printing nightmare

[krishubby]

I have been running win XP for 3 years,loved the stability(finally).Added Samsung laser printer 1 year ago.Worked prfect for 8 months,then every time you would try to print,it would reboot computer.Re-installed winXp and now it just shuts windows down!I added no new hardware or software around the time the problem started and have no clue on this.I have good,not great computer experiance,but this is beyond everyone I have spoken to.Please help me....Gary

 

[Mike2002]

I'd try to plug it into a new usb port, try a new cable, and plugging it into a new computer to see if the problems continue. It sounds like possibly the printer is malfunctioning and causing the computer to restart somehow.

 

[oynaz]

Yep. Sounds like a defective USB port or printer.

 

[JustaGeek]

Reset your printer. HP recommends unplugging it for 15 min or more - don't know Samsung.

If that doesn't work - RMA the printer.

It has the 1 year warranty, right...?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: krishubby
I have been running win XP for 3 years,loved the stability(finally).Added Samsung laser printer 1 year ago.Worked prfect for 8 months,then every time you would try to print,it would reboot computer.Re-installed winXp and now it just shuts windows down!I added no new hardware or software around the time the problem started and have no clue on this.I have good,not great computer experiance,but this is beyond everyone I have spoken to.Please help me....Gary

Look in c:\windows\minidumps - are there files there, roughly corresponding to the shutdown times? If in doubt, find out - print something, then (assumedly) crash, then reboot, then look and see if a new file exists in that directory.

If so, let us know.

 

[krishubby]

I can't seem to find"minidumps"folder...am I missing something?Also,have unplugged unit and no better.Tried 2 other usb ports to no avail and also new cable for printer.Thanks to everyone for this help!!!

 

[RebateMonger]

As dclive notes, try to get memory dumps from when the PC reboots itself.

/System Properties/Advanced/Startup and Recovery/System Failure: Wirte an Event to the System Log and Write a Small Mmeory Dump (64KB) to the hard drive.

Do you have plenty of hard drive space on your System Drive?

If you have another printer, it wouldn't hurt to try it and see what happens.