Printers going offline randomly

[Gregitx]

Strange issue at a clients site
They have four Konica MFP’s that are all on the network plus a Brother Laser, Kyocera MFP and a HP Plotter.
Two of the Konica’s are the same model C454e both these printers are having an issue with going offline after a print job – randomly – but both at the same time.
The printers can still be pinged with no issues just you can’t print or access their web configuration page

When the above printers have the issue an older unit then has connection issues and drops off the network completely – not able to ping etc

Strangely all other printers continue to work with no issues.

The printer techs have come and they are able to plug in via direct network connection and all prints fine, connect back to the network still offline.

What we have done so far:
Computers were printing direct so have set the printers on the server and shared. (this is the way the printer tech wanted them, had been working fine with previous config for three years)
Gone to each workstation and deleted the printers and re-installed running from the server with the latest drivers.
Moved the printers to each network switch which made no difference.
Put them on a separate switch no difference
Have replaced the main switch which feeds the other three switches no difference.
Have scanned all servers and workstation for Virus / Malware etc

The first time it did this we restarted the server (even though everyone was printing direct) and this got them going again but this has not worked since then

The weird thing is usually they come back on-line during the night and are fine for a couple of days then offline again

When you restart the print spooler they come on-line for a couple of minutes then off again

Tried turning off snmp on the printer driver and they worked for 5 days and then started having the same issue



Any Thoughts ??

[qbert69]

Strange issue at a clients site
They have four Konica MFP’s that are all on the network plus a Brother Laser, Kyocera MFP and a HP Plotter.
Two of the Konica’s are the same model C454e both these printers are having an issue with going offline after a print job – randomly – but both at the same time.
The printers can still be pinged with no issues just you can’t print or access their web configuration page

When the above printers have the issue an older unit then has connection issues and drops off the network completely – not able to ping etc

Strangely all other printers continue to work with no issues.

The printer techs have come and they are able to plug in via direct network connection and all prints fine, connect back to the network still offline.

What we have done so far:
Computers were printing direct so have set the printers on the server and shared. (this is the way the printer tech wanted them, had been working fine with previous config for three years)
Gone to each workstation and deleted the printers and re-installed running from the server with the latest drivers.
Moved the printers to each network switch which made no difference.
Put them on a separate switch no difference
Have replaced the main switch which feeds the other three switches no difference.
Have scanned all servers and workstation for Virus / Malware etc

The first time it did this we restarted the server (even though everyone was printing direct) and this got them going again but this has not worked since then

The weird thing is usually they come back on-line during the night and are fine for a couple of days then offline again

When you restart the print spooler they come on-line for a couple of minutes then off again

Tried turning off snmp on the printer driver and they worked for 5 days and then started having the same issue



Any Thoughts ??

What type of "port" are you using???-- IP (static)?...Hostname?...WSD?

WSD is going to be the LEAST reliable!

Hostname is good since that will not change and should be unique to each machine...works well if your switch/router has the proper DNS and supports a "plug-and-play" type environment.

IP Address--SHOULD be unique to each device!...unplug each device individually and ping the ip on the network to see if there is any other device that "accidentally" has that IP.

What type of network hardware are you using???....Cisco has problems with an issue known as "link flapping"....If the managed switch/router cannot negotiate at a particular link speed, it will shut off that ethernet port at the switch. One way I've had this be resolved is to put a simple 5-port switch in line where the machine is situated before the wire goes into the wall...this seems to fix the link problem!

GOOD LUCK!



PS--SNMP...can be a pain sometimes!...disable at machine (MFP) and in the print driver port settings...this may fix the "offline" issue too!

PPS--Watch out for Microsoft trying to be "helpful"...especially with Windows 8 &10...it will scan your network for devices and install a driver which is a "class" driver...meaning if it finds a Ricoh/Savin machine, it will install a "Ricoh Class" driver machine which is not specific to the machine. Also, if it is a "Pro" version of Windows, say Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit, you may have "print management" program which allows "driver isolation" so you don't have any weird driver interactions.

[blackcat4866]

I had a few Kyocera machines in an industrial environment. At 5:30 AM when people started showing up for work, we had a very measurable power sag, You could see power events throughout the day, then around 3:00 PM the power would clean up as people started heading home. It was later pinned down specifically to an electric crane. The machines would fall off the network around 5:30 AM each morning, then usually would come back online by themselves around 11:00 AM.

In the same building, we had one Kyocera MFP that would stop printing around 7:00 AM and resume printing around 4:00 PM each day like clockwork. I disconnected the printer cable, and pinged, and wouldn't you know, there was a laptop hard-set to the same IP address. This guy would bring in his personal laptop to work. When it was On, the printer wouldn't print. I used a network scanner software to pin down the make, MAC address, and IP of the offending laptop, and passed that data along to the companies IT.

Now, specific to Konica Minolta, you might check to see that Sleep Mode is disabled on the C454e. Sleep Mode combined with Account Track leads to logic lockups on the MFP. Sometimes it won't take the Account Track ID on the screen. Sometimes it won't take the Account Track ID from the driver. Sometimes the MFP will not accept the CE Password to enter service mode. In all cases, just rebooting the device brings it back, for a while.
=^..^=

[qbert69]

I had a few Kyocera machines in an industrial environment. At 5:30 AM when people started showing up for work, we had a very measurable power sag, You could see power events throughout the day, then around 3:00 PM the power would clean up as people started heading home. It was later pinned down specifically to an electric crane. The machines would fall off the network around 5:30 AM each morning, then usually would come back online by themselves around 11:00 AM.

In the same building, we had one Kyocera MFP that would stop printing around 7:00 AM and resume printing around 4:00 PM each day like clockwork. I disconnected the printer cable, and pinged, and wouldn't you know, there was a laptop hard-set to the same IP address. This guy would bring in his personal laptop to work. When it was On, the printer wouldn't print. I used a network scanner software to pin down the make, MAC address, and IP of the offending laptop, and passed that data along to the companies IT.

Now, specific to Konica Minolta, you might check to see that Sleep Mode is disabled on the C454e. Sleep Mode combined with Account Track leads to logic lockups on the MFP. Sometimes it won't take the Account Track ID on the screen. Sometimes it won't take the Account Track ID from the driver. Sometimes the MFP will not accept the CE Password to enter service mode. In all cases, just rebooting the device brings it back, for a while.
=^..^=

Apparently at the "crane situation", the folks didn't have a UPS hooked up to their networking equipment!....DOH!!!

...and the laptop....that's a "good one"! I had one where a Kyocera was on the network with a static IP which worked intermittently....come to find out, someone had placed (after I installed the Kyocera!) a little canon wireless printer on their desktop which got assigned a DHCP address was the same as the static!....come to find out, their DNS server wasn't "savvy" enough to recognize the conflict and avoid the issue!...and it was intermittent!....AGGRAVATING!