the Printer Settings are configured for the right paper size and image size, and that you have selected the correct printer. If both of these settings are correct, look for updates to the printer driver and the application program.

Try Printing Some Test Pages

Most printers have a diagnostic feature that will print a test page when you press the right combination of buttons or switches. Your printer manual (or the printer manufacturer’s website) will tell you exactly how to run a test page on your particular printer. When the printer does not respond to a print command from the computer, try printing a test page. If the test is successful, the printer itself is working correctly, so you should direct your troubleshooting efforts to the cable and the computer. Don’t forget to return the printer to its On Line state. Windows also includes a Print Test Page function that can test the link between the computer and the printer. To print a test page from the Windows XP menu, open Start Printers And Faxes; from the Classic Windows menu, open Start Settings Printers And Faxes. Then right-click the name of the printer, select Properties from the pop-up menu, and click the Print Test Page button at the bottom of the General tab. If this test is successful, then the problem is probably in the application program that produced the print command rather than with Windows.

Try a Different Program

After you confirm that the printer itself is working properly and that the Windows printer driver is also working, try a different program to print your document or image. If you can save the document or image that you want to print and open it in some other program, you can sometimes print the document from the second program. If printing from a different program is successful, look in the original program for options or settings that control printing. It’s possible that one or more of these settings are directing the document to the wrong place.

Printing to a File

Almost all programs that include a print command offer the option of sending the formatted document to a file rather than sending it directly to a printer. This makes it possible to take the stored file to another computer on a floppy disk, a recordable CD, another form of portable media, or through the Internet. At the distant computer, the recipient can print the document, even if the original program is not installed on that computer. This can be useful in a household with several computers in different rooms but no network connections between the computers. If nothing happens when you try to print a document directly from a program, make sure the Print To File option in the Print Setup dialog box is not turned on.

Printing Through a Network

If your printer is connected to your computer through a network, a printing problem can be located in your own computer, in the network, in the print server, or in the printer itself. If none of the troubleshooting methods in this section solve the problem, talk to your network support person, if you have one. If you don’t have a network support person, look for a problem in a switch or router, in a network interface at either the print server or the printer itself, or with a bad address or another incorrect network setting. On a large network, it’s also possible that too many users have tried to order print jobs at the same time, overloading the buffer.

Monitor Problems

Whether the display monitor connected to your computer is a flat panel or an old-technology cathode ray tube (CRT), most of the troubleshooting methods are similar. When a monitor does break down, there’s not a lot that you can do to fix it without a well-equipped electronics test bench. And that’s just as well, because some of the capacitors inside a CRT monitor can hold an electric charge strong enough to injure or kill you, even if the power cord is not plugged into a live outlet. Unlike the rest of your computer, the monitor does not contain any modules or other parts that you can remove and replace, so it’s best to either retire a sick monitor or take it to a qualified repair shop. The price of CRT monitors has dropped so much that it’s almost always less expensive to buy a new one instead of sending the old one out for repair. Not every display problem indicates a dead monitor. If you have access to a second monitor, try disconnecting the one with a problem and connecting the spare. If the replacement displays the same symptoms, the problem is almost certainly in the video card inside the computer rather than the monitor. You can also try connecting the suspect monitor to a different computer; if the problem is still visible, then the trouble is in the monitor. The following are some common symptoms and fixes.

Screen Is Completely Dark (No Image)

If you don’t see any image at all, check these connections and settings:

Is the monitor’s AC power cord plugged in at both ends? Is the power switch on the monitor turned on? Is the signal cable connected to a video adapter in the computer? Is a screen saver or an energy-saving program running? Press the space- bar on your keyboard to restore an image. Is the brightness control on the monitor turned all the way down?

If none of these tests solve the problem, the monitor’s internal power supply has probably failed. It’s time to repair or replace the monitor.

The Image Is Squashed

If the image is compressed either vertically or horizontally toward the middle of the screen, try using the controls on the monitor or the on-screen adjust- ments to restore the image. This might solve the problem for a short time, but it’s a warning that the monitor’s vertical or horizontal output is failing. If you can’t restore the image, or if the image is reduced to a very narrow vertical or horizontal line through the center of the screen, replace the monitor or send it for repairs.

The Shape of the Image Is Distorted

A distorted image is probably caused by physical damage to the deflection coils around the CRT. Try using the controls on the monitor to adjust the Pincushion or Geometry settings. If that doesn’t help, replace the monitor.

Color Is Wrong A color video display uses three separate image scans to display a mixture of different colors. If one of the color scans fails, the colors in the on-screen display will look peculiar because the red, green, or blue scan is missing. If this happens, replace or repair the monitor.

Missing Pixels

On a flat-panel screen, each point (a “picture element,” or pixel ) in the display receives an electric charge controlled by a separate transistor within an integrated circuit in the monitor’s control circuit. If a transistor fails, the corresponding pixel either goes dark or remains a bright solid color all the time. Either way, the bad pixel appears as a tiny dot that does not change color when you view an image. Many monitor manufacturers consider a very small number of dead pixels to be acceptable, but if you discover bad pixels on a new monitor or laptop display, return it for a replacement as soon as possible. If your monitor develops bad pixels after the warranty expires, there’s not a lot you can do about it. Some people have had good luck using a soft cloth wrapped around a finger to rub the screen very gently around the bad pixel, but that doesn’t always work.

Audio Problems

The most common problem in a computer’s audio system is complete silence when you are trying to play a sound file, or when you are listening to streaming audio from the Internet. Look for one of these causes:

Are the speakers plugged into the computer’s sound card? Is the speaker’s power unit connected to the speakers? Is it plugged into an AC outlet? Is the volume control knob on the speaker turned all the way down? Are any of the software volume controls turned all the way down? Check the application program that is playing the sound file (such as Real- Player or Windows Media Player), the control program that works with your sound card, the Windows Volume Control, and the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties window (open the Properties window from the Windows Control Panel). Is the Mute option turned on in any of the programs that control the sound? Again, check the application program, the control program, the Windows Volume Control, and the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties window.

If the speakers still don’t work, or if the sound is distorted, the speakers or the amplifier that controls them have probably developed a problem. This could occur because you have been playing the speakers too loudly or because of a wiring problem. If turning down the volume on the speakers doesn’t solve the problem, it’s time to replace them. When shopping for new speakers, look for a set that can comfortably handle the volume level you expect to play without distorting the sound. In general, the solutions to hardware problems are likely to be more obvious, or at least easier to understand, than the ones produced by obscure wrinkles in software code. If none of the specific techniques in this article help you find a problem, take a break for a cup of coffee (or whatever it takes for you to relax for a few minutes), and then go back to the general trouble- shooting methods at the beginning of the article. Take a closer look at the symptoms and the individual components that are not working properly. In most cases, a calm examination of the problem will take you most of the way toward a solution.