Monday
Aug292011
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill Help!
Aug 29, 2011 Sui generis If there are any computer-literate readers out there, help! I bought a new PC over the weekend.
I appear to have this problem (although I'm using Word 2003 in Win7-64). As per the linked page, if I switch to Winword Safe Mode, the problem goes away.
The page linked suggests I have a print driver problem. However, the printer is installed on the missus's PC and I share it (it's a share rather than a network printer). Isn't the print driver on her machine then?
I'm confused...
Reader Comments (90)
I only read through the comments quickly but my opinion is that you should just buy a new network printer. Almost all printers these days, regardless of how inexpensive, have an ethernet port or even better wireless capability (i.e. put the printer wherever you want).
I am actually fairly computer literate but as such I know that what might appear to be simple problem can often turn into a large amount of frustration.
Not sure if I missed someone saying this already, but I'm guessing that your wife's PC (with the printer attached) is not 64-bit?
Jimmy Haigh has the right idea.
Back to the quill pen and illustrated manuscripts.
Just look at the trouble computers have got us into! Look at the weird ideas they have given people!!
Oops, posted too soon. Meant to add, if that is the case, go on your wife's PC, look in the Printers&Faxes settings for the printer, check the properties, and you should see a tab/option - I forget - which allows you to install additional drivers for other OSs. Install the 64-bit one on there, and it should sort things out.
Andrew,
Correct Epsom Win7 drivers here -:
http://esupport.epson-europe.com/ProductHome.aspx?lng=en-GB&data=tgU002FqCAQg2JCiMUG0WtIUDploRSO8KCNsMSenAyMYn5UU003D&tc=6
Use the EpsomNet 3.7.0
Install with printer directly attached, do test page, test document etc. If all ok then reconnect to better half's PC and test again. If you could post the results that would help.
Word 2010 (and 2007 along with all the other Office suite apps of these generations) are "productivity-minus". Please, don't even consider thinking about this option, Your Grace!
I had to break down and get Office 2007 (Pro) a few years ago, because some of my clients were using it. I refused to "contaminate" my primary working environments. So I bought a laptop that came with Vista (and subsequently upgraded to Win 7 32bit) I am still not a happy camper when I have to use the apps on that machine!
But, on a more constructive note ... in skimming through the links offered so far, I may have missed it, but I didn't notice:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/da-DK/officeitpro/thread/b96c4e94-ded6-44b8-a398-dd2e8d80e06e
Reading through the thread, while it speaks of random "crashes" rather than the slowdown you indicated you are experiencing , the culprit seems to be "WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software" - a number of people (as recently as July 2011) reported that removing all traces of this culprit solved the problem. So it might be worth doing a search for bluetooth stuff on your system, removing it and see if this solves your slowdown problem.
Failing that, I can't remember off-hand whether MS were offering different flavours of Word & Excel 2003, but it might be helpful if you could post your version [you can grab from Help->About] as well as the specific flavour of your Win 7 - 64bit (assuming that, like Win 7 32bit, it also comes in different flavours - Home, Professional and Ultimate) this may (or may not!) help us help you!
Have you looked at what else may be installed??
1) you got a new machine with win 7. It is 64 bit, you installed Office 2003 32bit (I don't remember a 64 bit)
2) did you have the problem before or after you tried to print the first time?
3) what are you actually doing when you have the problem, editing documents?
4) is anything else running. That is, you have tried it from a fresh boot with nothing else running other than the usual garbage that starts at boot? Have you looked through your startup programs to get rid of all the garbage you don't want or need that comes installed on a new system? (start/ run/ msconfig)
5) make sure that the appropriate 32 or 64 bit print driver is installed. Your system needs 64 bit, your wifes whichever matches her OS. (on her machine - start/ devices and printers/ right click printer icon/ printer properties/ sharing/ additional drivers/ make sure x64 is selected for your system and x86 if she will be sharing with 32 bit machines. this allows her machine to provide the driver instead of installing it on each machine)
7) insure you have Service Pack 1 installed and all other updates (currently latest for Win 7).
8) what virus software are you using? If Norton suggest dumping it for MS Security Essentials free or F-Prot pay. Disable it long enough to find out if it is part of the problem. Can be hard with Norton.
