Printer Virus?

[islandadmin]

Hello All,
I've got an issue where several of my HP printers are printing jobs over and over without end until I turn the printer off.

I've got 9 HP printers of various models on my network and so far 4 of these have been affected, including a brand new HP LaserJet 2015dn. The printers are all attached to my Windows SBS 2003 server and are shared through the network.

When this issue happens I go into the "Printers and Faxes" menu and I open up the printer in question and the job that is printing repeatedly is not there. I've even watched the job from start to finish and I see the job spool, leave the spooler just fine and go to the printer where it starts printing over and over so it appears that it's a printer issue and not a network issue, however now that I've had 4 printers with the same issue I'm not so sure.

Of course, it could just be a big coincidence that several of my printers are having issues with their vaunted JetDirect cards. Could be.

I spoke with HP Tech support about this when my 2015dn started doing this (it was the first to have this issue) and after resetting the JetDirect card as well as a couple of other trouble-shooting steps they ended up replacing the printer. So far the new one has not had this issue (knock on wood!). Now I have a LaserJet 4200dn and two LaserJet 2300n that have this issue. Also, the issue happens off and on and not all of the time.

Very weird, I know.

Anyone have any idea what's going on?

Thanks,
John

 

[Michael52x]

In the case of the 2015, it is a host based unit.
this may be an issue with the server drivers for it.
The 4200 and 2200's could just have a user doing multiple copies, and not changing things back. Are any users installing the driver on their PC's?
Using any UPS's? Power re-cycles could affect things.
Check the size of the jobs in the spool. check users apps for macros, and or special print commands.

"Impatience will reward you with dissatisfaction" RMS Cosmics'97

 

[islandadmin]

With the 2015 you could be correct. The 2015 that was having the issue has since been replaced and I made sure the new one is on the latest drivers and the latest firmware and so far no issues.

With the other printers I've checked the user settings, which appear to be fine, and I've even done the printing from their stations myself and I get the same problems. What's even stranger is that it appears that each affected printer does the issue with certain programs only. The programs in question are proprietary; quotes and invoicing type programs. And the printers respond differently depending on the station printing to it.

I double checked that no users have the driers on their PC this morning so that's not an issue. None of the stations in question nor the printers in question are on a UPS, just surge protectors, and none of the users use macros or other print commands.

I'm calling HP this morning to see about getting some replacement JetDirect cards. All of the printers in question use the same one (615n) so we'll see if that makes a difference once installed.

Thanks for the response, Michael.

-John

 

[gbaughma]

You might just want to check the printers themselves. If memory serves me, you can set the number of copies right on the printer. If someone messed with that....



Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Michael52x]

Ah,,,,,the notorious 615! A firmware upgrade on this card will fix it. Use WebJet Admin to download, and update.

"Impatience will reward you with dissatisfaction" RMS Cosmics'97

 

[islandadmin]

gbaughma,
I double checked on one of the printers and none of the settings on that level have been changed; and besides, the issue only happens with certian applications and not with every print job. I've also checked the default settings in the program print options and no multiples have been set there either. Good point though.

Michael,
You know, I've tried to firmware upgrades to the printers in question and they stall at the tail-end of the process. That's probably just another sign that the cards are having issues. You know, I thought Web JetAdmin is hardware. Is this a software utility you're talking about?