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Line Printer Tips

Philip R. Moyer

The vast majority of times you send something to a printer you get output; however, sometimes the line printer, lpr, system does not function as expected. When lpr malfunctions, usually the best course of action is to inform your site specialist....but when is that you might ask. Here are some hints for dealing with the line printer programs to aid in deciding when to seek help.

Job queued; no daemon present

When lpr prints a message like, "Job queued, no daemon present" then lpr is down. This message indicates that the line printer daemon, lpd, is not operating. A way to verify that the daemon is down is to use the command "$ ps aux | egrep lpd". If after receiving this message and checking on the daemon's status, you should notify your site specialist.

lpq

You may already be familiar with the line printer queue program, lpq. This program displays queue and status information for the particular printer referenced. Lpq is invoked with the command "$ lpq -P" where is the name of the printer you are seeking information about. For example, "$ lpq -Pmsa" gives information about the printer msa.

If lpq indicates a status of "active and printing" but none of the jobs in the queue list are labeled "active" then there is probably a problem with one of the print filters or with the printer itself. As before, if this happens contact your site specialist.

Queuing job; no space on remote

Another indication of trouble with the lpr system is the status "Queuing job; no space on remote." This indicates that the remote machine, to which the printer is attached, does not have disk space available for the job. Contact your site specialist immediately if this happens.

Sending to remote

A seemingly similar message, "Sending to remote," is not an indication of trouble at all. This message simply means that the local machine is transmitting the jobs in it's printer queue to the machine that has the printer.

These problems can usually be fixed within ten or fifteen minutes of our becoming aware of them, so if you experience problems, please don't hesitate to ask the site specialist for help.

webmaster@ecn.purdue.edu

Last modified: Thursday, 30-Oct-97 16:55:25 EST

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