Linux/CUPS and Windoze handle printing in quite different ways so it may not be the driver. I think Linux/CUPS convert most jobs to PostScript and then to the printer's native language. That takes time and processing power but it may also take more memory. Maybe the printer's memory is being filled, then those pages are printed, then the printer seems to wait/stop/bog while it's memory gets filled up again with the next part of the job???? One reason I say this is that the "bog" always happens on a page boundary. I'm half guessing but maybe some else can use this to come up with the real answer. If you have the manual for the printer or can download it, maybe you can find out more precisely what the "blinky data transmission lights" are telling you. rpgoldman at real-time.com wrote: >>>>>>"Rick" == Rick Meyerhoff <rick at eworld3.net> writes: > > > Rick> Robert P. Goldman wrote: > >> Does anyone have any suggestions about debugging cups? I have a > > >> Samsung printer and I find that cups bogs down depressingly often. > > Rick> What do you mean by "bogs down"? Please be more specific. > > >> Everything just goes to sleep in the middle of a print job, often > > Rick> Ditto for "goes to sleep". > > I get no blinky "data" lights on the printer, and nothing comes out. > > >> after printing just the first page. But then, when I restart cups > >> (this is Mandrake, so it's /etc/rc.d/init.d/cups restart), everything > >> comes back. > > Rick> Ditto for "comes back". CUPS has a web interface which may be more > Rick> useful and provide more info. > > The blinky data transmission lights come back on, and the print job > resumes where it left off. > > This always happens on a page boundary. I.e., it finishes printing a > page and then stops. > > >> > >> I was just hoping someone might be able to suggest where to begin. > >> I.e., should I look for some common factor in the ps that's going to > >> the printer? Is there some way to tell what state the system's in > > Rick> If cups "bogs down" on certain documents but not others then > Rick> I might suspect postscript. I sorta doubt it's a postscript > Rick> problem though. > > I haven't found anything systematic... > > >> when it bogs (there's no visible data interchange with the printer; > >> there are entries still in the queue)? I'm willing to work at it; I > >> just don't know where to start. > > Rick> The 'top' command might tell you who's busy. We also need to > Rick> know more about your set up: what kind of printer is it? is > Rick> it connected to a computer or right on the network? do you > Rick> have machines with multiple OS's accessing the printer? do > Rick> they all behave the same? > > It's a Samsung ML-1210 laser printer. It's directly connected to my > machine, through a parallel port. > > I do have machines with multiple OS's accessing the printer: one > windows and a second Mandrake 9.1. They all behave the same, AFAICT. > > Is there any way to peer into the internal state of the printer and > drivers? I have blundered around in the CUPS web interface, but > didn't stumble over anything useful. But maybe I'm not using the > right part fo the interface... > > Thanks, > > R > > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > http://www.mn-linux.org tclug-list at mn-linux.org > https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list > > -- Eric (Rick) Meyerhoff rick at eworld3.net 952-929-1659 _______________________________________________ TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota http://www.mn-linux.org tclug-list at mn-linux.org https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list