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This is so odd
I posted this before & I have no clue whats happening with this
I have a client that everyone told was crazy & I thought so too until I saw it
Heres the gig
she has a generic pentium 233 system. Nothing ununusal about it, its a standard home brew system.
She has a Lexmark Z11 printer, standard stuff.
If the printer is plugged in to the lpt port the system is dead. no video no post, Dead, nothing. Wont POST
If I disconnect the LPT port from the printer it boots fine
No errors in Windows, everything works.
If you want to print connect the printer & it works just fine
No network, home user, second hand system, it has always done that since she got it
Here is what I have done
checked power, plug the printer straight into the wall, replaced printer cables, replaced power cords, checked the windows sruff but it aint gettting that far
Lexmark graciously replaced the printer, same thing.
If the LPT cable is connected no video no post. The system is dead. The LPT cable has been exchanged
BUT if it is shorting out some how she can plug the printer in & it print & it works fine after the system posts.
I would think that if it is shorting out on the LPT port somehow then it would kill it wen we plug an LPT port into it but that does not happen
I am down to replacing the LPT port & bracket. but I dont think thats the problem.
Ive teched this a lot & everyone says its not possible. An LPT port connection cant killl the video.
I agree. Why does it do it?
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Formerly known as Eyesee, see?
This is an awesome site!
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Thanks demoked
been there done that
The problem is in the box I think but im not sure.
This is truly weird
It wont post with the LPT cable connected it appers
Why??
Ive changed the settings in the BIOS. Ive been there done that
I have never heard of this before. Neither has lexmark. They replaced the printer
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Formerly known as Eyesee, see?
This is an awesome site!
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Ive been pondering this & I still have no clue with this!
How is it possible that connecting a printer cable via LPT1 parallell (standard stuff) causes no video no post??
Disconnect the printer on post & its all happy. Plug it in after POST & it works fine.
Plug an lpt cable in before POST, no video no post every time.
How is that possible?
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Formerly known as Eyesee, see?
Everything works,in theory
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Maybe try using a loopback plug, on port.
And then boot the system.
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Hi PC
Not sure about this one, but many years ago I had a crazy problem that had some similarities to this.
The machine was a 386, dos 5, win 3.1, brother printer. If I closed the puter down while the printer was still turned on, the same problem occured, but if the printer was turned off first, all was OK. However when I upgraded to dos 6, the problem disapeared.
Have you tried a different printer driver, is it possible to use different emulation on the printer. Can you duplicate the problem with another puter???
Have fun BF.
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The answer is 42!
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Have you tried disabling the onboard printer port, and using an add-on printer port instead? If it still does not work, it could be a bios problem.
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PC,
Just a hunch: When you connect the printer cable, I assume it has thumb screws to tighten it down. Maybe when you tighten it down it causes the bracket to contact the mobo or a card next to it shorting it out.
Once the puter boots and finds LPT, the short goes away. Did you try moving the LPT connector to another location, before replacing it?
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Murf
My Win95 Help Page
Murphy's Law- It will go wrong, but we can fix it!!
But if it ain't broke - "Break It" - So we can help fix it!
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I am not that good with technical stuff, but have you tried a different printer to see if it is the computer or the printer?
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PCS,
What happens when the cable is connected to lpt port, but to nothing on the other end? What about when the cable is connected to port and printer, but printer is not powered up? Also, have you tried playing with settings in bios for for that port (Enhanced, ECP, Standard, etc.)?
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It doesnt matter if the printer is on or off. It doesnt matter if the printer is connected to the other end of the cable
Lexmark replaced the printer. New one does the same thing
I am not tightening the screws in the LPT port down at all. Just placing it in the port.
Tried all the BIOS port settings.
It acts like it is shorting out. I would think that if it were, plugging the priter into the system when the system is running would knock it out but it doesnt. Thats what she has to do to print.
I think im going to replace te LPT port for starters
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Formerly known as Eyesee, see?
Everything works,in theory
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I had that problem before in where I have to place the card in a certain position so that computer will boot up. I changed the port and it worked fine.
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Wirehead
Why? Reasons, Theories, Past experiencies. We need to establish some credibility here.
You may be right, but without something more your statement has the same impact as me saying "Dance around an oak tree at midnight on a full moon, Naked of course. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/ "
Cheers BF
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The answer is 42!
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I douby seriously if it is the power supply. The system works fine other than this problem.
I tend to agree with BigFred, there is nothing to support that premise. That thought did cross my mind though
Ill work on it sometime next week
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Formerly known as Eyesee, see?
Everything works,in theory
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Good day gentlemen.
Apparently some of you were unhappy with the brevity of my response last night. Sorry, But I was as drunk as a lord, and could barely type.
