Printer Initialization Takes a Long Time
After re-boot, the first time I try to print a document (from any application), it takes between one to two minutes to initialize the printer. Can anyone give me some ideas what may be going on and how to fix this?
OS: Windows XP SP2
Printer: HP 810-C
Application: 'Fineprint' v5.23 Installed
OS: Windows XP SP2
Printer: HP 810-C
Application: 'Fineprint' v5.23 Installed
venom96737
does it print fine everytime after that?
If it does just note the exe what is loaded when it is printing and place that file in your startup by going to start run then msconfig and going to the startup tab.
Most inkjet printers go through a head cleaning cycle when you first print to them. When you reboot, the printer's software assumes a "first print" condition and cleans the heads. This is by design and usually can't be avoided.
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ASKER
Thanks for all the comments...
- It is definitely not the printer doing a self-cleaning and it is not a networked printer. The (parallel) printer cable comes out of one pc and is only used by that pc.
- I don't want to load the driver at startup because that will delay the time for each reboot. Although I did look in Process Explorer and note that it is "fpdisp5a.exe" that is loading.
- Sometimes the application hangs or reports an error and I have to terminate the process. But once the first print job gets loaded, other print jobs load in the normal time, 10 seconds or less.
- Whatever application I print from first, that is the process tree under which fpdisp5a gets loaded. However, if I delete that process and try to do another print job, it takes about 30 sec. and then gives me an error saying there is a problem with fpr5. After about four tries from Outlook or Excel, it finally worked again with the same 90 sec. delay. And now it prints fine every time, as long as I don't teminate the fpdisp5a.exe process.
- It is definitely not the printer doing a self-cleaning and it is not a networked printer. The (parallel) printer cable comes out of one pc and is only used by that pc.
- I don't want to load the driver at startup because that will delay the time for each reboot. Although I did look in Process Explorer and note that it is "fpdisp5a.exe" that is loading.
- Sometimes the application hangs or reports an error and I have to terminate the process. But once the first print job gets loaded, other print jobs load in the normal time, 10 seconds or less.
- Whatever application I print from first, that is the process tree under which fpdisp5a gets loaded. However, if I delete that process and try to do another print job, it takes about 30 sec. and then gives me an error saying there is a problem with fpr5. After about four tries from Outlook or Excel, it finally worked again with the same 90 sec. delay. And now it prints fine every time, as long as I don't teminate the fpdisp5a.exe process.
ASKER
Problem is still not resolved. I upgraded to the latest version of FinePrint v5.5.1 but there is still a 2-minute lag when first loading the driver. Any other ideas will be appreciated.
It sounds like a driver problem.
Are you using the current drivers for this printer?
You can get them from HP ... http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=58742&lang=en&os=228
Are you using the current drivers for this printer?
You can get them from HP ... http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=58742&lang=en&os=228
ASKER
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SOLUTION
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Turns out to have been a problem with my installed printers, similar to what cj_1969 was referring to. Although not exactly a 'networked' printer problem, something close.
At one point, I had installed a shared printer which belongs to a machine that I now rarely use, so it is OFF most of the time. So, the driver was probably trying to initialize but couldn't find the machine and would have to timeout, thus the 90 or so seconds. I've removed the printer and now my Fineprint driver is working fine with no excessive delays.
SOLUTION
=================
Turns out to have been a problem with my installed printers, similar to what cj_1969 was referring to. Although not exactly a 'networked' printer problem, something close.
At one point, I had installed a shared printer which belongs to a machine that I now rarely use, so it is OFF most of the time. So, the driver was probably trying to initialize but couldn't find the machine and would have to timeout, thus the 90 or so seconds. I've removed the printer and now my Fineprint driver is working fine with no excessive delays.