Drivers
http://esupport.epson-europe.com/ProductHome.aspx?lng=en-GB&data=tgU002FqCAQg2JCiMUG0WtIUDploRSO8KCNsMSenAyMYn5UU003D&tc=6
Anthony
Now it's behaving strangely. When I attach the printer it doesn't find it. If I install manually, it doesn't show up in the printers folder...
Maybe I just need to buy a new printer.
Anthony, as I was reading all the Mac fanboi drivel, I was about to suggest exactly that: get a new printer ... one which has up to date drivers for Win 7 64-bit ... printers are dirt cheap these days and you'll have saved yourself hours of frustration in the process. If it helps, I'm a sysadmin with 25 years industry experience, so this advice comes from someone who knows what it is like in the trenches solving problems.
Kuhncat
I don't think I'd tried to print before I noticed the problem.
With all the advice herein, it seems that something ought to work. Yet, Bish's solution may be the same as mine, buy a new printer. Damned Microsoft!
Bish,
Applications (off the top of my head) that open Word format on a Mac:
1) Pages
2) OpenOffice
3) NeoOffice
4) Word for Mac
Regards,
DK
P.S. Sorry: I'll stop being annoying now.
Spiny Norman,
*boggles*
Buying new hardware is "solving problems" now? There was I thinking it was massively unnecessary expenditure...
*sigh*
Guess I'll never get to overspend a massive company budget, eh...? Time to tick another dream off the list...
DK
Yer Grace!
I've been running a network here that includes at least two XP x64 machines connected to a 2003 server which functions as my print server... for a really old hp 920c..... there is a solution for this that will not involve out of pocket expenses, but spiny norman may be right. Put out the hundred quid for a Win7-x64 compatible printer, install it on your machine and both you and Her Grace will be happy. If the hundred quid is not an option, send me an e-mail and we can discuss that "get help" option that XP and later systems feature.
In your 1.11pm post You said winword is still slow when you have the printer NOT installed.
you meant printer completely removed via control panel / devices and printers ?
maybe it is time then to restart the pc and leave the printer issue aside.
winword safe mode disables lots of other things and you might just be in a situation where you run in a bug that is not fixed yet.with a new machine I wld suspect interwork problems with lots of pre activated "free" junk software.
If I had the problem i would:
+ try to get a bit more info on the problem via
-ctrl-alt-del / windows task manager /processes
-or free downloadable Microsoft sysinternals/process explorer to see if there is a process on high load in the system.
-or the event viewer
control panel / system and security / admin tools /event viewer
you can look at general event logging or specific for your application winword.
+then be sure you hv latest Windows7 SP1 indeed
control panel / system and security / system.
the 1st panel in that window is : View basic information about your system
under the copyright line you shld see :service pack 1.
If not use windows update and keep updating until sp1 is in it.
+hv the win7 system look at performance issues via:
control panel(category view)/system and security/find and fix problems/check for performance issues/next/start system configuration
(easier to find by typing "system configuration" in "search for programs" field behind the MS-icon, bottom bar far left.
you can here disable a lot of programs from system startup you maybe do not want to start and interefer with winword at all..this should go some way in what you do with winword safemode
if that does not fix i wld
+re-install the winword sw, or disable all you can in it what you do not use.
if it came installed on the machine probably a lot of things in it are included/loaded etc. Try now a very naked install.You should have 30d license keys to do so?
the problem of off the shelf windows installed computers is they include dress up programs , all kinds of free software packages, movie editors, label printing sw etc that are then pre integrated with your office and this can causes problems.
Make sure that this "Excel 2003 Office File Validation (OFV) opens workbooks slower across the network" is not the problem - kb 2570623
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2570623
win7 is quite ok btw. It has become unix by now, like all the rest.
Microsoft, like apple, does not want to call it that for obvious reasons
the advantage with the other unix implementations like Linux is it does quite a lot automatically (like looking for drivers etc) it is a lot more user friendly than Linux.
Compared to the apple unix variant it is a lot more flexible runs a myriad more hardware and software.
MSoffice is a bit more of a problem, largely due to over specification and over flexibility and license keys and all that.but other programs suffer from that as well (like adobe publishers etc). that is why it is "easier" to go for opensource program and go for the heavy weight payables when you really need the professional features.
