PRINTER SOFTWARE & SLOWDOWNS

The headline tells the story of this Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Severe system performance problems occur on a Windows Vista or Windows XP-based computer after you install HP printer software, version 11 (Microsoft KB960673)

To be honest, I don't know if I've ever seen this problem in the real world. "On a Windows Vista or Windows XP-based computer, you install the HP Customer Participation version 11 software that is included with Hewlett-Packard's new printers. After you do this, you may experience an overall slowing of your computer performance because of an error in this application."

But I know that HP has been doing a terrible job of supplying software with their printers for the last few years, so this is just an extreme example of a bigger problem. HP's installation and uninstallation programs take waaaay too long, they install useless and unrequested services to monitor registration and ink cartridge status and software updates and customer satisfaction and phases of the moon, and if you're lucky you can also print. Typically there are no options during setup to reduce the amount of clutter installed from the CD. Sometimes (but not always) there are simpler drivers on the HP web site for people willing to take manual control of the process.

The result is that I'm not too keen on HP printers lately, because the quality of the hardware doesn't matter if the software brings down your computer. It's not like HP is the only offender - I've spent hours trying to squash a nasty little Epson status monitor that slows things to a crawl if a shared printer isn't online. The biggest reason to prefer Brother printers for the last couple of years is the simplicity of their software.

Remember one of the important rules for being responsible for your computer: always do a custom install of any software and take the time to understand the options and decline items that don't apply to you (especially unrelated products included because one big company paid another big company - Google Desktop/Google Toolbar/Windows Live Toolbar/Open Office and so many more.) You won't avoid all the unnecessary stuff but you can minimize it that way.

Labels: computers, hardware, printers, software

posted by bruceb at 12/23/2008 01:29:00 AM | permalink

SBS 2008 - MIGRATION GLITCHES

Let me leave a few notes behind about some of the glitches during the migration from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008. I don't have many answers but perhaps it will help someone to know that I'm able to commiserate with them. (Loyal clients - this is not aimed at you and it won't help you get your work done. I'll be back to general interest topics next week!)

As background: I was migrating an SBS 2003 server with a very basic configuration - no ISA, no use of Sharepoint, a single NIC and external firewall, and no particular pre-existing issues.

MIGRATION WIZARD

Microsoft provides a detailed guide to the migration procedure. (Have you noticed that Microsoft's documentation has been getting better and better lately? There's much less ambiguity about what to click next - each step is described in precise and accurate detail.) The guide was great.

SBS 2008 begins a migration when a USB stick with an answer file is inserted in the new server before the SBS 2008 installation starts. Several people have reported that the USB stick has to be present when the server is turned on or SBS 2008 is likely to miss it. After installation, the first and most important item on the SBS 2008 is the "migration wizard" that leads through all the steps required to be successful.

I was about two-thirds of the way through the wizard when I took a break and installed the Server 2008 updates that were waiting. When the server restarted, the migration wizard crashed with a mysterious error that proved impossible to fix. I researched it and got nowhere. I removed a couple of the updates that conceivably might have unsettled something and got nowhere.

The wizard never came back to life. Fortunately most of its steps only lead to help files that describe the process for actually accomplishing each task by going into AD or MMC consoles or the like. I think - I think - I was able to finish the migration and cover the remaining steps without the wizard. There is still room for some surprise glitch - I'm going to cross my fingers when I demote the source server.

MAIL MIGRATION

I expected the mailbox migration to be slow but was still surprised. The Exchange 2003 mailbox store was about 25Gb after I pruned and archived as much as I could from the biggest mailboxes. The mailbox move took just about ten hours.

PUBLIC FOLDERS

I had no luck moving the public folders, and didn't really expect to, given the reports I had read. That may have been the result of a pre-existing glitch on the source server - this server, like several other of my SBS 2003 servers, throws up an error message when I try to do anything to the public folders in Exchange Server Manager. I've researched that one, too; I've removed the SSL requirement from EXADMIN in IIS, and a few other things suggested in other places, to no avail. I exported the public folders to a PST and stored them for now, since public folders were not being actively used and may not need to be implemented at all on the new server.

