I hope this isn’t a redundant question but is anyone familiar with the “Windows was unable to print the test page” error? This occurs when I am trying to install HP printers, specifically the 4000 and 8000 series, on Windows 98 workstation in a Novell 5.1 environment. I have tried deleting ports and re-adding them, uninstalling printers and re-installing, trying the latest drivers off the web, etc. Once in a while, I would get lucky and the printer would install fine, but none of these ‘solution’ worked on a steady basis. After about 2 months of pulling my hair out I discovered the problem. The Win.ini file contained truncated paths in at least one of the five places where printers are referenced. For example:
rse_hp5si_r07_09_q.chicago.general_growth
becomes
rse_hp5si_r07_09_q.ch
When I add the rest of the path, everything is fine. Does anyone have a clue what causes this? If it is an issue of the length of the network path, why would it work most of the time and not others? I admit, our network is far from optimal so there may be something at play but I am stumped as to what would mess with Win.ini. I appreciate anyone’s thoughts on this matter. Thanks!
Dale