fom2@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Francis Oisin McGuinness) (05/24/91)
(Please excuse this if you're reading it twice: I'm
not absolutely sure whether this is a hardware/software issue.)
One of my colleagues has an Apple Laserwriter (the original) connected
through its serial port to a PC, with the recommended settings.
It has exhibited the following behaviour, and does it when connected
to a different PC, or to a Unix box.
Short files sent over the serial line get printed OK, but longer
files produce some sort of error, usually a message
that seems to relate to buffer overflow, resulting in most of the job flushing.
They are primarily interested in TeX output, and the driver they have
(to translate dvi files to ps, then to download the ps) came with an
oldish version of PcTeX, and insists on downloading a very large
font description that dies halfway through the job. This preloading
program also apparently rewrites the proms, which seems to me to be
a rather crazy sort of behaviour. (After all, the manual claims
this only works 10K times before death ensues.)
I assumed at first there was some sort of Xon/XOff protocol problem,
but the LaserWriter is sending back the right things. We also
changed cables, computers etc., and the problem persists.
I have had no trouble with a similar vintage machine connected to
a DECstation (except for memory overflows on very complex pages)
so I assume it is specific to their printer.
At the moment I suspect there is some sort of buffer parameter
(does this make sense?) that has been corrupted hopelessly
in the printer, and am hoping that this is the only problem.
My questions for netland are:
(a) If this is a parameter problem, what Postscript code should
be sent to interrogate the printer and/or fix the problem?
(b) If it is not a Postscript problem, does anyone
have any suggestions for software/hardware to diagnose
and fix the problem?
(c) Failing (a) and (b), are there any good repair services that
know more about LaserWriters than just how to stop smudges?
As a possible work-around,
I'm planning to give them a more intelligent dvi-to-ps driver
(that called dvitps, by Stephan Bechtolsheim)
in the hopes that this will help them out.
Thanks a bunch!
Reply by email to: om@math.columbia.edu
Oisin McGuinness
Systems Manager
Math Dept
Columbia University NY NY 10027
(212)-854-2642