My reasoning behind advising a p/s change, is that around 4 years ago, we sold around 300 'puters to a local government department. We began receiving calls frequently regarding machines that wouldn't boot. I soon noticed that each of the troublesome machines had printers attached. When powered on, they would not responding and I could hear a low humming noise coming from the P/S. Remove the printer, and it worked fine. Turned out to be a glitch in a batch of P/S the manufacturer used.
PCSolutions, this may not solve your problem, but it was the one thing that popped into my sotted head http://www.geocities.com/him_voxdei/image/buck.gif
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Hi PC & Wirehead
Thanks wirehead, that does add another factor, perhaps PC if you have a spare power supply you could try it in there. I would be most interested if it did work. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
However wirehead I wish the "Around the oak was a posibility, of course with seven virgins" https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
Cheers BF
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The answer is 42!
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Thanks for extrapolating on that wirehead!
I thought about the idea before. It DOES have a low humming noise coming from the power supply. Very faint, but it is there.
One never knows when someone is going to come up with a good idea. Thats the purpose of this forum.
Computers are logical. There is always a reason
Us humans however sometimes cant see the forrest for the trees & sometimes go OHH DUH when we figure it out!
I just happen to have a power supply around here that will fit in it.
If she can be without it for a day I will do just that. It has to be power somehow
Good idea. Thank you!
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Formerly known as Eyesee, see?
Everything works,in theory
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No sweat guys.
Sorry if I seemed a bit abrupt in my original post. Hope it helps.
BTW BigFred, only seven?.... http://www.geocities.com/him_voxdei/...smileysex5.gif
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Thanks man, I appreciate it
The thought did cross my mind & it makes sense.
There is always a reason
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Formerly known as Eyesee, see?
Everything works,in theory
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NP PCS,
Let me know if it helped. Remember, Bill Gates i behind you ALL the way... https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
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Hi Wirehead
Yes, seven would be plenty, but there would be only six on the way back. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/ Well perhaps five https://discussions.virtualdr.com/ https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
Cheers BF
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The answer is 42!
[This message has been edited by BigFred (edited 07-15-2000).]
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Think I'll keep watching this one...interesting...I was thinking the plug might be shorting against the chassis...And thinking wirehead was crazy there for a minute, till I saw the explanation...And how the &*^$ did you get the two smilies doing the happy??? (Has to be HTML, but I'm barely literate with it)
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How come the gene pool has no lifeguard?
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Wirehead
I wanted to let you know that you are dead on with this.
I called lexmark for a client about something totally different than this & asked the tech about it.
He said that he hasnt seen this for at least 2 years but its a known issue. He also said that they used to ship a bypass cable to fix it but they dont have it anymore.
Suggested fix: replace the power supply with 230w or greater. Anything less causes the issue.
Thanks man!
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Formerly known as Eyesee, see?
Everything works,in theory
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PCSolutions,
Happy to help. I'll tell ya, It's a good thing that it came out ok, as I could have started off my posts here looking like a right knob. No more beer and computers for me https://discussions.virtualdr.com/ (well, not at the same time... http://www.geocities.com/him_voxdei/image/redblob.gif
Cheers mate!
Paleo Pete,
Frankly I know bugger-all about HTML, but I did get this luvverly little web site from another UBB I'm a member of - just cut and paste http://www.geocities.com/him_voxdei/image/iron/029.gif
~http://www.geocities.com/him_voxdei/smile.htm
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Nice call Wirehead! I've been following this thread from the beginning.
Paleo Pete, there's no HTML allowed on this forum. Have a look at the UBB code section at the FAQ link, top-right of page.
You need to upload images to a server first - www.zing.com is the one I use. Just open a free account, upload your images and then use the [img] [/img] tags to call them.
Example:
[img] http://www.zing.com/picture/pb73234a...0.gif.orig.gif [/img]
Spaces intentional to show the source. Without the spaces, you get
http://www.zing.com/picture/pb73234a...0.gif.orig.gif
HTH
Ed
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Boot PC with cover removed, if nothing happens :-
1, Verify System Voltages with multimeter
2, Verfiy physical integrity of mainboard in the immediate locality of the Parallel port (no track breaks, scratches, loose solder joints e.t.c.)
3, Obtain LPT port pinout and verify correct voltages at printer end of parallel cable when plugged into PC (with no printer connected of course).
Failing this, temporarily (permanently if this is the problem) replace mobo + boot up.
...or (if viable) replace every individual component succesively until problem disappears, and restore all but defective component(s).
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Good call wirehead! I was thinking it was a short somewhere.
Thanks for the info wirehead & HK. I'll take a look later
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How come the gene pool has no lifeguard?