BACKUP

The most mysterious problem involves the backup system. The firm had been using ShadowProtect to back up to an NAS and two rotated external Maxtor hard drives. The backup built into SBS 2008 looks like it will be just fine but it does not directly back up to an NAS. I connected a Maxtor drive, formatted it, and ran the backup wizard. Hmm. Error message at the very end.

Since the message says "Cannot configure backup schedule," I started trying every scheduling option - once a day, twice a day - as well as swapping in the other (identical) hard drive, and couldn't get anywhere. I couldn't find anything in the logs at all. I got the flavor that it might be caused by the server disliking the external hard drives.

I'd like to talk to the person who thought it would be helpful to write: "If this problem persists, contact the person who provides you with technical support." It made me irritable.

ShadowProtect claims that the current version will back up SBS 2008 servers. With any luck I'll be able to install that and never know the answer to this one.

PHONE PASSCODES

This isn't a glitch, just something to warn your users about. By default, Exchange 2007 enforces a new passcode requirement on Windows Mobile phones (and iPhones) syncing with the server. Users are forced to set up a four-digit password that will be tapped in every time the phone is used. I'm sympathetic to all the reasons that this is an important security measure, but I'm also sympathetic to the desire to keep my job and not be fired by the attorneys who began flipping out immediately. It's possible to turn the requirement off in Exchange Management Console / Organization Configuration / Client Access / Windows SBS Mobile Mailbox Policy, which then allows it to be turned off on the phones. The iPhone balked and refuses to relax, even after the policy was changed, which apparently is a known glitch.

SERVER CERTIFICATE

I was determined to allow my users to continue to use the familiar URL for remote access, even though it didn't match the naming scheme preferred by SBS 2008. The email domain is www.bigfirm.com, say, and my users have been reaching RWW at www.bigfirmnet.com for years. I have a GoDaddy SSL certificate for www.bigfirmnet.com and heck, I just like it. Plus I've got migrations coming up where I know it will be difficult to work with the web hosting company to set up a subdomain and MX records for the primary domain name.

The Internet address wizard insists on getting the primary address and only allowing RWW to be reached at the same address with a prefix - remote.bigfirm.com or something like it. I had to work around that by lying to the wizard that the primary domain name was bigfirmnet.com, which (in Advanced Settings) would then let www.bigfirmnet.com be the remote access address.

When that was in place, then I could set the primary email addresses back to @bigfirm.com in Exchange Manager / Organization / Hub Transport / Email address policies / Windows SBS Email Address Policy.

ONECARE

Windows Live OneCare has been a trusted friend but it does make me a little crazy sometimes. SBS 2008 expects to get feedback from each workstation about its security status and apparently OneCare isn't set up to let that happen. So far I haven't found the firewall port or other hack that will let the workstations report in, so they're all showing in the server console as "unknown." I can't even find a definitive statement that it's possible or impossible with the standalone version of OneCare. I'm not going to install OneCare for Server so I may just not get good feedback in the console until we switch to Trend Micro. I was hoping to procrastinate on that - everyone has been used to OneCare for a long time - but change happens.

DRIVE MAPPING

Drive mapping is supposed to be accomplished in Group Policy now. I was comforted that other people online said they had trouble with it, because I couldn't make a mapped drive appear on a workstation no matter what I did in Group Policy. After a fruitless half hour of researching and trying things, I put the nice simple logon script in the folder and assigned it to everybody. I feel kind of crude, but it works.

SHARED PRINTERS

Another little headache - it was easy to install 64-bit drivers for network printers and share them from the server. At least, it was easy once I stopped clicking on the "Add printer" button and getting an "Access denied" message when it tried to set up a TCP/IP port. Right-click in the Printers folder and click on Run As Administrator / Add printer - ah, that's intuitive! Sheesh.

