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Win2K printing affects PC response

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by compappserv

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I've recently upgraded 5 PCs to Win2000 Pro. We've noticed a substantial impact on our interactive application when also printing to the dot matrix printer attached to the PC. The application requires rapid entry of data, but we are seeing unacceptable delays between entry on the keyboard and the appearance of the info on the screen. We did not experience this problem under Win98 or Win95.

The PCs consist of 300, 350, and 400 speed processors and 3 of them have 64MB of memory and the other two have 128MB.

Any ideas on how to solve this problem?
Is the solution more memory or ending non-essential Windows services or ?????

If you suggest ending non-essential Windows services, can you point me to a resource that will explain the function of each service so that I know which ones it is safe to stop?

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

2 replies

by rpwinfree

Two thoughts here -

Since Windows 2000 (and NT) handle memory management and multi-tasking significantly differently from 95 & 98, you may be experiencing this slowdown as a result of trying to run your particular application while printing. This is especially true if the application is a 16-bit or DOS program.

You should certainly increase the amount of physical memory in the PCs. 128MB is okay, but 256MB is event better. If possible, put in a total of 512MB. Win 2K really likes memory, so the more the better.

Bob Winfree

by compappserv

Yes, the application is in fact a 16-bit app.
Sounds like upgrading it may be one answer, in addition to adding more memory.
Thanks for your input !!

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