Patch-ID# 104254-06 Keywords: network printing connection pc-nfspro 2.0 LPR Win95 off-line Synopsis: PC-NFSpro 2.0: PCNFSPRO 2.0 network printing problem under Win95 Date: Feb/27/97 Solaris Release: SunOS Release: Unbundled Product: PC-NFSpro Unbundled Release: 2.0 Relevant Architectures: PC BugId's fixed with this patch: 1247584 Changes incorporated in this version: Patches accumulated and obsoleted by this patch: 104254-02 Patches which conflict with this patch: Patches required with this patch: Obsoleted by: Files included with this patch: nfswnet.drv suncli.inf Problem Description: the following PC-NFSpro 2.0 / Win95 network printing problem: The PC is connected to a remote printer. The printer occasionally go "off-line". Patch Installation Instructions: This patch is packaged as a self-extracting compressed file (10425406.exe). It must be installed from Windows or Windows95. The setup program backs up the original file(s). It then installs the new file(s) and a patch uninstall utility. To install, download 10425406.exe to a temporary directory on the PC. In Windows95, select "Run" from the "Start" menu. Enter the path and patch filename (Example: c:\temp\10425406) then select "OK". In Windows 3.1x, select "Run" from the Program Manager "File" menu. Enter the path and patch filename (Example: c:\temp\10425406) then select "OK". The patch will uncompress and start the setup program automatically. Follow the setup program prompts to complete the patch installation. Restart Windows or Windows95. Patch Removal Instructions: In Windows95, click "Start". Then select "Programs", "Patch 104254-06" and click on "uninstallSHIELD". In Windows 3.1x, open the "Patch 104254-06" icon in Program Manager and double click on "uninstallSHIELD". Restart Windows or Windows95. Installation Notes: All drive letter and directory name references are Windows defaults. If you have installed Windows or the patch file on a different drive, or in a different directory, substitute your drive and directory names in the example commands above. Patch Notes: BACKGROUND The Windows 95 / PC-NFSpro printing problem is in fact a family of problems arising from a number of factors. In some scenarios printers which ostensibly are connected via the PC-NFSpro network software to a Windows 95 PC are stuck in an off-line state, with the Windows printing system telling the user that it cannot connect to the network printer in question. We have also found what we believe to be a bug in the Windows '95 printing subsystem. It is a problem of synchronization where, in the startup of some Windows sessions, the print spooler (SPOOL32) is launched before our network driver is loaded and its APIs are available. This results in the Win '95 spooling/printing subsystem getting into a state where any network printer connection which was not available during the startup is treated as permanently unavailable for the rest of that Windows session, even if the connection is restored later on by our network driver. Some of these scenarios involved bugs in our network driver which we have been able to fix in this patch or by a combination of patch and recovery procedures. It is also very important to configure the PC-NFSpro 2.0 printers under '95 by following the recommended steps in the exact sequence described. Verify that the patch HAS installed correctly - There have been cases where the patched nfswnet.drv didn't get copied over the old. The patched one should look like: nfswnet.drv 297,520 02-13-97 Configure the printer to be available for every user: In PC-NFSpro2.0 Configuration open Printing service dialog box and enable the option for "Every user". Save and restart Windows. To Set Up a Printer in PC-NFSpro with Windows 95 1. Click the Windows 95 Start button, point to Settings, and then click Printers. 2. Click the right mouse button in the Printers window to display a menu. 3. Click Capture Printer Port. The Capture Printer Port dialog box opens. 4. Click PC-NFSpro. The PC-NFSpro - Network Printer Connections dialog box opens. 5. Type the print server and printer queue name and click Connect to connect the printer. The Printer Connection Options dialog box opens. 6. Click OK to accept the default options for connecting to the printer. The PC-NFSpro Network Printer Connections dialog box opens, and the new printer is listed under Current Printer Connections. 7. Click Close to close the Network Printer Connections dialog box. To Install and Set Up the Printer Driver 8. Click the Windows 95 Start button, point to Settings, and then click Printers. 9. Click Add Printers. The Add Printer Wizard starts. 10. Click Next to begin installing the printer in Windows 95. The Add Printer Wizard asks how this printer is attached to your computer. 11. Select Local Printer (do not select Network printer) and click Next to continue. 12. Select the Printer manufacturer and model. Then click Next to continue. 13 Select the Printer you just connected from the available ports listed and then click Next to continue. 14. Type the printer name. 15. Print a test page and click Finish. NOTE: It is essential that the printer connection be made first (via PC-NFSpro ogin/Logout program OR steps 1-6), then the printer added with the Win95 Add Printer Wizard. Otherwise, Windows is confused about which print provider to call to handle a given printer port. Also, make sure that the same network queue is not connected via more than one LPT port. This can also confuse the Windows print spooler. This can also confuse the Windows print spooler. Printer Configuration Recovery ------------------------------ Occasional problems: 1. Printers will sometimes go off-line for legitimate reasons. a) CAUSES: the server has crashed, the print service has been taken down, network problems have made the server unreachable, etc. When one of these happens, Windows suspends its calls into our network driver for printing activities, and so there is no automatic mechanism for the detection of when the printer comes back on-line. b) CORRECTIVE MEASURES: Intervene by toggling the "Work Off-line" check-mark in the menu. If at this point the remote host is reachable and able to handle printing requests, the PC-NFSpro network driver will return a successful result code, and Windows will remove the "Work Off-line" check-mark. If the network conditions which caused the off-line status have not changed, the attempt to remove the "Work Off-line" check-mark will continue to fail. 3. Reboot twice when printer goes off-line. On the first re-boot, do not touch the printing setup; just shut the computer down and restart it. This clears certain flags in the Registry. Chronic problems: On a PC which has been experiencing chronic difficulty with PC-NFSpro printing, it is best to restore a "clean slate" configuration first, and then add the remote printers. Follow these steps: 1. Install the appropriate PC-NFSpro network driver patch. 2. Using the PC-NFSpro Login/Logout program, disconnect from all PC-NFSpro network printers. 3. Using the Windows95 Printers control panel, remove all network printers. Make a note of the names of each printer being deleted. If, in the course of doing this, Windows asks you whether to delete some files that it says are no longer needed, you may respond "No". 4. Restart Windows. 5. Using the Windows95 Registry Editor (REGEDIT), check for the existence of any unwanted Registry entries. (If these entries are not present, proceed to step 7.) a) *HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Printers: Under this key there may be values having the same names as those of the network printers just removed in step #3 above. Delete these values. b) HKCU\Network\Persistent: Under this key there may be subkeys named "LPT1", "LPT2", etc., which may have been associated with captured PC-NFSpro printer ports. Remove any of these LPTx subkeys which were associated with PC-NFSpro printer ports. c) *HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Ports: Also under this key there may be subkeys named "LPT1", "LPT2", etc., which may have been associated with captured PC-NFSpro printer ports. Remove any of these LPTx subkeys which were associated with PC-NFSpro printer ports. d) HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers: Under this key there may be subkeys having the same names as those of the network printers just removed in step #3 above. Remove these subkeys. 6. Shutdown, then restart Windows95. 7. Connect network printers, and add to Windows95 Printer control panel per instructions. * HKCU = My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER * HKLM = My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE