Windows Server

Sabo, Eric · Guest

We have a windows 2003 SP1 active/active cluster, we have some Windows XP Pro
SP2 that are having problems connecting to the printers on our cluster. It
is strange because they can connect to the printers one day and not the
other. Does anyone know what would cause this to happen? The printers
are all HP. In most cause we are using the PCL 5/6 driver from HP. This
is what they told us to use. The only events that are on the workstation
is Event ID: 20. We even tried to completely cleaned the local drivers from
the workstation and then added back the drivers. This seems to work for a
while then all of a sudden the workstation is unable to connect to the
printer queue. Is there anything patches or hotfixes for this problem? I
am leaning more towards the client being the problem. Where should I
start to troubleshot this problem?

Thanks!

Rodney R. Fournier [MVP] · Guest

This is a guess, but I have seen very solid performance out of Windows
Server 2003. I can't say that for XP. I would look at XP.

Cheers,

Rod

MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
http://www.nw-america.com - Clustering Website
http://msmvps.com/clustering - Blog
http://www.clusterhelp.com - Cluster Training

Rodney R. Fournier [MVP] · Guest

I would use Network Monitor or Ethereal to watch the traffic flow. Next, I
would take this information to HP and have them help you out :)

Cheers,

Rod

MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
http://www.nw-america.com - Clustering Website
http://msmvps.com/clustering - Blog
http://www.clusterhelp.com - Cluster Training

Sabo, Eric · Guest

Rod,
Do you think it would be more of a problem at the server level or at the
client level? We tried to use network monitor but I have no idea what I am
suppose to look for. We even made sure that the machine is getting the
correct files for the printers.

Sabo, Eric · Guest

Rodney,
I would have to agree that Win2003 has been very stable. We have over
250+ print queues on our cluster. Only a handful on clients are
experiencing this problem. It seems like the printer drivers are not
getting completely to the client from the server.

thanks!

Rodney R. Fournier [MVP] · Guest

I would also look for common configurations between the XP's that giving you
a hard time. Service Pack, third party drivers, hardware updates, bios,
firmware, Windows Updates, etc. Next compare that config to working XP
machines.

msconfig the machines too, it's a very handy tool that a lot of people
forget about - services and startup is VERY important :)

Keep us posted!

Cheers,

Rod

MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
http://www.nw-america.com - Clustering Website
http://msmvps.com/clustering - Blog
http://www.clusterhelp.com - Cluster Training

Sabo, Eric · Guest

We still are having problems, we have it narrowed down to the HP Laserjet
4200, 4345, 4250 printers causing the problems. It seems like everytime
that the client goes to print it gets a Event ID: 20 - it seems like this
warning it tries to upgrade all the printer drivers. We tried the latest
drivers from HP. I cannot find anything on this event ID: 20. It seems
like it is just dropping the printer queue from the client all the time for
some reason.

terosaur · Joined: 10 Nov 2005 Posts: 1

We also expereinced this issue when we had to forcefully take our Printer Resource group offline during a 2003 SP1 install attempt.

It affected the same printers. I can tell you how we fixed it on a client by client basis. We never determined how it was being caused or a real solution cause we are moving our print off the cluster! Smile

The symptoms are messages like "unable to connect to printer" and various Page fault/exception errors when trying to print or view the printer's properties on the user's workstation. Re-installing the printer doesn't appear to fix it either. (Although it can be worth trying after the following steps have been attempted),

The following steps have been successful for us in the past:

**************************
1. Have the user close ALL programs and any open Explorer windows before you perform the following steps.

2. From your own Domain accessible desktop:
a. Click Start -> Run
b. Type: \\printerresourcename and click 'OK'
c. Double-click 'Printers and Faxes'
d. Right-click the printer queue with the problem and click 'Properties'
e. Click on the 'Ports' tab
f. Don't change anything!
g. Simply click OK'.

3. Now have the user open the properties for the same printer under his own Printers and Faxes.
a. Click on the 'Ports' tab
b. Don't change anything!
c. Simply click OK'.
d. Have the user go back into the printer properties and Print a Test Page.

4. If that doesn't resolve the problem:
a. Go back to the printer's properties on \\printerresourcename and click on ALL tabs and click OK.
b. Have user click on ALL tabs for the same printer on their workstation.

5. If co-workers are having this same problem with the same printer queue, rebooting after the steps have been performed may resolve it for them, but the above steps may need to be performed for their workstation as well.
***********************

As silly as it sounds, it solved the problem for approximately 15 users and it never came back for them.

Sabo, Eric · Guest

I thought this was only happening in my environment.

Can anyone from Microsoft give us a reason to why this is happening? I am
about at that point also, removing my printers from my cluster.

jonesi · Joined: 22 Nov 2005 Posts: 1

I have EXACTLY the same problem with the same models of printers. i.e. Clients are WinXP SP2, while the Cluster is Server 2003 SP1

Symtoms are:
-Intermittently unable to print a test page (get an immediate error dialog)
-Print jobs intermittently fail in the print queue, with no specific error number.
-Other model of HP printers are fine with the same clients and cluster.

Debugging/workarounds I've tried so far:
- Installed hotfix KB842304 on the cluster
- Checked speed/duplex on the printer and switch for mismatch
- Tried 4 different print drivers incl PCL 5e and 6
- Upgraded printer firmware
- Tried LPR as well as RAW printing
- Captured network traffic between the cluster & printer - observed some retransmitted packets
- Disabled all unused protocols on the printer
- Configured printer to report errors to a Syslog server. Printer reports consistently that an error has been reset, but nothing more specific.
- Tried different n/w cabling and different switch ports
- No errors reported in the EventLogs of clients or server.

Have tried to escalate to HP without success. Other people have reported the same problem on their support forum, but HP have closed the discussion thread. I'm not impressed with their response at all.

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