[lizzeydripping]

Hi!

We have many and various problems with our network. I hope this is in the right forum...

The biggest problem we have is with the network printer. Although it is all configured correctly and has the right driver installed, seemingly at random it will decide to print from a tray other then the tray selected. This will go on for a couple of hours, sometimes days, then without warning it starts to work again. Wastes time and paper and is very frustrating - the only solution is to physically change the paper to a different tray. Default printer setting changes at random as well - sometimes on log in, sometimes just at a point during the day, and sometimes even though the right printer is showing as default, the job is sent to a different printer, although unsuccessfully - the system hangs and then tells you that there was a problem printing.

Certain settings seem to just be dropped throughout the day as well - for example, our email signature vanishes every so often and has to be readded. Macros that I have recorded also fail to run correctly - I have never successfully managed to run a new macro on this network.

Perhaps most frustrating is that the default tray for printing is the last setting that was used, so if I save a document so that if reprinted it prints on headed paper, the next blank document I open will print on letterheaded paper by default, ditto with email - I NEVER want my emails on headed paper, but it is impossible to just have outlook set to print on plain paper because apparently word is our email editor (I'd rather it wasn't, can't see how this is a benefit!).

Sometimes when I close down in the evening I get an error message stating that changes have been made which effect the normal template. This worries me though from speaking to other people, they say their networks do that too, but don't know why.

I am hoping someone out there has encountered some of these problems before and might be able to suggest a fix, as the only advice I have got from the network "support" people (who set up and configured the system) is to "try calling Microsoft".

PLEASE HELP - I have posted on many other sites with these problems and not had a single response, I am at a loss!!!

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Well the printer thing to me sounds like the wrong drivers for the wrong operating system. For example: You are using Windows 2000 professional and you have Windows XP Professional printer drivers installed on your machine, for some printers this is ok, the drivers will work, for others you will need to install drivers specific to the operating system for each different model of printer they print to or they will only kind of work, or not at all. Also your network admins may have set up what are called "printer pools". That is where the one printer is installed on a machine, but it may print to any one of a number of Identical printers that have been added to this pool. This saves waiting time when there alot of employees printing to the same printer. These "printer pools" may be configured incorrectly, this may be causing the printing to other random printers, especially if joined with the incorrect drivers. You said the correct drivers have been installed, but like I was saying earlier, they may be for the wrong operating systems. Is there different operating systems on your network, or is it a pure Windows XP net?

About your email signatures..... I'm assuming you are using a local email server for your businesses network. That sounds like an email server complication to me and unless one of the admins fixes the problem (probably by changing a few configuration settings on the server) I don't think you or I can fix this problem. I don't have much experience with macros. What are you using to record them? Is it a third party software such as "Macro Express" or maybe Office? I'm not even sure if you can record macros with any of the Microsoft Office programs.
Try reading this information from Microsoft here at this link and see if any of this relates to your network.
http://support.micro...com/kb/q187243/

I hope some of this has helped you a little, maybe the network problems do not relate to any of this at all. If I had "network admins" that did as much as these guys sound like they're doing I'd feel like this guy :mad: . It's kind of hard being stuck at the mercy of people who have the administrative priveledges to fix the problems but they don't, maybe they just don't know how..... Any "Network Administrator" positions available?
Let me know what happens with all this I'm curious now..

-=jonnyrotten=-

[-=jonnyrotten=-]

Well the printer thing to me sounds like the wrong drivers for the wrong operating system. For example: You are using Windows 2000 professional and you have Windows XP Professional printer drivers installed on your machine, for some printers this is ok, the drivers will work, for others you will need to install drivers specific to the operating system for each different model of printer they print to or they will only kind of work, or not at all. Also your network admins may have set up what are called "printer pools". That is where the one printer is installed on a machine, but it may print to any one of a number of Identical printers that have been added to this pool. This saves waiting time when there alot of employees printing to the same printer. These "printer pools" may be configured incorrectly, this may be causing the printing to other random printers, especially if joined with the incorrect drivers. You said the correct drivers have been installed, but like I was saying earlier, they may be for the wrong operating systems. Is there different operating systems on your network, or is it a pure Windows XP net?

