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Another LPR Problem for NT Server 4.0
As I mentioned in Reader to Reader: "NT Print Server Fix" (January 2000), Windows NT Server 4.0 has had problems as a print server. For example, users report that their print jobs just sit in the queue and don't print. When I investigated the Application log of an NT print server that had this problem, I uncovered the following entry:
Event ID 2004: Printer RAW on host <IP address
of printer> is rejecting our request. Will retry until
it accepts the request or the job is cancelled by the user.
This entry is only a warning message. To temporarily correct the problem, I reset the printer's power.
Later, I discovered a fix in the Microsoft article "Spooler Service LPR Monitor Leaks Memory with Each Event 2004 Error" (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q223/7/91.asp). The fix is an updated Line Print Remote (LPR) monitor. After I obtained and applied this fix, users no longer experienced hung print jobs.
—David Capeci
david_capeci@rt1solutions.com
Setting Services' Startup Order
In Reader to Reader: "Startup Sequencer," October 1999, Paul Bruesch provides a solution to a services startup-sequence problem. I work for a software development company, and we have also experienced problems with the order in which Windows NT starts services. A problem occurred in which the server application that my company wrote (called Service 1) was starting before the SQL Executive service.
To solve this problem, I used regedt32 to add the DependOnService subkey of type REG_MULTI_SZ to the Service1 subkey of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSetServices Registry key. Then, I added SQL Executive as the service that Service1 depends on.
In the DependOnService string, you must use the registered service name, which isn't usually the name that the Control Panel Services applet displays. To find a service's registered service name, look in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Services Registry key.
—Matthew W. Haynes
matth@mass-it.com
Tin-Pinned PPGA Cards
If your system uses PPGA cards and displays strange symptoms such as power problems, system freeze ups, and ghost reboots, the card's tin (i.e., silver-colored) pins might be the culprit. The tin oxidizes over time, which results in contact problems. If you replace tin-pinned PPGA cards with gold-pinned cards, the problems will disappear.
—Melissa Wise
mwise@the-lair.com
Free Remote Control Software
I recently discovered AT&T Laboratories' platform-independent, free remote control software, Virtual Network Computing (VNC). This program is small and simple, and you can run the Win32 viewer (which is about 150KB) directly from a 3.5" disk. The server-side installation takes only about 1 minute to set up and configure. You can display a desktop running on a Linux machine, on a PC, on a Solaris machine, or on several other architectures. For more information and to download this product, go to http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/index.html.
—Ryan Hunter
rph@jps.net