Possible Software Conflict Problem

Now that I have spent almost 2 weeks dealing with e-mail and phone tech support, it is time to round up the REAL computer experts for this printer problem I am having.

I'll try to make this as short as possible and still give you all the facts.

I have a new Lexmark X63 All-In-One Printer which is 4 months old. Everything seemed to be working fine when I first set it up. It prints great. It copys and scans great. But, only when I use the main printer by using the buttons. When I try to use the software program that came with it (the control panel feature), I am getting an error message that says, IMAGE DATABLOCK COULD NOT BE READ . Per tech support, I have cleaned the nozzles, cleaned the cartridges (this doesn't really matter as it prints documents fine from my computer and doing a copy/print from the main unit), uninstalled and reinstalled the driver 4 times. We have assessed that there isn't a problem with the ports or my computer (compaq, win98 1st addition), so we think it's the software. I even downloaded an up to date driver and it still didn't fix the problem. Our latest assessment is that there could be a conflict between software programs. Like I mentioned before, the control panel was working when I first set it up. Since that time I have installed a pinball game and a cookbook program. I uninstalled them today, thinking that maybe they could be causing this conflict (I did a reboot after each action). No go. The only other thing that I recently installed was an upgrade to AdAware. I can't think of any other changes I have made to my system or computer that might be causing a conflict with the printer software. I'm not sure where else to look or how I should go about checking which software on my computer might be causing this problem, IF it really is a software conflict. Can someone give me a few more clues or hints on what to do?

Rats! I didn't mean to make this so long, but I wanted to make sure you had all the facts so you wouldn't tell me things to do that I may have already done.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

Just a wild stab but I'd try uninstalling it completely and then going back in the same way you initially did it. Merely updating the drivers won't correct any auxillary software problems and I suspect the Control Panel feature software works independantly and uses it's own dll's and the whole nine yards.

Printer are difficult beasts when they get bent out of shape. I suspect in a case like yours that a dll has been replaced by some other software you installed and it's hard to reverse that action sometimes. Perhaps it would help if tech support could give you a list of the dll's that the software installs and their versions, so you could check them out for a match.

Good luck.

 

Did you happen to check the printer cable to make sure it was not loose? If you have extra printer cable I give that a try too.

 

Panda,

Pretty much the same thing happened with my scanner awhile back. All of a sudden the computer couldn't find my scanner. I had to completely uninstall it, Registry & all & re-install it.

Also, an additional suggestion about the dll's would be, if you have WinRar, you can view any and all folders, & files, including CAB files on any CD. You can also extract any file you wish, even from within a CAB file with WinRar. Win Zip won't do those sort of things. WinRar is a mighty handy Zip tool indeed.

Deloris

 

Zephyr

Good point. I remember the tech guy saying something about reinstalling the printer after I deleted the other software. I haven't done that yet. Forgot. Maybe that is what I need to do. I'll do it within the next few days and get back with you on the results.

Russ

The cable is good. That isn't the problem. When I loaded the driver from the disk and plugged the cable in (when it told me to) it found the printer ok and continued with the install. My USB port is in the front of the tower and it sits tight. So does the one connected to the printer. The tech did mention, though, that maybe I need a VIA chip update for the ports since my computer is 3 years old. He wasn't sure. He says I can go to VIATECH.COM and check for an update for that chip #. I haven't tried that yet. I'm going to do the uninstall/reinstall first and take it from there. Thanks for your tip, though.

 

If you are using 98SE with a AMD 350 or over with a VIA chipset and have problems with USB check this out. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q240075 USB Devices May Not Work in Windows 98 Second Edition

 

I have a HP932C that WAS on USB with Win98 on the old machine and ME on the new one.

About every other day I kept either losing the printer completely or it would work from some places and not others.

I finally got discusted and daisy chained through the Scanner from the Parallel port and so far NO problems.

Also some printers have ( mine does ) different sets of drivers for USB and Parallel. The drivers also seem to be Windows Version specific.

The above also applys to today. Tomorrow may be a different story.

