Tag Archives: troubleshooting

Printers aren’t what they used to be…

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Until recently, even if you didn’t have a “network” enabled printer, you could putz around with the thing and get it to work… especially if you have a dedicated server to run it through.

Those days are over.

In the same way that the win-fax modems put the stupid in a periperal, the printers are now relying on the CPU of the host computer to run the things. This means that they need a constant connection with that host computer.

Thus, if you try to “share” it across a network, a whole host of ugly (and hard to troubleshoot) things can occur… like intermittent printing, endless spooling, and serious wait times — I’m talking up to 12 minutes to print a simple .txt file!

So, if you think that a printer you are going to buy now might EVER need to be on a network, do your research carefully and skip on over to Best Buy and New Egg and CNET for the reviews and the ratings (stars for BB, eggs for NewEgg) and read what others say about the products.

Like I just told my “social networking naysayer” father — social networking isn’t just about Twitter and Facebook… it’s about using the collective knowledge to make better choices. (He still resents that I call his time spent on NewEgg as “social networking” time — of course he’s just a lurker, he never actually leaves any reviews of his own.)

I’m wearing him down. :)

So, save yourself the headaches, stress and frustration — do the research first and don’t assume that the old “tried and true” methods will work. You can’t simply add a printer or even lock it in via TCP/IP or, set it up as a local printer by specifying the IP address and share name of the printer.

Times have changed.

Also, the drivers for Vista are not all created equal. Very few of the lower-end printers have decent drivers for Windows Vista 64-bit machines. (They do well to support standard 32-bit machines).

And before you buy, Google “problems with ________ (insert the model you plan to purchase) with __________ (the operating system(s) you plan to use) on a network.” Then read and be scared… very scared.

That just about does it for my rant’o the day. It’s late.

Running Windows XP on an eMachines T5230

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I recently added a new hard drive to my little emachines T5230 (a low-cost, high value desktop that runs Kubuntu and Ubuntu like a CHARM).

The reason for the new drive? I have a client that still needs work done on Publisher (of all things) and I cannot find an appropriate substitute for Linux-based systems. I’ll keep looking, but for now, I’m going to have a secondary Hard Drive that boots Windows XP.

I refuse to use the Windows Vista that came on the machine. In fact, I never booted the Vista. Not even once. I immediately wiped the drive and loaded up Linux. It never burped — so if you want a cool, low priced machine with lots of power for your favorite flavor of Ubuntu … this one works.

Of course, if I’m going to have XP on a hard drive, I also want to run Sims and keep my iTunes library (connected to my multi-media external drive) on the machine as well. :O)
I dread all the extra upkeep, Linux has spoiled me in the security arena.

If you have loaded up a version of XP and find that several of the drivers are missing (note the large yellow question marks when you right click on “My computer” and select “Manage” and look at the hardware devices).

Under “Other Devices” I had non-functioning status for the following:

  • Other PCI Bridge Device
  • PCI Device
  • PCI Simple Communication Controller
  • SM Bus Controller
  • Unknown Device
  • Video Controller

And, since I couldn’t get on the Internet to find the drivers I need (network needs a driver too), I had to reboot over to Linux to find the solution. (surprise, surprise)

The emachines download/support page was no help (they only offer the Vista versions).

I found the following drivers to fix the problems.

Now, my Windows hard drive is booting properly, has all the updates and all drivers are working. I’ll be doing a bit more tweaking on this dual system in the near future, but I’m much closer now!

Hope this helps others looking to solve these issues all in one place.

Linux Fix: FireFox Default Browser in Thunderbird

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I’ve been battling with the frustration of having a Thunderbird application that shuns it’s brother, Firefox, in my Kubuntu install.

Whenever I click on a link in an email, Konquer launches. I don’t like Konquer. I like Firefox. Firefox has all my cool add-ons and the tools I know. It wastes my time and frustrates me to look (in vain) for my tools before realizing that I’m staring at a Konquer window.

Setting Firefox as the default for Kubuntu didn’t work. Nothing I’ve tried before today worked. After searching high and low for some 5 months now, I finally found the answer.

Whoo-Hooo!!! Today is a GOOD day. (I’m a simple woman, it doesn’t take much to make me ecstatic.)

If you want to have Firefox launch, you have to make this change from inside Thunderbird itself in Linux: Continue reading →

Things I’ve Learned About Linux Lately

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I’m brilliant. I’ve learned so very much about Linux in the last few weeks. Every day I learn something new and exciting. For instance, I’ve learned that you don’t want to go and uninstall things you don’t personally use… or THINK that you don’t personally use.

Case in point… Just because you don’t plan to learn to program in Python doesn’t mean you can safely remove that from your list of programs in Ubuntu or Kubuntu. Continue reading →

Crashes and Burns…

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After much struggling, and much guilt about how far behind I’m falling in all my work, I finally got Kubuntu working. To be fair, much of the time was spent converting over my data and getting all my programs working. Some time was spent (ok, A LOT of time) trying to determine if I could find programs in Linux that would replace all my essential programs. The answer to that question is now a firm “maybe” — and I’m hopeful.

But this is how my life was on Friday… Continue reading →