About your email signatures..... I'm assuming you are using a local email server for your businesses network. That sounds like an email server complication to me and unless one of the admins fixes the problem (probably by changing a few configuration settings on the server) I don't think you or I can fix this problem. I don't have much experience with macros. What are you using to record them? Is it a third party software such as "Macro Express" or maybe Office? I'm not even sure if you can record macros with any of the Microsoft Office programs.
Try reading this information from Microsoft here at this link and see if any of this relates to your network.
http://support.micro...com/kb/q187243/

I hope some of this has helped you a little, maybe the network problems do not relate to any of this at all. If I had "network admins" that did as much as these guys sound like they're doing I'd feel like this guy :mad: . It's kind of hard being stuck at the mercy of people who have the administrative priveledges to fix the problems but they don't, maybe they just don't know how..... Any "Network Administrator" positions available?
Let me know what happens with all this I'm curious now..

-=jonnyrotten=-

[lizzeydripping]

Freaky problem, eh?!

We definitely have the right driver for our operating system. Will try and get back to our, ehem, "techies" re possible email server settings for the signature. Thanks for the suggestion.

With macros, to be honest, all I know is that whenever I have used any windows based system, I have always been able to record macros. I don't know a lot about them as the only macro I have ever created is simply to print two copies of the same document from different printer trays - i.e. a file copy on flimsy paper and one to send out on bond/letterhead..I suppose maybe because macros can be dangerous, our admins may have disabled this feature...but they swear they haven't. The head guy there just said "I don't know anything about macros, you'll have to sort that out yourself" so it doesn't sound like they would have known HOW to disable the function...

Anyway, if I ever make any real progress, you can be sure I'll be posting the results on every forum I can find - I can't be the only person who has ever had thsee problems as I've encountered similar problems in other firms I have worked for but never seen them fixed! Oh dear, maybe it's me causing it!!!

Thanks for your help, anyway, and I'll let you know what happens!

[-=jonnyrotten=-]

It sounds to me like you're gonna have to do the research and give the info to the admins, because they are the ones with the administrative priveledges to make the changes and most likely the network won't let you. Good luck

-=jonnyrotten=-

[Spank_Me]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=7] Oh my, where to begin....

For the network printer, first thing to do is turn it off, wait 30 seconds and restart the printer, this will clear out any problems with the memory inside the printer. Sounds stupid, but alot of times clearing the memory will help. If this happens to be a HP printer for an example, you can access the control panel on the printer, depending on your printer, make and model, you should be able to scroll through several menus, if there is a menu button and items button. If you find a option to reset factory presets, press the go button to have the printer reset itself. This will not hurt the network setup, that info is on the server.

The next thing to check is the printer that is installed on your cp, go Start - Printers and Faxes, right click your problem printer and check the properties, maybe a tray was not installed correctly when the printer queue was set up.

Now you can exit out of that and right click again, select printing properties and see if you are able to select the different trays and paper sizes that way. With luck, and a little poking around, you shoud have a happy printer. If none of this happens to work, uninstall and reinstall the printer, if this is still acting up, the guys setting up the printer queue have not done it correctly.

Macros, helpful when they work, if you network guys are doing their jobs and updating the operating systems at work, a Microsoft security update has disabled any unsigned Macros. What you can try, in Word select Tools - Macros - Security - set the function to medium, close and reopen Word, try running your Macro again to see if you are asked to allow this macro.

This snippet is from Microsoft Help:

Add a macro developer to the list of trusted publishers
1. If you haven't already done so, set the macro security level to Medium or High.
1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Under Macro Security, click Macro Security.
4. Click the Security Level tab, and then select the security level you want to use.
2. Open the file or load the add-in that contains macros certified by the macro developer that you want to add to the list.
3. In the Security Warning box, select the Always trust macros from this publisher check box.

Note If the Security Warning box does not display the Always trust macros from this publisher check box, the macros are not digitally signed (digital signature: An electronic, encryption-based, secure stamp of authentication on a macro or document. This signature confirms that the macro or document originated from the signer and has not been altered.). You cannot add this macro developer to the list of trusted sources without a digital signature.

Not sure why you would be loosing your Email sig, it is not stored on the Exchange Server, it is stored in your local profile on the workstation. If you have roaming profiles (you can log onto any cp and the desktop looks the same) the signature is stored on the network in your home folder with your profile.

You can get rid of Word as your email editor, open Outlook, go Tools - Options - Mail Format tab, and uncheck "Use Microsoft Word as you email editor". This will change some settings in Word, with using Rich Text for example, if you add an attachment to your email, it will show up in the body of the email instead of on the attachment bar.

Hope some of this helps.