Link to home
Start Free TrialLog in
Avatar of HSI_guelph
HSI_guelphFlag for Canada

asked on

Is there a way to scan or analyze a Word document that is crashing Xerox Workcenter 5225

We've a XEROX WorkCentre 5225 copier/printer that crashed when one of our consultants tried to print a certain word file.  When the Xerox tech disconnected the printer and restarted the printer he went into jobs and cancelled that job and the problem was all solved.  He said the printer would print the banner page (we have a number of consultants) then crap out after that.  

He said that the RAM would hang up or mess up and suggested we could let them packet-sniff the file to find out exactly what in the Word document is causing the issue.  But we have sensitive contracts and confidentiality is a big part of the work we do so we wanted to know if there was some program/app that we could use to analyze/test the document ourselves and see if we could find the issue.

Information relating to this incident:
1.  There are 2 drivers:  Post Script and non-Post Script.  Using non-PS caused problems while the PS printed everything fine.
2.  We have 2 Xerox Workcenters, 7755 and 5225, both of which encountered errors when user's choose the non-PS driver.
3.  The tech guy said that Microsoft updated/changed the Calibri font last year and he ended up having to resolve some major issues for some of his clients last summer.

My boss wants to find a way we can check files since we might have more issues in the future.  We tend to have issues with client's templates conflicting with our own templates.  Does anyone know a way to do this pack scan ourselves?
Avatar of DansDadUK
DansDadUK
Flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland image

>> ... that crashed ... then crap out after that ...

Did the printer just stop, or did it display (or print) any error message(s)?
Error messages may give some clue as to the underlying reason for the "crash".

I'm not aware of any tool for analysing Word documents, and even if there is such a beast, since the document appears to work when you use a PostScript printer driver (implying that the document itself is valid), just what would you look for?

The 'PRN File Analyse' tool in the 'PCL Paraphernalia' application (available via http://www.pclparaphernalia.eu ) can be used to analyse a captured (i.e. 'print to file') PCL5 or PCL6 print stream.
But (as with analysis of Word documents), you probably need some clues (either from error messages, or by comparing the faulty print stream with one which doesn't cause the "crash") to stand even a small chance of trying to find out what is wrong.

... and even if you do find out what (in PCL5 or PCL6 terms) appears to be the cause, what can you then do about it?
Assuming that the printer driver is a Microsoft or printer-vendor-supplied one, all that you may be able to do is lobby them to investigate the fault and produce an updated driver.

... and it could, of course, be a Word problem, in the sense of an error in the interaction between Word and the printer driver during the print process.

So, as an initial step, I'd make sure that Office and your printer drivers are all the latest versions and/or have all the latest updates applied.
... and another thing you could do with a captured print stream is to copy the contents of the resultant .PRN file direct to the printer port of a different PCL printer (using 'copy' or 'lpr', depending on how the printer is connected) to see if that also "crashes" in the same way.

For TCP/IP connected devices, the 'PRN File Print' tool in the 'PCL Paraphernalia' application effectively does the same as the 'lpr' copy method (albeit using Port 9100).
Avatar of HSI_guelph

ASKER

The printer gave an error message stating there was a fault and to restart the printer and the error message was 116-324 but the Xerox guy said it was a general error # and wouldn't be of much use.  The packet sniffer the Xerox tech guy described would analyse the stream as the document was sent to the printer and a guy in TO (who's supposed to be awesome at reading this incomprehensible data) would look at it and find what in the document creates the problem.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of DansDadUK
DansDadUK
Flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland image

Link to home
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
Start Free Trial
Thank you very much for your input!  We don't think we are equipped at this time to sniff the packets and may or may not let the Xerox guys do it.  Right now its not a priority but now we are more informed should we decide to address this later.
You'd only need to "sniff the packets" if it was thought that the print stream generated by the driver was valid, but then corrupted in some way in being "transported" from the driver output, via ports/switches/cables/etc. to the printer.

Normally, it would be much easier to capture the print stream 'at source', by using the "print to file" option available via the Print dialogue of (most) printer drivers; then the resultant .PRN file can be analysed, or sent to another device for comparison purposes.