BillyBob

 

Sad to say, but after uninstalling and reinstalling, it's still giving me that error message. The next time I contact Lexmark I will ask them about the DLL list. Good point. I just sent a letter to Compaq, just in case there really is a port problem that I am not aware of. I've never used them before. My old printer (Epson) plugged in the back of the tower and my ports are in the front. And, like I mentioned before, it did work ok when I tested it the first time.

I have Win98 1st Edition. I don't think that link will help me, but I will check it out just for kicks. You never know.

I'm not having any problems printing from my computer. It makes cards ok and prints documents. It's just the Control Program that won't work. That is why I'm thinking it's not really a port problem.

I'll keep you all posted as this sad saga plays out.

I don't know how much more of this I can take. I just CAN'T afford a new computer right now and I really like how the printer works otherwise.

Thanks for all the tips and help, so far.

 

Talk about passing the buck........Here's Compaq's answer to my question:

"Thank you for writing. I'm sorry for the problem you are experiencing.

It is clear from your inquiry that the Lexmark printer connected to the system is not working. As we do not have test data for the installation and use of third party hardware in the system and Compaq does not guarantee the accuracy of the third party contact information. Your best option would be to consult
with the manufacturer of the product you have installed and determine compatibility with the system.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us."

Somehow I knew that they wouldn't have a clue. Guess it's back to phone-tech.

.......And life is slowly rolling along.

 

Panda

I have Win98 1st Edition.

Did you install the Cust Svc pack ??

USB in the original 98 is not the best without it.

Also one thing I found when the printer was on USB is that it must be powered up before you turn the PC on. ( or at least at the same time ).

I just CAN'T afford a new computer right now

I don't think that would help anyway. If you have USB ports in front, the one you have should be new enough and good enough to do the job.

The machine that I am on right now is less than a month old, running with Win98 ME and I still had problems with the printer on USB. And I also have a well known brand. ( HP )

USB was supposed to be faster. That was not so in my case. It took twice as long for stuff to start printing. It did not work as well over the LAN.

You mentioned controls. I believe you are refering to the panel where you can clean the print heads, align them, print a test page etc. And in my case check ink levels. Half of the time I did not have that either when on USB.

Some, all, or none of what I write may apply in your case. It is just things that I have run into.

BillyBob

 

Majorly Frustrated!!!

As you can tell by the caption...I am TEEEEED OFF! I called Lexmark, again, and for the second time they are telling me that it's a windows problem. They wouldn't send me a DLL list, so I can't do anything with that. They insist that I need to contact Compaq. I just sent them (Compaq) another letter asking them to walk me through a diagnostic test. I don't know how to use it and wouldn't even THINK of attempting it on my own. I would be afraid of clicking something that would REALLY change my machine.

I did a Dr. Watson and it came up with this message:

ADOBE TYPE MANAGER HAS ALTERED WINDOWS SYSTEM FILES. MODULE NAME-ATMSYS.DRV. DESCRIP.-ADOBE TYPE MANAGER. VER.-R V4.00-32S058G6NN

Could this be my problem? I sent this same info to Compaq. I'm not sure what this message means or how to go about fixing it. I have quite a few Adobe programs on my computer. It seems like every time I install something, it has one of those. Do I really need ALL of them? Would just one, like maybe the most current version, work for all programs that need it?

The printer is always on, so I guess you could say it's already powered up before I turn my computer on in the mornings. I don't think you can shut the printer off since it's always in Fax Receiving mode.

The control panel I am talking about is the COPY/SCAN CONTROL PROGRAM, not the control panel for the actual printing, which works ok. The control program is where I select to copy or copy/scan to e-mail or documents or a file.

CUSTOM SERVICE PACK....How can I find out if I have it? I seem to remember a longggg time ago, that I downloaded it, but I'm not really sure. Can you point me to the spot it might be sitting? I remember seeing it at Compaq's driver section.

I really wish I didn't have to use the USB for this printer. It's really becoming a headache!

So, this is the latest on my never-ending saga of the problem printer. I'll keep you all posted. Sighhhhhhhh.

