Re: [gentoo-user] gentoo rebuild, cups won't work WORKAROUND (i.e. mysteriously solved)

[Kevin O'Gorman]

On Feb 3, 2008 4:27 AM, Dave Jones <Dave.Jones@××××××.nl> wrote:

> Kevin O'Gorman wrote on 02/02/08 22:26:
>
> >     >>>> I've installed cups and hplip.  I cannot follow the Gentoo
> >     >>>> printing guide, because that worthy document requires me to add
> >     >>>> hplip to the default runlevel, but hplip does not put anything
> in
> >     >>>> /etc/init.d.  My printer is an old HP Laserjet 4M, which I
> >     >>>> usually run as a Postscrpt printer.
> >
> >     >>>> What have I missed?
> >
> >     >>> Run hp-setup
> >
> >     >>> You'll probably need to rework your cups config files if you've
> >     >>> retained them from the broken install.  hp-setup should enable
> >     >>> local printing OK.
> >
> >     >> And if it still gives you problems, delete /etc/cups then
> reemerge
> >     >> cups.  I had to do that last part too.
> >
> >     > The problem is that my printer is on the LPT port (/dev/lp0), and
> >     > hp-setup does not find it.  In fact it has an option for LPT
> >     > printers, but it is greyed out.
> >
> >     > The printer is really there: I can print by "cat printme
> >/dev/lp0"
> >     > with a suitably formed "printme" file (lines need CR, file ends
> with
> >     > ^L^D).
> >
> >     > Hmmm.  Digging slightly deeper, I found the /usr/bin/hp-probe
> >     > program. It lets me specifically request a probe of LPT, but finds
> >     > nothing there.  The printer remains attached.  I'm even more
> deeply
> >     > stumped than before.
> >
> >     Try: hp-setup -i /dev/parport0
> >
> >     See if that helps.
> >
> >     Try hp-setup -h    for other options.
> >
> >     I take it that your kernel has parallel port support generated, and
> that
> >     you have file permission to access /dev/lp0 ?
>
> > It runs, but only gives me options for usb and net.  This makes some
> > sense since there are no /dev/parport* entries in my system.
>
> > Nevertheless, I have parallel port support as I understand it.  From my
> > kernel (2.6.22-gentoo-r6) .config file:
>
> > #
> > # Generic Driver Options
> > #
> > CONFIG_STANDALONE=y
> > CONFIG_PREVENT_FIRMWARE_BUILD=y
> > CONFIG_FW_LOADER=m
> > # CONFIG_SYS_HYPERVISOR is not set
> > # CONFIG_CONNECTOR is not set
> > # CONFIG_MTD is not set
> > CONFIG_PARPORT=y                       <<<< parallel port
> > CONFIG_PARPORT_PC=y                 <<<< PC style
> > # CONFIG_PARPORT_SERIAL is not set
> > # CONFIG_PARPORT_PC_FIFO is not set
> > # CONFIG_PARPORT_PC_SUPERIO is not set
> > # CONFIG_PARPORT_GSC is not set
> > # CONFIG_PARPORT_AX88796 is not set
> > CONFIG_PARPORT_1284=y
> > CONFIG_PNP=y
> > # CONFIG_PNP_DEBUG is not set
>
> Your kernel set-up looks reasonable to me.
>
> I don't have parallel port support generated into my system, as I don't
> have a parallel printer.
>
> On a Centos host with parallel port support, 2.6.18 kernel:
>
> CONFIG_PARPORT=m
> CONFIG_PARPORT_PC=m
> CONFIG_PARPORT_SERIAL=m
> # CONFIG_PARPORT_PC_FIFO is not set
> # CONFIG_PARPORT_PC_SUPERIO is not set
> CONFIG_PARPORT_PC_PCMCIA=m
> CONFIG_PARPORT_NOT_PC=y
> # CONFIG_PARPORT_GSC is not set
> # CONFIG_PARPORT_AX88796 is not set
> CONFIG_PARPORT_1284=y
> CONFIG_PARIDE_PARPORT=m
> CONFIG_I2C_PARPORT=m
> CONFIG_I2C_PARPORT_LIGHT=m
>
> ls /dev/par* shows:
>
> /dev/par0  /dev/parport0  /dev/parport1  /dev/parport2  /dev/parport3
>
> Do you have a standard parallel port, or a special IO card?
>
> Have you modified /etc/udev.d rules? I have these (unmodified) entries:
>
> rules.d/50-udev.rules:KERNEL=="lp*",            NAME="%k", GROUP="lp"
> rules.d/50-udev.rules:KERNEL=="parport*",       NAME="%k", GROUP="lp"
>
> I'm puzzled by this, as your /dev/lp0 print test worked.
>
> The only other suggestion I have would be to try:
>
> hp-setup -i /dev/lp0
>
> Don't know if hp-setup will accept this, might be worth having a go.
>
> Cheers, Dave
> --
> gentoo-user@l.g.o mailing list
>
> hp-setup stubbornly refuses to acknowledge /dev/lp0

I got it to work, but don't really know what was wrong.  The drive that held
my root directory and all
configs had failed.  Friday, i got it back from the DiskSavers, along with
the data on a new USB
external drive.  Copying over the cups config files just magically made the
printer work locally.
That's enough for now.

I'm still struggling with a host of issues, so I'm going to ignore the fact
that I have no idea what
keeps my CUPS working.

I think I've got cron backing up to that USB drive nightly -- using rsync it
takes about an hour for
all partitions, unattended.  Beats the blazes out of hovering over the DVD
drive.  And i'm pretty sure
I won't end up in the same fix again.

But I've still got to get the LPD service going, not to mention apache,
vmware, ntp and gaim/pidgin.
And I have a day job.

I'll get around to it.  Real Soon Now.

++ kevin


-- 
Kevin O'Gorman, PhD