First of all, let me say that I enjoy coming to "lurk" at this forum. You folks seem to know what you are talking about.

I do NOT know much about computers and am not a reporter or programer. I am a simple housewife who with my husband owns a small business which depends on the power grid (we make air conditioning filters-need I say more?).

Now to the question and please don't be upset--I can't seem to get this stupid machine to print out the things I need printed at times. There is so much information on the web about y2k I would love to print, but sometimes the printer just sits there and won't start. What's wrong with it or is it just that I've worn out the new printer?

-- Flagirl (Filterlady@aol.com), January 11, 1999

Answers

I have an HP Laserjet 5L, not exactly new, but by no means obsolete.

It cannot print any html page containing a running java script. In fact if I tell it to, it not only refuses, but the printer is disabled afterward. The system says no printer is installed. Luckily a warm boot brings things back to normal. For pages like this I copy the text (only) to a word-processing program and print it from there.

Another limitation may be your system RAM. Anything less than 32K on board is likely to bog Windows down considerably. RAM is cheap now, go for it.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), January 11, 1999.

Look in the Yellow Pages for computer repair stores that are authorized service representatives for the brand of your printer. They would be the most likely folks to diagnose your problem quickly and correctly.

If you can't find an authorized service representative for your printer's brand, try computer stores that sell that brand.

-- No Spam Please (anon@ymous.com), January 11, 1999.

You might have tried this already, but I can't "see" what you've been doing, so I'll mention it anyway.

Look at the top of your web browser there should be a [Print] button in the toolbar. Press that, see if it prints the whole page.

Can you print from other applications? Are there any symptoms about when something prints and when it doesn't? Are you using Win3.1 (or some other DOS or game software) or some other program earlier in the day that might "reset" your printer to a different default? For example, you printed checks, but did not reset the printer to regular paper?

What are you running? When does it print and when does it fail? Those will likely be your first clues.

Good luck in the business. If you are concerned about Y2K, advertise a "branch" business to help - fireplace cleaning (messy but profitable) or duct cleaning and new filters ahead of the heating season to come next year. See how you can continue doing with alternatives.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 11, 1999.