M175Nw PCL XL errors

[CScotty]

When try to print to my M175NW from a win 8.1 64 bit desktop, I get a PCL XL error messages e.g.

Error: llegalTag

File Name Kernel.C

Lne Number: 1921

or  

Error: llegalOpertorSequence

File Name Kernel.C

Lne Number: 1854

or

Error: ExtractData

File Name sheetraster.c

Lne Number: 874

I have two other computers that share this printer. The problem is confined to the one desktop mentioned above. Only this desktop used wired ethernet to the printer, the others are WiFi.

What I have tried:

(1) Power Cycle printer

(2) Restart Computer

(3) Unistall and re-install printer drivers & reboot

(4) ReBoot Ethernet hub

(5) Change printer to use WiFi inststead of wired

(6) Updated firmware in printer

(7) Changed driver setting to 'data optimized for text and vector.

Now I'm out of ideas and hungery for more:)

[dansdaduk]

If the error is repeatable (i.e. exactly the same when reprinting the same document, using the same driver, to the same device), then it is likely that it is caused by a driver (or driver settings) fault.

There may be a more up-to-date driver available, or (depending on the printer model) you may perhaps be able to switch to a driver using a different Page Description Language (i.e. PCL5 or PostScript instead of PCL6 (the 'marketting' name for the PCL XL PDL)).

If the error(s) is/are random, they are much more likely to be the result of intermittent corruptions of the generated print stream between the workstation and the device (check cables, ports, switches, etc.).

With earlier generations of LaserJet printer, the format of the PCL XL error was slightly different (and conformed to the published language specification); e.g.:

PCL XL Error
  Subsystem: Kernel
  Error:     IllegalOperatorSequence
  Operator:  BeginPage
  Position:  173

 With this information, it was possible to compare a (repeatable) error with an analysis of a print stream (captured using the 'print to file' option), and (sometimes) work out what was wrong with the operator at the given position (which indicated the count of operators up to and including the erroneous one), and hence (perhaps) to lead to a workaround.

With the current generation  of printers, and the revised error message format, the File Name and Line Number values are only meaningful if you have access to the firmware source code (i.e. HP and/or whoever they sub-contract to write the firmware).

[CScotty]

HI dansdaduk,

Thank  you for taking the time to respond. I believe I have already tried all the things you mention (see original post) but allow me to comment, for clarity:

"There may be a more up-to-date driver available,"

- I already installed the latest driver (and firmware)

"..intermittent corruptions of the generated print stream between the workstation and the device (check cables, ports, switches, etc.)."

-I tried WiFi instead of wired, reboor hub etc. In any case the would be likely to affect all computers, not just one.

"..the format of the PCL XL error"

Noted - not very useful w/o the source code. I think it might be called 'progress' 😉

The only other bit of info  is that this started happen after the latest Win 8.1 update but I'm a little wary of throwing that out... post hoc ergo prompter hoc.

There is no doubt the PCL stream is invalid.

We can be 100% confident it's not the printer.

We can 99.9% confident it's not the networling infrastructure.

The finger of suspicion points to the Win 8.1 desktop - but what? Has a new driver been rolled ut recently?  How about trying an older one?

[dansdaduk]

>> ... this started happen after the latest Win 8.1 update ...

Which would perhaps seem to imply a driver fault, especially if it is repeatable (i.e. same error every time you reprint the same document). I've no idea if any drivers have been updated recently.

You might (or might not!) be able to obtain some more evidence if you did capture a typical (small, sanitised data) print job (using the 'print to file' option), then analyse the resultant .prn file, using the PRN File Analyse tool in the PCL Paraphernalia application, available via http://www.pclparaphernalia.eu 

It won't tell you what operator or attribute might be erroneous, but the analysis might (in conjunction with the error message details that you know the same document causes) yield some clues. 

[CScotty · Accepted solution]

Again, I really appreciate the response.

What you suggest is a good strategy for narrowing this down.   Sadly, the 'print to file' option is no longer available as in the HP print widget so I am unable to test. Or at least as far as I can see.

The date of the Windows update was 13th March 2015, just about when this happened.

I did find a Universal PCL6 driver dated Dec 2014 on the HP site here:http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/public/readIndex?sp4ts.oid=3271558&swLangOid=8&swEnvOid=4132 and i tried that. No differrence:(

Looking at the driver info

Driver Name: PrintQueue.inf
Class Guid: {1ED2BBF9-11F0-4084-B21F-AD83A8E6DCDC}
Driver Date: 06/21/2006
Driver Version: 6.3.9600.16384
Driver Provider: Microsoft
Driver Section: NO_DRV_LOCAL
Driver Rank: 0x1
Matching Device Id: PRINTENUM\LocalPrintQueue
Outranked Drivers: oem1.inf:usbprint\hewlett-packardhp_la16ce:00200002 prnhpcl3.inf:hewlett-packardhp_la16ce:00FF0003 c_swdevice.inf:SWD\GenericRaw:00FF3001
Device Updated: false

It reads to me that it's using a MS supplied driver from 2006 i.e there has been no update to it recently. I do not know why the just installed driver does not show up. That's worrying....

Getting really deperate, I tried the PostScript driver(same link as above).  When I print, aside from it being painfully slow at a full minute just to find the printer, I run into a new set of print errors, postscript type things. To me this is saying the data is getting corrupted before it hits the network by some Windows process, most likely.  I uninstalled that as it didn't help.

Well, what sits between the driver and the ethernet cable? The firewall! I disabled that. No joy. Next I disabed the Antivrius (AVG). Problem solved! Enable it - problem returns. Disbaled and I'm O.K.

I did a quick Google and I see people are starting to complain https://support.avg.com/answers?id=906b00000004lmHAAQ

So there you have it.  AVG was updated about the same time.  AVG is not on the other computers.  Thanks AVG.  Goodbye and good riddance.   I'll  go with MS's built in protection from now on....

[dansdaduk]

>> ... the 'print to file' option is no longer available as in the HP print widget ...

Certain applications (e.g. Word) tend to use their own Print dialogue, so some options may not be present.

e.g. Word 2013 on Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit system:

[dansdaduk]

Anyway, I applaud your perseverence in getting to the bottom of the problem.

Unusual though - I wouldn't have thought that anti-virus applications would modify data being sent over ethernet between workstation and peripheral. 

[CScotty]

"Unusual though - I wouldn't have thought that anti-virus applications would modify data being sent over ethernet between workstation and peripheral. "

Agreed. I was a bit surprised too, but there you go.  Maybe a side effect.

Thx for the tip on 'print to file'.  I guess none of the applications I was testing with have the feature and I don't have MS Word.  

Anyway thanks for helping.  People like you make the world a better place.

[pbremer]

Thank you for figuring this out. I spent days reinstalling drivers when all I had to do was disable AVG!

[flib]

Thank you very much!!

I spent a week to figure out what happened to some PC in my company. AVG is the problem!

I just removed AVG from one PC and now it prints again without problem!