In the future all 3 will probably offer these different flavours of the same via settings
you can see this allready in the struggle around control panel which tries to offer different views. depending on how you view CP you get more features offered..
Win 7 64 bit can be a beast, I know because I have it. However, I have a very old HP MP6 that works just fine, once I got it installed correctly.
First question -- what is the EXACT model of printer? It appears to be an Epson AL C1100 Advanced -- true -- if not what does it say on the back of the printer.
Second question -- How are you connecting it? More than likely it does not have a USB connector and there is no RS-232 plugs any more. IF you are using USB (as my HP has) things will sort it self out. IF you are using a RS-232 to USB connector, that may be a problem. So how you are connecting it is very important.
Third question -- and this is the MOST IMPORTANT -- what is the EXACT - not sorta kinda, but EXACT error message you get? Of particular interest is strange wording and funny numbers like e00010099z
Fourth question -- have you tried to use NOTEPAD or some other utility that comes with the OS to print. Use notepad to send a simple "test" printing. No use trying to debug a computer if the software you are using is broken. Use a simple test program like word to eliminate that.
If you can print with notepad and not with Word 2003 (which I use) you have a problem, but Word 2003 works just fine on my Win 7 64 system -- and I even have 2010 office running with it, which is a feat, if you are not careful.
You have my email somewhere. You can contact me off line, if you wish
I just spent 10 seconds looking and you clearly have a workable printer and such
MS says that is compatible --
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/Details.aspx?type=Hardware&p=Epson%20AcuLaser%20C1100%20Laser%20Printer&v=Epson&uid=C11C567022&pf=0&pi=2&c=Printers%20%26%20Scanners&sc=Laser%20Printers&os=32-bit
It also says that you have the correct driver in the OS. This may be a lie, but probably true.
First go to the START button then DEVICES and PRINTERS page and open it. Is your printer listed? If so, what is the state? If not listed click on "add a printer" and follow the instructions.
If it is listed, but not working, RIGHT click on the icon for the device -- Select "Trouble shoot". Let it do its thing.
Should you still have problems. You need to get the correct driver, perhaps. Remove the printer from the list if it is there and not working and re-install it with "Add a Printer" One of the options is to go look for the printer. Since I was able to install it on my system there should be no issue there.
So WHAT is the state of your printer according to the above?
Oh, do this with the system in normal mode and connected to the internet. You do want Win 7 to go find the driver it need be. And use Notepad, not Word. My bad. You can also use Wordpad for testing. It also comes with the OS
I finally found the specs for you printer. It is not sold in the US under that name, but is in the Brit speaking world. According to Epson Australia (ain't the internet wonderful!) your printer does have a parallel port and a USB-2 port. If you are NOT using the USB port, that is a mistake. Go buy a 3 meter USB 2 cable (two or three quid) from your local computer shop and use that instead. That is how I got my ancient HP MP6 working. My brother had a Brothers printer that would not work with a serial port but came up instantly with USB-2. You leave the printer un-connected, turn the computer on, log in, plug in the printer and watch. It does everything but make the tea for you. My brother knows less than you about computers and he did it no problem. So can you.
Lotsa Microsoft bashing from people with litte experience in the industry. I have been running computers since 1972 and MS stuff since 1992.
How many times has it actually been HP, Epson, Word Perfect, Corel, Novell... trying to make their drivers or software FASTER by using undocumented features that then "break" when they are dropped from the interfaces??
Y'all probably blame CO2 for warming too!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
"Back to the quill pen and illustrated manuscripts."---Mike Jackson
Those new-fangled parchment scrolls will never replace clay tablets.
"Use the EpsomNet 3.7.0..." ---Anthony
A pinch of epsom salts should get things moving again.
Lotsa jokers, but think about this. The Bishop's printer is a major investment in his real business -- he doesn't run this blog for his day job. He also needs to use MS because of his major investment in application software. He also needs a new computer and about the only things out there in the MS world is Win 7 on 64 bits. I just went through that very issue so I understand where he is.
And yes, I would buy a Mac if I didn't have $10,000 or so invested in Windows based software. But I will not buy the software again just to have a Mac. I make up for that with an major investment in AAPL. better known as iStock. Unlike iPhones and iPads, the iStock is going up and up in value.