Out at the first workstation, I was reminded forcibly that there were no 32-bit drivers around, so I downloaded the corresponding 32-bit drivers for a few of the printers (a couple of HP Laserjets and a Toshiba copier) and went to add them on the server using Additional Drivers on the Sharing tab. The server thought that was a terrible idea - it never agreed that the 32-bit drivers corresponded with the 64-bit drivers. (I read somewhere that it was known problem with some HP drivers but I had the same epxerience with the Toshiba drivers.) So I parked the 32-bit drivers where I could get to them, went back to the workstation, and browsed to the 32-bit drivers when the workstation tried to connect to the shared printer and rejected the 64-bit drivers. Nope! The workstation also didn't agree that it was a match. It was the closest match, trust me - these were the identical 32-bit and 64-bit drivers for the same model running the same PCL level.

Fortunately, we already had reason to be running a Windows XP virtual machine on the second server with Hyper-V. I've shared all the printers from there and I bet it's rock solid.

A migration is a complex project! I think it went smoothly. These are the kind of glitches that happen constantly, every day at every level. Some of them will happen to me the next time, others will come up that are brand new. It's the nature of IT today. With luck I'll bring good instincts and a lot of experience and use them both the next time I come to your office!

Labels: computers, domains, mail, Microsoft, mobile, network, OneCare, printers, SBS, security, software

posted by bruceb at 12/05/2008 12:09:00 AM | permalink

WHAT I USE

On the assumption that my choices are endlessly fascinating to an ever-growing number of people - really, really bored people - I've added a page with details about the hardware and software that I use here at the high-tech headquarters of bruceb consulting. I'll try to keep it up to date. Heck, my computers are happy - you could do worse than follow my example in precise detail.

Click here for all the prurient details!

Labels: audio, backup, broadband, bruceb, computers, file_sharing, hardware, mobile, phone, photos, printers, SBS, security, software, video, web_services

posted by bruceb at 7/30/2008 01:02:00 AM | permalink

PRINTER CONNECTIONS

Let me give you a simplified overview of printer terms, then offer a tip that might save a few seconds someday. (This is basic stuff. If you can tell where I'm leaving things out, then this isn't for you.)

LOCAL PRINTER 

A local printer is connected to your computer with a USB cable.

• Installation: almost always, the software for a local USB printer is installed before the USB cable is attached to the computer - insert the CD or download and run the installation software for the printer before hooking it up.

NETWORK PRINTER 

This term has become ambiguous.

When you're looking at printers in the store, the term network printer means the printer is connected to the network with a CAT5 network cable; it does not use a USB cable and it is not connected directly to any computer. 

• Installation: almost always, connect the printer with a CAT5 cable to a router or switch and turn it on, then insert the printer CD in each computer. The installation software finds the printer on the network automatically.

When you're working in Windows, the term network printer is also used to refer to a shared printer - the printer is connected to another computer on the network with a USB cable, and shared so other computers can use it.

• Connecting to the shared printer from another computer: Windows XP and Vista both have wizards to add a network computer in the Printers folder, but there's another way that is frequently faster and less quirky. You'll need to know the name of the computer sharing the printer. (Click on Start, right-click on Computer, and click on Properties.)

• At your computer, click on Start / Computer and type in two backslashes followed by the name of the computer sharing the printer, like this:

• Hit Enter. If the other computer is set up correctly for sharing, you'll see the shared printer, probably along with some shared folders.
• Right-click on the printer and click Connect. You should be set up to print to the shared printer in just a few seconds. Often I find that works more reliably than using the wizards.

Labels: computers, network, printers, Vista, WinXP

posted by bruceb at 6/25/2008 12:33:00 AM | permalink

SHOPPING AT BEST BUY

Sonoma County has a serious shortage of places to buy technology. It was a little upsetting when CompUSA announced it was closing, since it had a better inventory of network equipment than anywhere else nearby for those days when things have to be bought on short notice. It's gone now. No more dealing with the obnoxious clerk that tried too hard to sell extended warranties.

When I needed a USB hub on Friday, I went into Best Buy for the first time in more than a year.

Something strange had happened.

The store was neat and well organized.

It had a reasonably wide selection of computer and technology products, and inventory was well-stocked.

It had a far better selection of software than CompUSA had carried for the last couple of years and surprisingly good selections of routers, wireless equipment, printers, and accessories. Everything was lined up on the shelves with an ample supply of each item.