OH! BTW....Lexmark suggested I REFORMAT my computer!!! I don't think I've reached that point yet. At least, I hope not!!!!

 

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!

You're not going to believe this!!!! I just got a reply from Compaq!!! This person wants me to UNINSTALL AND REINSTALL MY USB PORTS!!! Can you believe it???? Finally an answer I can deal with. He says the Adobe came with my printer. I do remember seeing it, but then again I don't remember seeing it when I did all those re-installs. Interesting. Ok. My project for the weekend (besides taking care of my Veteran ) is to do the USB thingy. Will be posting back, HOPEFULLY, with good news!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!

 

OH! BTW....Lexmark suggested I REFORMAT my computer!!! I don't think I've reached that point yet. At least, I hope not!!!!

AHHH !!! The old standby for " I do not know what else to do " I agree with you Panda. If no other problems, that should be the VERY LAST resort.

The Cust Svc Pack used to be available on the Windows Update site. I myself have it on CDs as I figured it was best to get it before 98 support was taken away.

I just took a peek and I see it is still availabe on the update site for 98.

Also when I click on Show Installed updates it shows Win98 Customer Service Pack as being insatalled ( on mine anyway ).

If not installed it should show anyway.

BillyBob

 

Unreal. This is like a nightmare! What have I done to deserve this?????

The USB thingy didn't work. Same error message. I replied this to them. They came back and had me change a line in msconfig. It was SYSTEM.DRV=ATMSYS.DRV to SYSTEM.DRV=SYSTEM.DRV to get rid of that Adobe driver that had changed my system file. That didn't work. Then they said to search for win.ini in the Find folder. It gave me two files. Neither one had the ADOBEKEY=ADOBEKEY.DRV in them which they wanted me to change by adding a semi-colon to the front of the line. I told them. They came back and said D ) "we have to get back to you after our TEAM accesses the problem." I wanna laugh, but finding it hard to have a sense of humor about this. I am grateful, though, that they are getting their team of experts together to battle this problem. I just hope they come up with a fix and don't tell me....can't do...so sorry...buy a new machine. LOL. It sounds like I have a driver in here somewhere that refused to let go!

Quick question, if it isn't distracting from the original thread:
While searching in my msconfig win.ini folder, I saw 2 references to my old Epson printer. Can I delete them? Would it hurt anything if I do? Does it matter that they are still listed? I don't have it any more and I deleted the driver for that one already.

So......Will keep you all posted. I just wanted to let you all know what had been done so far in case someone has a similiar problem. I hope no one EVER DOES!!!!

Thanks for hanging in there with me, everyone!

Cust. Svc. Pack-----it's installed. Thanks for the heads up on that, BillyBob. I'm glad I do have it already, as they want MONEY for the CD if I needed it!

 

I'm freaking out here!!!!! Tech came back and sent me to THIS link to do a CLEAN BOOT! Reading half way through the 12 pages that my printer printed out for me, I am lost! I understand about half of it. I'm comfortable enough making changes to my computer if they are small ones. Or, if tech on the phone walks me through changes, but this.....this is boggling my mind! They say I may have a corrupted DLL and this is the troubleshooting to hopefully fix it. They say that if this doesn't fix the problem, then I am advised to do a FULL RESTORE! There HAS to be a better way to find the problem without doing all this. Can one of you guys or gals come over to my house and do this for me???? I'll cook you a good meal and even provide the BEER! Sighhhhhhh.

Reading somewhere it said that some files will be put into a file called DISABLED STARTUP ITEMS. Just for the heck of it I looked to see what was in mine. Here is what I have: BackWeb, Event Reminder, Imation SuperDisk, Find Fast, Office Startup and Reminder cpq-40501. I know I don't need any of these at startup except I'm not sure what BACKWEB is. Just thought I would throw that in in case it's important.

So. Is there another way to check my DLLs to see if any are corrupted without doing the clean boot? I'm really sorry to bother you all with this, but I'm hoping some one out there has a better or easier way to find and fix this problem. If there isn't, then I guess I'll have to do the clean boot and PRAY I don't lose my whole computer.

Thanks again for your patience and help.

