HP Network Peripheral Port Monitor Software, version A.00.01 COPYRIGHT (c) HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY 1993. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 11311 Chinden Boulevard Boise, Idaho 83714 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * R E A D M E . T X T * * * * * * * * * * * * * * - Changes in version A.00.01 Version A.00.01 will work on either Windows for Workgroups version 3.1 or 3.11. The Setup program no longer automatically starts the Network applet of Control Panel. The default for MaxNumBuffers has been reduced from 15 to 9 (see Configuration parameters in SYSTEM.INI for more information). A new parameter called CloseDelay has been added that changes the amount of time the software will wait before closing the network connection (see Configuration parameters in SYSTEM.INI for more information). The status strings have been changed to match those of HP's JetPrint network printing software for Novell NetWare networks (see Status messages for details). Many new icons have been added. This has one side effect - if you upgrade from version A.00.00 to A.00.01, the icons for any current network ports will not be preserved. - Using the Microsoft DLC on Windows for Workgroups 3.11 The Microsoft DLC that is installed for the HP network printing software is a real mode (NDIS 2) protocol. This means that all other network components that talk to it, such as the network card driver, must also be NDIS 2 compatible. These type of drivers are loaded into DOS memory prior to the start of Windows. Because of this, it is not possible to use the protect mode (NDIS 3) drivers that are new to Windows for Workgroups 3.11. If the protect mode drivers were in use, a significant drop in the available DOS memory may be noticed after installing the DLC (since Windows will have replaced all NDIS 3 components with their NDIS 2 equivalent). - Configuration parameters in SYSTEM.INI There are a number of parameters in the [HP Network Ports] section of SYSTEM.INI that can be changed. MAXNUMPORTS This parameter determines the maximum number of network ports you may have on your system at one time. The default number is 5. If you wish to configure more ports on your system, you need to increase this number. MAXNUMBUFFERS This parameter determines how many buffers are allocated for use by the DLC protocol stack. Buffers are used for both printing and receiving printer status. The default number is 9. If you have only a few ports configured (1-3) AND you don't print to more than one at a time, you might want to reduce this number and save some memory. Try values between 7 and 9. It is not recommended that you use a value below 7. If you have a large number of ports configured (more than 8) OR you print to more than two ports at the same time, you will probably want to increase this value for better performance. Values in the range 15-25 should be sufficient. CLOSEDELAY This parameter tells the software how long to wait after the last buffer is transmitted before dropping the network connection. The default for this parameter is 5 seconds, and is NOT added to SYSTEM.INI during installation. If you notice that the last part of certain print jobs are not being sent to the peripheral, add this parameter and increase the value to greater than 5. The maximum allowed is 1800 seconds (30 minutes) and the minimum is 1 second. - Setting Print Spooler timeouts in WIN.INI If you're using the Peer-to-Peer network printing model, you may wish to increase the default Transmission Retry timeout of the Network Peripheral Port. The default is 45 seconds. Look for the section labeled [PrinterPorts] in the WIN.INI file. You will find a line that looks like this: HP LaserJet IIISi=HPPCL5MS,NET1:,15,45 where NET1: is the name of the port you defined in HP Network Port Monitor. Change the default of 45 seconds to the new timeout value. A value of 300 seconds (5 minutes) should be good. This should change the above line to look like this: HP LaserJet IIISi=HPPCL5MS,NET1:,15,300 Increasing this value gives the network software more time to try to access the peripheral before Print Manager gives up. If Print Manager is reporting problems printing to a device because the device is already in use by another user, then increasing this value will help. - Waiting for printers to report their LAN Hardware Address If there are a large number of JetDirect cards on your network (greater than 15), it may take a few moments for any particular net- work address to appear in the Card Address field of the "Add a Network Peripheral Port" dialog box. If you can't find the address you are looking for, wait a few minutes (leaving the dialog box up) and then look again. Additionally, you can increase the MAXNUMBUFFERS parameter in SYSTEM.INI which will allow more card addresses to be accepted (see the "Configuration parameters in SYSTEM.INI" section of this file for more information). - Deinstalling the software 1) First, delete all ports that have been configured using the HP Network Port Monitor program. 2) Deinstall the DLC. To do this, in Windows for Workgroups 3.1, run the Control Panel application and use the Network applet. In Windows for Workgroups 3.11, use the Windows Setup program located in the Main group of Program Manager. 3) After deinstalling the DLC, remove all the files in the HP Network Port Monitor directory where (the default directory is C:\HPNETPRN.W4W). 