It was like a different store. For years, our local Best Buy was a complete mess, in a very literal way - the shelves were disordered, inventory was unpredictable, opened packages were stuck back on the shelves with scotch tape holding them together. There was no sign of any of that this week. Did a new manager take control locally? Has the whole chain gotten some focus?

Prices were too high but that didn't surprise me - that's why I buy at Buy.com normally. There are lots of complaints online about Best Buy so this could all be cosmetic improvements for a chain that is still a pain to deal with. But cosmetics matter and I'll be happy with reasonably good odds of finding something I need.

In the past, our local Best Buy engaged in the practice of ringing up higher prices at the register than the ones posted on the shelves. It happened to me several times and I read anecdotes suggesting it happened often at Best Buy stores. It will be interesting to see if that happens again. Best Buy has horrible return policies too but those are common these days at most stores.

Maybe it was an aberration but I'm going to hope for the best.

Labels: business, computers, hardware, printers, software

posted by bruceb at 1/21/2008 12:59:00 AM | permalink

CHEAP STUFF

Printers are never as cheap as they seem, but it's hard to argue with the HP Deskjet F2110, an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier, for $34 at Wal-Mart. Now keep in mind:

1. It doesn't appear on HP's web site so it might be a stripped-down Wal-Mart exclusive.
2. It doesn't include a black ink cartridge or a USB cable so the price is a bit misleading.
3. It's probably a piece of crap.

But even when you take those things into account - well, $34 is really cheap. I fear for our landfills.

And here's a couple of deals on widescreen Dell Ultrasharp monitors - 19" for $210, 22" for $275. Pretty good prices if you feel like doing a little after-Xmas shopping for yourself.

Save $49! Dell UltraSharp 1908WFP 19-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand for Only $210!

Save $64! Dell UltraSharp 2208WFP 22-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor for Only $275!

Labels: hardware, printers

posted by bruceb at 1/10/2008 10:03:00 AM | permalink

INKJET PRINTERS ARE LYING THIEVES
You knew it was true, but finally there's a study confirming that inkjet printers are filthy, lying thieves.

According to the report, an independent lab evaluated how much ink was left in a cartridge when a printer reported that the cartridge was out of ink. Results varied by manufacturer and printer model, but on average more than half the ink was still in the cartridges when the printers said to throw them away.

Epson printers were the champs, using more than 80% of the ink before demanding replacement; HP, Canon, Brother, Lexmark all posted varying scores on the way down to the bottom position held by Kodak's EasyShare 5300, which wasted 64% of the ink in its cartridges.

There are lots more variables - ink lost to cleaning processes, the cost per page for different printer models, etc. - but the study certainly confirms our fears about the printer industry, which seems to have given up any pretense of caring about sturdy construction or economical operation.

Labels: printers

posted by bruceb at 6/20/2007 01:23:00 AM | permalink

BROTHER PRINTERS
I don't want to jinx anything, but I've actually had a couple of good experiences with printers lately. I've set up several models of Brother laser printers that look sturdy, print quickly with a minimum of fuss, and install only simple, unobtrusive software.

When my Samsung color laser printer died prematurely, I bought the Brother HL-4040CN, a brand new model that is built compactly and handles paper and envelopes in straightforward ways. Here's a review of the HL-4040CN. The Brother software detects it automatically when it's connected to the network with a CAT5 cable; it can also connect directly to a computer with a USB cable, but the network connection means it can sit off by itself and work independently of any particular computer that might be turned off or asleep. It warms up quickly (the Samsung took 3-4 minutes to print its first page) and runs quietly. It's quite a deal for $399.

One client sets up Brother HL-2040 monochrome laser printers freely for individuals to have a desktop printer even when a standalone heavy duty printer is nearby. It's frequently discounted ($64.99 after a rebate!) and works perfectly well. I've gotten a couple of Brother HL-5250DN monochrome laser printers - $249.99 for a printer that calmly spits out thirty pages per minute.

In each case, the selling point is the simple printer driver - unlike Hewlett Packard, there's not a mess of desktop icons and startup processes and status monitors and registration reminders when the setup is done.