 

Panda,

Some won't agree with me on this, but it has helped me out of several messes & it won't hurt to just run it.

Do you know how to run SFC? System File Checker. If so, run it to check for corrupted files. Set it to scan for changed, or altered files in all folders & subfolders except for Fonts. Make sure it is set to "Append To Existing Log." Or to "Overwrite Existing Log." Preferably the first one.

On all files, "except" for any corrupted ones, tell it to "update verification. "

On any corrupted ones if it comes up with some corrupted ones, just tell it to ignore them for now. That way you can refer to the log file & get the exact names, versions & sizes of the files, because it will have them listed as ignored in the log file, making them easily found.

Then post back if you found any corrupted ones. Don't try to replace, or restore any of them as of yet.

Deloris.

 

Thank you, Deloris. You must have been reading my mind or peeking over my shoulder after I posted that last note.

After posting I started looking in my system tools and saw the SFC and remembered something from previous posts about it. I decided to run it. I did check for corrupted files and I did check the ignore but I don't know if I saved them to an existing log or not. In any case, I wrote each one down as it came up and here they are. These DLLs could be (SFCs words) corrupted: xenroll, MSSIGN32, CRYPTUI, CRYPTNET, CRYPTEXT, and cryptdlg. I haven't done anything yet. I sent this info to Compaq and this is what they told me:

"The corrupted DLL files that you have mentioned can be solved by running the Windows setup.exe file. A separate retail version of Microsoft Windows 98 CD is not available from Compaq. Our license agreement with Microsoft allows us only to preinstall the operating system on the hard disk drive. The Windows 98 files are located in the "C:\Windows\Options\Cabs" directory.
Alternatively you can reinstall Windows 98 from the QuickRestore CD that contains operating system, drivers and applications preinstalled in your system. In case of driver corruptions or loss of an application that came preinstalled with your Presario, you can always use the QuickRestore CD to reinstall the corrupted driver or the lost application.
All Windows files are located in C:\Windows\options\cabs directory. Executing the file SETUP.EXE which is located in this directory would start the process of Windows reinstallation. In order to execute the file SETUP.EXE, you only need to locate the file and double-click it. Follow these steps to do so:
1. Press F8 during Startup to access the Startup menu. Ignore any error messages that occur.
2. Choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu and press Enter.
3. Click Start and click Run.
4. Type c:\Windows\Options\cabs\setup.exe and press Enter.
NOTE: Performing this will not result in any loss of users data.
However, any issues by performing the above process will not be
supported by Compaq. Compaq can recommend only Full restore for reinstallation of OS. Once you reinstall the operating system, I suggest that you install the software for the printer and then connect the printer in the USB port. However, as mentioned in the previous mails, we do not have test data concerning the installation and use of third-party products in your system. Your best option would be to consult with the manufacturer of the product you wish to install and determine compatibility with your
system. Many product manufacturers maintain extensive ebsites
containing information and specifications of their products. "

Guess they want to make sure that if I blow up the computer, they aren't responsible for it!

I totally forgot that their info is already on the computer and all I need to do is extract them from the CABS. I haven't done anything yet, as you said to WAIT! I will wait. I only have 2 more days to play with this and then It'll have to wait until I get back from Niagra Falls to get fixed.

So...what is your next suggestion? And, how do I find the log from the SFC, if, indeed I did create one?

Patiently awaiting your profound suggestions and solutions.

Sorry that this page was so long this time.

 

Panda,

I know what some of those files are, but not all of them. Some of them are IE files, but the ones I don't recognize may pertain to your printer.

To view the log, open SFC, click on settings, then on View Log. Hopefully it saved one. If it didn't don't loose your list.

Personally I prefer to extract files with WinRar directly off of a CD, or get them from some pages on the Internet that I know about. They need to be exact duplicates if at all possible. Indentical name, version & size. If all of that is not possible, then identical name & size should be next. In other words get as close as possible to the existing file. If you have WinRar, it is a simple matter to view "any" files contained on a CD & extract them.