Bish - my advice is to buy a network printer. Otherwise, even if you manage to solve the driver problem your wife's PC has to be on for you to be able to print.
btw I still run Word7 (which I think is 16 bit) as it still does everything I need and I refused to re-write all my macros when they changed to Visual Basic in Word 97. I haven't tried to install it on my Win 7 64 bit laptop yet, but it works fine on Mrs lapogus's Win7 laptop which I think is 32bit.
DK: "Buying new hardware is "solving problems" now? There was I thinking it was massively unnecessary expenditure..."
problem= can´t print; new printer solves problem for c GBP 100
problem= don´t understand how to get win 7 64 to do what I want; solution is one, two, ten, fifty weeks fulltime obsessive experimentation / internet blegging.
Depending on your opportunity costs, money is often a wiser expenditure than time.
jorgekafkazar
Those new-fangled parchment scrolls will never replace clay tablets
"I said to Wilbur and I said it to Orville: that thing will nevah, evah, get off of the ground".
Goes along with: "Television? Half Greek, half Latin. It'll never catch on!" Not quite sure which ivory tower that came from.
Your Grace, I'm wondering whether taking it back to the shop might be the answer?
I sense a lot of buyer's bias here.
It might go down and down from now on, as well.
DK, a new laser printer costs a couple of hundred bucks these days. With a warranty and technical support. Stuffing around with an old printer that doesn't have drivers doesn't make sense. Time is money mate. Anything more than 30-60 minutes of mucking about and its time to consider moving on. Now if the printer was a $20,000+ high-speed, colour, professional printing press machine then that's a whole different question, but not if its a consumer-grade B+W laser that I can replace with a 15-minute trip to the shops. Is the Bish doesn't mind spending his time, he can easily ignore me. ;)
Are you viewing documents with the Review tab live? That really slows down Word. If so, switch back to Home and your problem will disappear.
It's worth having Office Libre or OpenOffice installed if only to use when Word gets trying. I have OO just to open .docx files - the versions of Word that generate them are hideous, IMO.
Hi Mr Hill, Just come across your problem but cannot find if you fixed it or not?
(I've added my e-mail on so you can confirm my relative expertise when it comes to breaking comupters, I do it for a living so will happily give random advice out).
Have you tried switching it Off and On?
Try.
http://pastorrod.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-is-office-2007-slow.html
Bish, I'd tend to agree with Anthony Watts that mixed 64 and 32 bit is a very bad idea, but there is this note from Epson as well, which may be related -
'An update to Windows 7 64-Bit Edition has caused the network installation on the Epson product CD to not function properly. The driver files need to be updated. Instead of using the CD to install the driver, please visit www.epson.com/support and download the Drivers and Utilities Combo Driver package for your printer. '
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supAdvice.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&type=highlights¬eoid=181543
I've also had similar problems with network printing when there is a wireless link involved anywhere in the chain between the source machine and the printer.
I have suffered from a very similar problem having recently acquired a laptop with the 64 bit version of Windows 7. If it is a printer driver problem then you will need a driver for your printer which is designed for Windows 7 or possibly the 64-bit version of Vista. No driver for my colour laser printer was available. Initially I thought I had it solved by using the drivers from the same manufacturer for later printer models. However it shrank all the pages printed slightly. Ultimately it appears to have been solved by using a so-called "universal printer driver" made by the same manufacturer but not apparently designed for use with my printer. That driver could operate in a 64-bit environment and so far has performed well. However solving this problem cost a great deal more in my time than buying a new printer at the start would have done. If there is no driver for your printer available from the manufacturer or Microsoft you can experiment with drivers from similar but later models from the same manufacturer (often a new model is not that different to the one it replaces), but if that fails I would suggest a new printer or reverting to an older operating system like windows XP. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news ...
Not sure if this has been solved yet but these steps resolved a problem that I had with sharing a printer from an XP desktop to a new Win7/64 laptop. Kludgy seems to be the best description.
http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/xp-to-windows-7-printer-sharing/
Well I thought Pastor Rod giving Bishop Hill IT advice sounded like a good two Ronnies sketch, but what do I know.
Anyone think it might be a Windows Address Book Problem?
Wabmig.exe?
And to be really out in left field. Screen resolution?
If you haven't yet resolved this, have you upgraded your VIDEO driver to the latest version for your video card?