Labels: printers

posted by bruceb at 5/24/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

NETWORK SCANNING
I have long insisted that scanners had to be tethered to a computer because it wasn't feasible to control a scanner across a network.

That began to be eroded by the floor-standing copiers that could scan sheet-fed documents at the speed of light and deposit PDFs onto a server, into a folder on a workstation, or into a hard drive built into the copier. I saw an Imagistics copier recently that had reworked its control panel to make it easy to stand at the copier and send PDF files flying all over.

Today I set up an HP OfficeJet 7410 all-in-one printer that was plugged into the network with a single Cat 5 cable. The HP software performed as advertised - it found the printer and installed drivers so each workstation can initiate a scan and either save the scan directly into a file, or dump it into a program - Acrobat to create a PDF, or an image program to create a JPG, for example. I didn't get to test it, but with luck Acrobat 8 Professional can take over the scanning process and bypass the HP software completely.

A few years ago I worked with software intended to scan across a network that failed miserably, but it looks like that's old news. I can't vouch for the printer - I still don't like HP's all-in-one software (confusing and misleading choices during installation, too many services running on the computer), and some of the reviews are critical of print quality and slow scanning speeds. Technically, though, this was a pretty impressive installation.

Labels: network, printers

posted by bruceb at 4/13/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

KODAK PRINTERS & REALITY
Kodak announced its new line of photo printers with bold promises - here's my writeup about an exciting world where photos could be printed for half the cost of materials compared to other inkjet printers and where the obnoxious profit margins on ink cartridges would finally be reined in.

That would be a nice world, but apparently we don't live there. The results of the first serious test of the Kodak printers show that not much has changed after all. Here's the writeup from the online home of Popular Photography magazine.

The magazine's tests found that the prints from the Kodak printer were only inexpensive if they were printed at "draft" quality with low color saturation. The Kodak printer could do high quality prints, using more ink and higher quality paper - which caused the cost per print to be virtually identical to the other inkjet printers on the market.

Labels: printers

posted by bruceb at 4/05/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

PRINTING OUTLOOK MESSAGE HEADERS
Two clients reported problems printing e-mail messages from Outlook 2003 - the message headers weren't printing, the part that shows Date:, To:, From: and Subject. In each case, it was erratic - some messages would print correctly, others would be missing the header info.

Apparently there's a bug in the way Outlook 2003 interacts with Internet Explorer 7 - something to do with the IE7 feature that shrinks pages so they print properly. (Have you noticed that the right side of the page isn't cut off any more on your printouts from web pages?)

Microsoft has issued a hotfix - the information about it is here. Hotfixes cannot be downloaded directly; Microsoft has a rigorous testing process before patches are made available for downloading and hotfixes have not finished that process. They're free but it takes a call to Microsoft.

If you're one of my clients and you notice this problem, call me and I'll get the hotfix to you.

Labels: mail, Outlook, printers

posted by bruceb at 3/28/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

KODAK PRINTERS
Kodak has done so many things wrong in the last ten years that it's hard to trust its judgment, but it may be redefining the printer market today and doing us all a favor.

Kodak is introducing three inkjet printers with a simple message that will resonate deeply with anyone printing photos: ink doesn't need to cost as much as printer manufacturers have been charging for the last few years. Kodak will sell replacement cartridges for $10-15 and claims that photos will cost half as much to print on the new Kodak printers. Here's an article about the Kodak EasyShare All-In-One printers.

There's a lot to learn about the quality of the printer hardware, the design (and intrusiveness) of Kodak's software, and Kodak's ability to stay competitive in the long run against well-funded competitors. I'd like to think that HP, Epson and Canon will feel some pressure to respond even if Kodak falls flat - too many consumers feel abused by the gouging on inkjet cartridges. (For one random example that a client ran into last week, go read the Amazon comments about Epson's new Stylus Photo R380, which uses premium ink cartridges that quite literally cost as much to replace as the printer purchase price and which reportedly drinks that ink like water.)

