Software Troubleshooting Checklist

Software Troubleshooting Checklist

The lp scheduler is the program in charge of spooling your files to the printer, and it is invoked whenever you use the lp print command. The scheduler can be in a number of states, and each printer registered with lp can be in a number of states as well.

To check on the complete status of the lp system, type:

lpstat -t

This gives you a complete description of the status of lp. You may also want to examine the contents of the file /var/spool/lp/log. Use the information you find to answer the following questions:

Is your printer registered with lp?
If you do not see the name of your printer in the list of information produced by lpstat, then you must register your printer with lp.
Is the printer enabled?
If your printer is not enabled, the lpstat listing contains this line:

printer yourprinter disabled since...
In order to enable the printer, type:

enable yourprinter
lp sometimes disables a printer automatically if it is unable to send a file to a print server, so a disabled printer often indicates a hardware problem, such as a host that is not communicating with the network.
Is the printer accepting requests?
If the printer is not accepting requests, the lpstat listing contains this line:

yourprinter not accepting requests since...
You must use the accept command for that printer destination. Become the superuser (with su) and type:

/usr/lib/accept yourprinter
Is the lp scheduler running?
If the scheduler is not running, the lpstat listing contains the message:

scheduler is not running
To restart the lp scheduler, become superuser (with su) and type:

/usr/lib/lpsched
Did you specify the right printer?
If your system has more than one printer, and you wish to send a job to a printer other than the default, remember to use the -d option:

lp -dotherprinter

Troubleshooting Network Printers

If you are having trouble with a printer you are accessing over a network, check the status of the lp scheduler on your workstation the print server's host system.

Emergency Measures

If none of the above procedures work, there are several "last resort" procedures:

Stop the lp scheduler and then restart it. As root, type the following sequence of commands:
/usr/lib/lpshut
Then kill any jobs running as lp. You can identify these processes with the command:

ps -fu lp

Then type the command:

/usr/lib/lpsched
Remove the offending printer destination from the lp scheduler, and then register it again. Before you can do this you must either cancel any print requests going to the printer or move them to another print destination (if you have more than one).
As an absolute last resort, remove all printers from the lp system, reboot the computer, and register them all once again.

Troubleshooting the BSD lpr Spooling System

If your print request does not make it to the queue, then:

Check for error messages.
Double-check the command that you entered.
Try submitting the /etc/group file to the queue.

The file you submitted may not be in the proper format for the print server to print your request.

If your print request makes it to the queue and never gets to the print server, then:

Do you have the print server system's IP address and hostname in the /etc/hosts file?
Does the print server system name match the name in the /etc/hosts file? Do they match the hostname of the print server system?
Did you get this error message? Waiting for remote queue to be enabled.
This message usually means that your hostname is not in the print server system's /etc/hosts.equiv file. If your print request disappears from the queue, and doesn't print or prints incorrect information, then:
1. Become root and enter the commands:
  /usr/etc/lpc stop lp (or your printername)
  lpr /etc/group
  cd /usr/spool/lpd (or your spool directory)
  ls -l
  Your system should return something similar to:
  
  -rw-rw---- 1 root lp 69 Aug 23 14:02 cfA117tls
  -rw-rw---- 1 root lp 227 Aug 23 14:02 dfA117tls
  -rwxr----- 1 root lp 0 Aug 23 14:01 lock
  -rw-rw-r-- 1 root lp 25 Aug 23 14:46 status
2. Check the contents of the control file with the following command:
  cat cfA117tls
  Your system should return something similar to:
  
  Htls H the hostname that sent the print request
  Proot P the person who sent the request
  Jgroup J the jobname
  Ctls C class/hostname
  Lroot L the person who sent the request
  fdfA117tls f name of the file to print
  UdfA117tls U name of the file to remove after printing
  N/etc/group N the original file name
3. Check the copy of the print file.
  It is recommend that you use the more command just in case your test file is not as short as the /etc/group file. The df file should look exactly like the file you attempted to print. In this case, the file dfA117tls should be exactly the same as the /etc/group file.
  
  more dfA117tls
  The system should return something similar to:
  
  sys::0:root,bin,sys,adm
  root::0:root
  daemon::1:root,daemon
  bin::2:root,bin,daemon
  adm::3:root,adm,daemon
  mail::4:root
  uucp::5:uucp
  rje::8:rje,shqer
  lp::9:
  nuucp::10:nuucp
  user::20:
  other::995:
  demos:*:997:
  guest:*:998:
  Now that you have verified that the request is properly spooling on the local system, check the print server system. First, you may need to contact the System Administrator of the print server system. You need the root password, and once you enter the stop command on that system, no print requests are printed. Instead, they remain in the queue. Make sure that there are no requests in the queue that are currently printing.
4. On the print server system, log in as root and enter the command:
  /usr/etc/lpc stop lp
5. On the local system, enter the command:
  /usr/etc/lpc start lp
6. On the print server system, cd to the spool directory.
  If you do not know where the spool directory is, use the cat or more command with the /etc/printcap file to look at what is set in the sd: variable.
7. On the print server system (after step 6), enter the following command:
  ls -l
  The print server system should return something similar to:
  
  -rw-r----x 1 root 4 Aug 15 10:27 .seq
  -rw-rw---- 1 root 69 Aug 23 14:02 cfA117tls.csd.sgi.com
  -rw-rw---- 1 root 227 Aug 23 14:02 dfA117tls
  -rwxr------ 1 root 0 Aug 23 14:01 lock
  -rw-rw-r-- 1 root 25 Aug 23 14:46 status
8. Check the contents of the control file.
  cat cfA117tls.csd.sgi.com
  The print server system should return something similar to:
  
  Htls H the hostname that sent the print request
  Proot P the person who sent the request
  Jgroup J the jobname
  Ctls C class/hostname
  Lroot L the person who sent the request
  fdfA117tls f name of the file to print
  UdfA117tls U name of the file to remove after printing
  N/etc/group N the original file name
9. Examine the df* file by entering the following command:
  more dfA117tls
  The system should return something similar to:
  
  sys::0:root,bin,sys,adm
  root::0:root
  daemon::1:root,daemon
  bin::2:root,bin,daemon
  adm::3:root,adm,daemon
  mail::4:root
  uucp::5:uucp
  rje::8:rje,shqer
  lp::9:
  nuucp::10:nuucp
  user::20:
  other::995:
  demos:*:997:
  guest:*:998:
  The df file should look exactly like the file you attempted to print. In this case, the print server system's dfA117tls file should be exactly the same as the dfA117tls file that was on your system.
10. On the print server system, enter the following command:
  /usr/etc/lpc start lp
  Your file should now print on the printer. It should look exactly like the output of the more command. If it doesn't then contact the System Administrator of the print server system.