OS 9.2.2 freezes when printing to ethernet printer

[Macinjoe]

G4 powermac freezes in os 9 when i print any file that contains any larger graphics. printer info on hp 5si says that i have 20 megs installed, but only 2.7 megs available. any ideas? please help

[Buzz]

How much RAM/Free Space does the G4 have?

[Macinjoe]

How much RAM/Free Space does the G4 have?
i have 512 megs of ram, but i also have a stick of 64 and another of 128 that i can install. virtual memory is off. i also have a printer that is attached by scsi and another printer on usb, these work fine.:dizzy:

[Big Jim]

i have 512 megs of ram, but i also have a stick of 64 and another of 128 that i can install. virtual memory is off. i also have a printer that is attached by scsi and another printer on usb, these work fine.:dizzy:

Well the 512MB memory is adequate, but your Mac should take either 1Gb or 2GB max and putting in more would be beneficial.
But to resolve your problem we still need to know how big the HD is and how much free space is left.

[Macinjoe]

one hd (OS 9.2.2) is 19 gigs with 10 gig free and the other (OS X.3) is 37 gigs with 29 gigs left

[Big Jim]

OK Macinjoe,
that seems alright, so my first guess would to allow VM for that printer, but have you tried printing the same thing in OS X (assuming the printer works in OS X) I must say, I'm no expert on OS 9 though.

[Macinjoe]

hard to tell in os x cause most of my printing is done from quark 4 and i'm not that aquinted with os x. when i try to print from OS X i get a appletalk not supported message. i had VM turned on before and that did not seem to make a difference. a little more background on problem... this didn't happen until we got hit by lightning one day and blow out most of our ethernet cards (computers and printers) and a G3, since then we have replaced all ethernet cards. the built in ethernet for the G4 does not work, i had to install a D-Link DFE-530tx PCI ethernet card in slot 4. The HP and Canon work fine for the PC but the mac is the most important one that i need to get working. i really appreciate the help you guys are spending on me. thank you

[Big Jim]

Alright, thanks for the background info.
Let's look at this from the first post again, you try to print a "large File" and the printer says you can only use 2.7Mb of the 20Mb and OS 9 freezes because it can't get the printer to co'operate. Right?
I'm guessing this 20Mb is actualy in the Printer? And was this printer connected to USB or Ethernet to a Mac when the Lightning struck?

[Macinjoe]

big Jim,
20 mbs in printer, but only 2.7 available. HP was connect to ethernet before lightning and since had it's jetdirect card replaced. i use a lot of scanned tiff files (8.5 x 11 1200dpi). i have no problem sending these files to my kimosetter printer (platemaker), which has a RIP and is connected though SCSI, but i need to be able to print a B/W proof as for what i see on my screen is not as good quality as what i am printing.

[Big Jim]

Have you tried the obvious, such as the ethernet cable and the printer settings in OS 9, I assume something in printer setup would get broke simply because the ethernet address is now different on the Mac.

:sad: I'm sorry but I don't know enough about OS 9 to help further with that.

The only realy constructive thing I can say is, try another printer to temporarily replace the non working one, while you continue to troubleshoot it.

:hmm: There must be someone here who knows OS 9, any takers?

[Macinjoe]

Big Jim,
Thank you for a least trying. i have been using the oki printer while troubleshooting, but toner for that is expensive comparated to the HP
always open for suggestions - macinjoe

[Big Jim]

Re: Oki Carts, found some on eBay if it helps any.

http://tinyurl.com/e3bju

[Buzz]

Xpress 4... so are you actually running OS9 or the classic emulation through OSX? That may make the difference. "Classic" isn't the same as booting into OS9. And after the lightning strike did you verify your systems for other issues? Replacing the ethernet cards and substituting a PCI card may mean that the default OS installation of networking tools may not be configured correctly.

Assuming you are booting into OS9 and not working via "Classic", can you boot with the extensions manager set to the Base Mac OS extension set and print? Xpress doesn't need anything more than the base extensions (hell you can run Xpress 4 off of a zip disk).

[Macinjoe]

Buzz,
i'm actually running OS 9. base extensions did the same thing (i had to turn on one extension extra, the extension for my ethernet card). I know everyone says that macs don't get infected with viruses and spyware, but my mac has hesitation and the screen flickers a couple of times during the start up screen. Could that be some indication of a problem with the system? the first extension symbol to show up on the screen after that happens is the two arrows (i assume that is my ethernet extension), should i maybe try a different pci slot for the ethernet card (in slot D now)?
macinjoe

[Buzz]

Since it's new hardware have you tried the obvious, zapping PRAM and rebuilding desktop? Often zapping PRAM with new hard ware will clear odd issues. Command-option-P-R on boot, wait to hear the start up chime 5 times then let go of the keys. OS9 often had a few flickers or hesitations on boot, it's not an indicator of anything specifically wrong unless there's a major hesitation right before a specific extension loads. The arrows are indeed ethernet.

[Macinjoe]

how do i rebuild desktop (all computer knowledge is self-taught, trail and error)? I did the command-opt-p-r and now when i boot it looks for a floppy first (blinking floppy with ? mark on it), then boots from hard drive.i think i might be in over my head on trying to fix this. what is a type 2 error?
macinjoe

[Buzz]

Okay.... that's actually helpful Macinjoe. Type 2 errors are memory based but not critical. It does sound as though the Mac needs a little TLC. First... go to Control Panels > Startup Disk and click the boot volume. Then close the control panel. That should get rid of the blinking ? at start up. Then reboot and hold down command-option until you see the dialog asking if you want to rebuild the desktop.

Type 2 generally means that the Mac tried to access a part of RAM that just isn't there. zapping the PRAM and rebuilding the desktop generally help quite a bit with that error.

[Macinjoe]

Scott,
I hold down command-option for a while and nothing happens. for about how long do i have to hold them down after everything starts up.
macinjoe - thanks for all the advice!

[Buzz]

You need to hold the keys down until the Finder loads.... so it may take a while.

[Macinjoe]

held down keys for about fifteen minutes..... still nothing happens
macinjoe

[Buzz]

hmmm.. well that's not good. The dialog should present itself right when you see the desktop load. Are you certain you're holding command (Apple) and option? I've never seen desktop rebuilding fail when the proper keys are pressed.

At this point I'd be breaking out my Norton Utilities disk to boot off of and check the system. Norton Utilities for OS9 or earlier will help with many issues. For OSX it's a nightmare.

[Macinjoe]

yes i am holding apple-option down. i guess i'll probably have to blow it away and start fresh, just hate having to reload everything. oh well. thanks for all the help!!
macinjoe ? "always learning!"