Computer crashes when send files to print

Hello,

I hope someone can solve a nagging problem we have with my daughter's PC setup. She has a 6 month old Acer (I can look up the model if it is important) desktop that is running Windows 7 64 bit. She has a Brother HL-2040 laser printer. Sometimes when she goes to print a file the computer crashes. By this I mean the computer beeps and the screen went black. The PC and monitor shut down. The PC and monitor are plugged into a small APC UPS while the printer is plugged into a separate surge protector. The printer stays on when this happens. This seems to happen whenever she tries to print a multi-page document. This problem also happened with her previous PC that was an older Dell running XP Pro. Any ideas/suggestions?

Thanks,
Chip

 

Did the old PC use the same UPS. If so, I would suspect that is where the problem lies.

Try printing without using the UPS.

 

Laser printers use a lot power when first starting up. If that UPS has weak batteries (they need to be replaced about every 3 years) or a slow response time, and if the printer is on the same circuit, then the UPS may be the problem - not able to compensate for the sag in voltage when the laser first starts (ink jets don't have this huge initial demand).

I am a HUGE advocate for using an UPS, so I hesitate to recommend by-passing it, but that may valid test. Do you know if the UPS is able to hold the computer during a power outage? That is, can you pull the plug and the computer keeps running?

 

Right. Fortunately, Chip reports the printer is on a separate surge protector. But surge protectors do nothing for sags, dips or brownouts so if it is plugged into the same circuit as the UPS, and the UPS batteries cannot support the load when the laser draws on the circuit, that might be the problem.

 

Hello everyone, I am so very sorry for not replying to all of your great ideas. I will look into your suggestion Bill. I will unplug the printer, then with the computer and monitor turned on I will unplug the UPS from the wall and see if it can keep the system running for at least 30 or so seconds. Is there any risk in running this test if no files or programs are open? I would wait until Windows is fully loaded to do this.

 

Nothing wrong with that test but it will only show if the UPS is holding the charge it will not show what happens when you try to print. From what has been described I would be surprised if the UPS is not defective.

Can you just clear up a small area of uncertainty. Does the printer draw power through the UPS or not.

I would suggest a better test, try printing without the UPS connected. If that works without any crashes then it has to be the UPS causing the problem.