Hardware and Network Troubleshooting: Given a scenario, troubleshoot printers with appropriate tools

Question 1

While troubleshooting a laser printer, several pages of random white dots are produced when attempting to print a one page document. The printer has the correct driver and print settings are correct. What component is the likely culprit?

Answer 1

Formatter board

This contains all the circuitry required to operate the printer and control its many components

Question 2

Your printer is printing fuzzy text with white lines running through it. You need to clean the clogged print head of your inkjet printer. What two things could immediately clean the clogged print head?

Answer 2

• Run the printer management utility provided with the printer
• Power the inkjet printer off and then on (this will flush the nozzle)

Question 3

If you clear a paper jam, but the printer is still reporting a jam, what should you do?

Answer 3

Open and close the top assembly

There is usually a sensor or switch located in the cover to clear the printer error

Question 4

What two conditions would cause a printer to print fuzzy or low quality prints?

Answer 4

• High humidity

- Damp paper

Question 5

The print server is displaying the error “Server properties cannot be viewed”

The print spooler service is not running. What should you do?

Answer 5

Run the net start spooler command from the command prompt

Question 6

A user keeps receiving a print error job before the job is sent to the print spooler. What issue would cause this?

Answer 6

The printer is offline or turned off

Question 7

A printer is attached to a Windows 2008 computer. Several print jobs are queued and the printer is online, but print jobs are not printing. What could be the cause of the problem?

Answer 7

• There is an issue with the spooler

- Printing is paused

Question 8

A user is having issues with a dot matrix printer. Several letters have dots missing from the page. What should you do?

Answer 8

Replace the print head

Over time, the pins on the print head can become clogged or bent

Question 9

A dot matrix printer is printing dark on one side of a page but light on the other. What should you do?

Answer 9

Adjust the platen

A platen is a rubberized roller that holds the paper in place. If it does not hold the paper evenly, the print will appear lighter as you move across the page

Question 10

A department manager reports that the laser printer in her department only prints blank pages. The problem began after the toner cartridge was replaced. What is the most likely cause of the problem?

Answer 10

The sealing tape was not removed from the toner cartridge

Question 11

A laser printer feeds multiple sheets of paper for each page it is supposed to print. What components could be causing the problem?

Answer 11

• The feed mechanism

- The paper type

Question 12

After installing a new printer, users say they are unable to print. What should you do first?

Answer 12

See if there is paper in the printer

Question 13

After replacing a cartridge on an injket printer, the printouts have jagged lines and characters. What should you do first?

Answer 13

Run the printer alignment program to align the inkjet printheads

Question 14

Three users share a computer connected to an inkjet printer. One user cannot print, but the other two can. What should you do?

Answer 14

Install the printer with the user logged into their account

If a printer is installed on a Windows computer that is in a workgroup or domain, the printer needs to be installed separately for each domain

Question 15

A laser printer produces accurate images that smear easily. What should you do?

Answer 15

The fuser

A laser printer’s fuser contains two rollers which use heat and pressure to fuse an image onto paper.

Question 16

A user can no longer print to a network printer. You think the printer’s IP address has changed. How can you test this theory?

Answer 16

Ping the printer from the user’s computer

Question 17

When printing on an inkjet printer, extra horizontal lines print over the page. What should you do first?

Answer 17

Clean the print head

If an inkjet printer is not used for a period of time, the print head can become clogged

Question 18

A monochrome laser printer gradually stops feeding paper. What component should you check first?

Answer 18

Pickup roller

The pickup roller acts as the first point of contact between printer and paper

Question 19

Pages coming out of your laser printer has toner that can be brushed off. What component is the most likely culprit?

Answer 19

Fuser assembly

The fuser assembly component holds two rollers that get heated to a high temperature to bind the dry toner ink to the paper fabric

Question 20

A laser printer is printing blank documents with no text or images. What should you do first?

Answer 20

Replace the toner cartridge

Question 21

What problems indicate a faulty dot matrix printer printhead?

Answer 21

• Partial characters

- Missing characters

Question 22

After replacing the toner cartridge in a laser printer, all the printouts have black specs on both sides. What should you do first?

Answer 22

Clean the interior of the printer

Question 23

A laser printer repeatedly prints vertical lines through the page. What could be the cause?

Answer 23

A problem with the corona wires or the drum.

There is most likely some debris caught between the wipe blade and the drum

Question 24

A laser printer is printing a vertical black line near the edge of every printed page. How could you fix this problem?

Answer 24

Replace the toner cartridge

When a toner cartridge approaches depletion, the laser printer may begin to print a black line on each side of the page

Another cause could be a scratch on the drum, which would still include replacing the toner cartridge, because the cartridge contains the drum