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From: jack@Taffy.rice.edu (Jack W. Howarth)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: WANTED: DeskWriter Help! (too)
Message-ID: <1990Dec15.193849.21474@rice.edu>
Date: 15 Dec 90 19:38:49 GMT
References: <1990Dec14.233114.5611@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> <47407@apple.Apple.COM>
Sender: news@rice.edu (News)
Organization: Rice University
Lines: 38

In article <47407@apple.Apple.COM> marc@Apple.COM (Mark Dawson) writes:
>IIci and tried to print using the DeskWriter via  a serial cable.  As best as
>I can tell, he did everything correct; he selected the deskwriter (serial)
>chooser item, selecting the "printer" port.  But when he goes into his
>word processing program & tries to print, he gets a "printer not responding"
>error message.  I tried connecting via the modem port, and got the same 
>answer.  The wierd part is that sometimes when you press "cancel" after the
>printer error message, the printer starts up a little (the motors whine, and
>the feeder closes a little and then opens up).  I also verified that the 
>serial cable is firmly in the ports.
>
>Does anyone have any idea what could be the problem?  The only thing I could
>think of was that the software doesn't work with the IIci (the manual doesn't
>mention a IIci as being supported).
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mark-- 
>---------------------------------
>Mark Dawson                Service Diagnostic Engineering
>AppleLink: Dawson.M
>
>Apple says what it says; I say what I say.  We're different
>---------------------------------


Mark,
   You may have run across one of Apple's many hardware problems. It seems that
the resistor packs used on the serial ports of some of the newer Macs have
been failing. HP uses the presence of the resistor packs as a signal to auto-
matically switch to serial mode as opposed to AppleTalk. I think its odd that
both ports are doing this so you might try the DW on another Mac to check. If
your resistor packs on the Mac have gone bad you can get a logic board replace
ment to fix it or just try enabling AppleTalk since what has happened is the 
DW seeing no resistor packs assumes you have an AppleTalk box attached and has
switched to the AppleTalk mode.
                                   Cheers
                                         Jack Howarth