Here are some sites where scads of dll files can be found. The first one is where I downloaded 250MB of dll's. The second seems to have a few newer ones put out in 2002. The third one I don't know about, but I also included the Google search link that has even more places you can check for the files you may need. Most of the files I know about are for Windows 98 & 98SE.

http://dll.yaroslavl.ru/

http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/index.shtml

http://www.uforesources.com/dlldownload.html

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...G=Google+Search

Take a peek at these & see if you can find exact dupes of the ones you need.

I will be gone all day tomorrow, (Saturday) until probably very late tomorrow night. We may need to continure this after Niagra Falls. You probably could use a vacation from it anyway to rest your brain. When you get back, you can e-mail me from the site. We can pick back up then. I can send you gif screen captures over e-mail to show visually how I do stuff like this.

Deloris.

 

Deloris,

Niagara Falls was WONDERFUL! AWESOME! Will have to elaborate on that another time, though. Just wanted you to know that we had a great time!

Now for the nitty gritty. I can't run the SETUP.EXE as told to me by Compaq (see previous letter on it). After going to Safe Mode and typing in that phrase, I get a message that says I don't have enough conventional memory to run the program. I checked out my SETUP.TXT and got a few hints how to fix that (I ran scan and defrag---no errors on disk). I also went to the M$KB and typed in the Q# they gave me that tells me how to get more conventional memory (Q134399) and I freaked!!!! Another one of those long and involved processes. I then got to thinking (not a good idea lately! LOL). Shouldn't I be able to download those DLLs (Thanks bunches for those links!) and override the bad ones on my computer? I checked and they have those 6 that are corrupted. I did check my SFC log, but apparantly didn't save the list properly. I ended up doing a FIND/SEARCH and for each DLL it found I checked the properties and got the size and version of each. The thing is, when I want to download the DLLs from that first link you gave me, it doesn't tell me what version they are. How would I know if I had the right one? Also, how would I override the old one with the new one? Or, do I delete the old and then download the new to the correct directory (WINDOW/SYSTEM)? On that DLL page it says to run this line on the command line (assuming that is START/RUN?): WINDOWS/SYSTEM/REGSVR32.EXE then type in regsvr32_(name of dll). I'm not sure what it's saying here. Help!

Am almost at a point now where I will just run the Full install and just start with a clean machine. It hasn't been done since I bought it 3 years ago and probably would benefit from it. Just hate the thought of all those updates to redownload and upgrades and saves I have to do.

So.....I'll wait until I get a few more hints and tries and then it's START OVER TIME!

Thanks for hanging with me. Will wait for your thoughts.

(Good luck on catching your THIEF! )

 

Panda,

OK. What you will have to do is download all dll's with the same name as the corrupt ones, then right click on each one & go to properties to see what version it is & so on. If it should happen to not tell the version, at least have the same identical name & file size.

I think I remember suggesting in an earlier post that if you have WinRar which is a Zip program, you could look on your install disk first to find the dll's for the Printer, if they are among the corrupted ones. AS for the IE ones, that's another story as I forget which IE you are running. Will have to look back on that one. It is always best to check for dll's on existing disks first. If you can't do that, then the previous way of replacing them is worth a try.

Don't pay any attention to what that says on that page about how to install the dll's. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

I will be gone tomorrow night & Saturday afternoon & night.

I will check back in with you to see what you have decided to do. Fix, or start fresh. It would seem that schedules aren't exactly coinciding here.

As you said, you haven't done a fresh install since purchase. Most people will tell you it should be done once a year. Well, doggone it, I haven't had the chance to just do it because I wanted to. I always had something to happen about once a year to require it.

Having to re-download all those updates is one reason I find them, if I can, to where I can download the file & save it to disk. I save up a bunch of them & then I burn the files to a CD. That way, I have them on hand. No re-downloading. I spent hours doing that when I knew MS was pulling support for 98.

I have most of the Windows 98 updates & patches & also full copies of IE5.01SP2 & IE5.5SP2, plus the dll's to replace any corrupted ones the IE's might install. All on a CD.

An ounce of prevention, I always say.

Will send you a PM on something else, if I can make sure I have the right one.

Deloris.