Labels: printers

posted by bruceb at 2/06/2007 09:56:00 AM | permalink

COLOR LASERS FOR SMALL OFFICES
HP's entry level color laser printer is down to three hundred dollars. The cost of printing a monochrome page on a color laser is the same as printing the same page on a monochrome laser.

Color lasers are now the preferred choice for a small office with only one printer.

Here's a review of four inexpensive color lasers, including the cheap HP Color LaserJet 1600. There are many more on the market - shop carefully and consider whether a network connection is a better choice than USB and whether a duplexer would be helpful. But don't automatically assume that color is unnecessary or too expensive!

Labels: hardware, printers

posted by bruceb at 8/02/2006 12:55:00 AM | permalink

PHOTOS AND PRINTERS
Printer prices are in free fall - down by 30% in the last few months. But here's an article going over the numbers to explain why more people are taking their camera's memory cards to Costco or getting their prints from an online service instead of reaching for the print button.

According to the article, printer manufacturers admit that the cost of a 4x6 print from your home printer is about 28 cents - and Consumer Reports says it's closer to fifty cents per print. Meanwhile, prints are ten to fifteen cents each at Costco and Sam's Club and the cheaper online services.

The best comparison from the article drives the point home: "Printers return relatively low profit margins. But the ink, ounce for ounce, is four times the cost of Krug Clos du Mesnil Champagne, which sells for around $425 a bottle. Ink is about the same price as Joy perfume, considered to be one of the more pricey fragrances, at $158 for a 2.5-ounce bottle."

Labels: hardware, photos, printers

posted by bruceb at 10/09/2005 11:19:00 PM | permalink

PRINTER DEALS
Prices on printers are in endless freefall. We're edging closer to the time when it will be cheaper to replace a printer than to replace ink cartridges.

Recent examples:

- Costco has Samsung's color laser printer, the CLP-510, for three hundred dollars. I bought last year's model of this printer last year - it's slow to warm up and print the first page but speedy after that, with good print quality and built-in duplexing. The model at Costco does not have a network adapter, so it would have to be attached directly to a computer.

- Costco also has the Epson R300 for $109, quite a good price. This is one of the printers with a built-in tray for printing directly on CDs and DVDs.

- Dell just introduced a personal laser printer for under a hundred dollars. Remarkable, eh?

Labels: printers

posted by bruceb at 7/17/2005 03:37:00 PM | permalink

PRINTER UPDATE
Printer prices keep falling. I've seen a plausible prediction that printers will come to be disposable - we'll replace the printer instead of replacing the ink cartridges individually. Even the least expensive inkjet printers can print photos that rival prints from the drugstore.

HP inkjet printers are designed inelegantly in one respect: there isn't room to install all of the possible ink cartridges at the same time. You're required to put in the appropriate cartridge for photos or text before you send a print job. They sometimes include a cute little stand for the cartridge that has to sit off to the side when it's not being used. That's not a huge deal - but why is it necessary at all? The competing printers don't put you through that.

Canon's line of Pixma printers is gorgeous, especially when they're all folded up. The Pixma iP4000 has a particularly good reputation for the price. Changing between 8 1/2 x 11 paper and 4 x 6 photo paper takes only a button click.

But Epson has a printer line with an extraordinary extra feature. The R200/R300/R320 printers do the usual gorgeous photo printing and fast text printing. But they also print full-color designs directly on CDs and DVDs. No more writing with markers, no more labels that are difficult to print correctly and hard to apply. It's simply awesome to be able to do this cheaply. Here's an extended review of the R300.

CD/DVD printing can only be done on special "inkjet-printable" blanks, slightly more expensive than regular CDRs and blank DVDs. But Costco frequently has the blanks at a reasonable price these days, and I'll bet the price drops quickly once these printers become popular. (Be careful, by the way - the ink is not water-resistant. Don't get them wet.)

For what it's worth, I bought one of the Lightscribe drives that inscribes a label on the top of expensive special disks. The disks are expensive, printing the label took 20 minutes, and the results are none too impressive. I wish I'd gotten an Epson printer instead.

Labels: printers

posted by bruceb at 6/17/2005 10:01:00 AM | permalink