Printer slows computer to a crawl

[ShaggyDogg]

Whenever I print anything, My computer slows to a crawl. It takes forever to open documents, programs or surf the net. What causes this and how to I correct it? I have a HP deskjet 712c. I have a PIII 800Mhz with 256M Ram. Any ideas?

 

[Daemon_UK]

Yeah, get the BELKIN Parallel to USB connector.... Works for me

 

[ShaggyDogg]

So it's the parallel port that is slowing down my system then? How will the usb cable speed things up?

 

[Tomek]

it should decrease the length of that time that the slowdown occurs

 

[ShaggyDogg]

Can someone explain to me WHY this slowdown happens and how a USB connection makes it any better?

 

[ShaggyDogg]

Bump

 

[ShaggyDogg]

el-bump-o

 

[Kazi]

I have a HP DeskJet 612C and when ever I print, same thing oh well
-Kazi

 

[BlueApple]

Could the amount of RAM the printer has have anything to do with it?

 

[oldfart]

It's an HP thing. I had an Epson connected with a parallel port, no problems with slowdowns. I got fed up with the clogged print heads and got an HP 970. The first time I printed, I couldn't believe it. My PC was so slow the mouse curser would barely move. Totally unusable. I checked around and found it to be a common complaint. I switched to USB and it fixed the problem completely. If your HP has a USB port, switch to it. If not, maybe try the latest drivers to see if it helps.

 

[NateSLC]

I just hooked my Epson 777 up to USB instead of parallel.

I printed an Adobe Illustrator file that completely bogged down my system yesterday (couldn't switch between apps without waiting forever). Now there is a very minimal response lag.

I used the exact same print settings.

ECP parallel may have more bandwidth than USB, but it certainly doesn't show it. Must have something to do with the ISA bus.

All I can say is that this printer is no longer parallel on my system.

 

[zephyrprime]

Yo. I had the same problem with an epson 500. I also noticed that processor usage would jump to 100% while I was printing. This happened with both the Epson drivers and Windows 2000 default drivers. My theory for why this occurred is that stupid windows used programmed IO for the parallel port. So, I figured that if windows were to used interrupt driven IO instead, things should be a lot better.

Have I lost you let?

Anyway, to use interrupt driven io instead of programmed io, do this:

Go into your bios and make sure that your parallel port is assigned an IRQ. While you're at it, make sure the parallel port is set to ECP or ECP/EPP mode.
Now go into windows->controll panel->device manager. Go to the properties for your parallel port. Make sure that it is set to always use an interrupt.

I'm using windows XP right now and I don't really remember if it's possible to do this in windows 9x or 2k but it's worth a look. In any event, it worked for me in XP.

Switching to USB like some of these previous posters said would also work.

 

[XeonTux]

most printers these days are sorta like winmodems...what should be done by the printer is being done by your processor.

 

[ShaggyDogg]

Thanks for the replies. I tried this

<< Go into your bios and make sure that your parallel port is assigned an IRQ. While you're at it, make sure the parallel port is set to ECP or ECP/EPP mode. >>

and my computer was already set up this way.
I guess I'll have to try and get a parallel to usb adapter to try and speed things up.

 

[KrispyKremer]

I too was surprised at the difference USB made when printing. It went from tapping my fingers or going away and doing something else while the printer did it's thing (using the parallel connection) to seeing the % reach 100 within seconds using USB.

 

[ShaggyDogg]

Well, I finally broke down and bought the Belkin parallel to Usb cable. I saw it at Best Buy for $65 a couple of weeks ago, but wasn't gonna pay that on the chance it might help. I found one on Ebay (brand new but no box or drivers) for $12. Got it in the mail today. Hooked it up and downloaded/installed the driver from Belkin and the result is.........AMAZING! I can't believe the difference. It is just like I am not printing at all. I can multi-task and open any file I want with no perceptable slowdown at all!!!! This is the way it should be. Thanks for the great tip! You guys always come through for me.

 

[Davegod]

just to show the reverse, (and hope for some tips of course ) i have a ELSA USB modem and get similar symptoms (slows to a crawl, hard to move mouse) during the initial connection and then occasionally, seemingly at random, during the connection. And i'm trying to swap it for a USR that uses the com port.