4) Remove the following files from your Windows for Workgroups system directory (the default directory is C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM): HPNPMAPP.CPL HPVNPD.386 CTL3D.DLL 5) Remove the [HP Network Ports] section from SYSTEM.INI. 6) Finally, reboot your system. - Working with Novell NetWare If you are using Windows for Workgroups on a Novell NetWare network, it is recommended that you use Hewlett-Packard's JetPrint utility instead of Monitor. You should find JetPrint in the same disk pack in which Monitor came. - Working with IBM OS/2 and Microsoft Windows NT (connection states) The HP Monitor software has adopted a model where a connection is estab- lished with the remote peripheral, data is transferred, and the con- nection is dropped. If another system has a connection to the peripheral, Print Manager will continue to retry the connection until it gives up (see the "Setting Print Spooler timeouts in WIN.INI" section of this file for more information). In Monitor, the status of a peripheral that is connected to another system will be shown as "Not Available". However, currently released versions of the HP network software for OS/2 LAN Manager and LAN Server use a different model. They establish the connection to the remote peripheral at initialization time and never drop it. This means an OS/2 system may establish a connection to a peripheral and the Windows for Workgroups system will never be able to break that connection or print. To avoid this, make sure an OS/2 system and a Windows for Workgroups system running Monitor never configure the same peripheral (that is they are not using the same card address). In Windows NT, the user is given a choice of connection models. If "Job Based" printing is chosen, then the Windows NT network printing software behaves almost identically to the Windows for Workgroups software. If "Continuous" is selected, however, the Windows NT network printing software behaves like the OS/2 software and the warnings given above apply. - Error log grows without bounds The error log maintained by Monitor is not limited in size. Any new errors are always appended to the end of the existing error log file. Thus, it is possible (although improbable) that you may run out of disk space if the error log gets too big. It is recommended that you occasionally clear the error log to avoid the possibility of this happening. Information on how to clear the error log can be found in your manual or in the online help for Monitor. - Starting network before running Windows for Workgroups masks DLC In version 3.1 of Windows for Workgroups, if you start the networking software before loading Windows (by typing "net logon" for example), the DLC protocol stack will be hidden. Thus, once Windows is started you will not be able to print, and Monitor will report that HPVNPD.386 is not loaded. - Running out of buffers causing "Status Not Available" It is possible that while printing, the DLC will temporarily run out of DLC buffers. This may cause a status of "Status Not Available" to appear in Monitor for some ports. The problem should only occur when there are a large number of ports configured, or you are printing to more than one port at a time. Once printing has finished Monitor should resume reporting status correctly. If you are frequently seeing this problem, it means you probably need to increase you MAXNUMBUFFERS parameter in SYSTEM.INI. See the "Configur- ation parameters for SYSTEM.INI" section of this file for more infor- mation. - Disabling the 3D interface If you wish to remove the 3D interface to Monitor, add the following line to the HPCFG.INI file (usually located in C:\HPNETPRN.W4W): Use3D=0 You might want to do this on certain LCD or other monochrome monitors. - Status messages Monitor has the ability to report the following status messages: Offline The peripheral is offline. The peripheral must be online to continue. Paper Out The peripheral has run out of print media. Add more media (e.g. paper, envelopes, etc.) to the peripheral in order to continue. Manual Feed Needed The peripheral requires a manual paper feed. Insert the correct media into the manual feed area to continue. Paper Jam The peripheral has a paper jam. Clear the jam to continue. Toner Low The peripheral has a toner low condition. The peripheral may continue to operate, but output quality may suffer. No Toner Cartridge The peripheral has no toner. The peripheral requires the proper printing toner be inserted in order to continue. Page Protection Required The peripheral lost a page because data was not received fast enough to keep up with the print engine. Out of Memory The peripheral does not have enough memory to generate the desired output. Busy The peripheral is processing data. Initializing The peripheral is initializing. Warming Up The peripheral is warming up. Cover Open The peripheral's door is open. The peripheral's door must be closed to continue. Printing The peripheral is currently printing a job. Output Bin Full The peripheral's output bin is full. Clear the peripheral's output bin to continue. Not Available The peripheral is not available. This condition generally arises when another system has obtained ownership of the peripheral. Paper Problem The peripheral has a paper problem such as paper out. Correct the problem to continue. Online The peripheral is ready to accept data. Status Not Available The state of the peripheral cannot be determined. Check that the peripheral is turned on and properly connected to the network. - Receiving status from different peripherals Many peripherals do not have the ability to report the entire set of status messages listed in the "Status Messages" section. In general, the HP LaserJet 4 and LaserJet 4Si are able to report all of them. Other peripherals may report only a subset of the available status messages. For example, the LaserJet IIISi can only report Offline, Paper Out, and other simple status messages. - Using Monitor with older JetDirect cards HP Monitor will work fine with older versions of the JetDirect card (those that support only one protocol per card). You should have no difficulty adding ports and printing. Older cards, however, cannot report the full set of status messages listed in the "Status Messages" section. The only ones older cards will report are: Offline, Paper Out, Online, Status Not Available, Not Available, and Printing.