Printing and Plotting

[#1]

My organization recently bought an OCE 650.  We're running AutoCAD 2010 on a Microsoft managed network and Windows 7 Enterprise.

I have to be able to use this plotter but the moment I do anything with it, even previewing a plot, AutoCAD stops responding.  It locks up so completely I don't even get the option to report the crash to Autodesk afterwards.  From that point onwards AutoCAD will no longer start.  It freezes up just after the Drawing1 window appears and before the toolbars appear.  The only way to get AutoCAD back is to either repair the installation or reinstall it completely.  UPDATE - repairing the installation no longer works.  Clean reinstall only.

Nobody else out of dozens of users is having this problem.  They've reinstalled AutoCAD six times now, even swapped out my machine and I still can't use this plotter.  The Microsoft Helpdesk says they don't cover AutoCAD or OCE.  OCE's technitian never heard of anything like this and suggested I was using the wrong CTB file.  I've used monochrome.ctb regularily for years without any trouble and now I have to work in black lines on white to use a new printer?  Besides his suggestions all failed.  UPDATE - AutoCAD crashed again, this time because I opened a drawing with a layout defaulted to the new OCE.  All it took was opening the Plot dialog.  OCE 650 was already selected as the printer for this layout and nothing worked after that.

Has anyone encountered anything like this?  Or have an idea about what might be causing this?

This is a report of the hang which occurs when I try to restart AutoCAD after a crash:

Description:

A problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.

Problem signature:

Problem Event Name: AppHangXProcB1

Application Name: acad.exe

Application Version: 24.0.215.0

Application Timestamp: 4a7b94bc

Hang Signature: 5b36

Hang Type: 384

Waiting on Application Name: spoolsv.exe:spoolss

Waiting on Application Version: 0.0.0.0

OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.4

Locale ID: 1033

Additional Hang Signature 1: 5b36059a0c38fef024d849e468d7566a

Additional Hang Signature 2: a79a

Additional Hang Signature 3: a79abadf0a9b820e2941f84355e06205

Additional Hang Signature 4: 5b36

Additional Hang Signature 5: 5b36059a0c38fef024d849e468d7566a

Additional Hang Signature 6: a79a

Additional Hang Signature 7: a79abadf0a9b820e2941f84355e06205

[#2]

This is a report of the hang which occurs when I try to restart AutoCAD after a crash:

Description:

A problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.

Problem signature:

Problem Event Name: AppHangXProcB1

Application Name: acad.exe

Application Version: 24.0.215.0

Application Timestamp: 4a7b94bc

Hang Signature: 5b36

Hang Type: 384

Waiting on Application Name: spoolsv.exe:spoolss

Waiting on Application Version: 0.0.0.0

OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.4

Locale ID: 1033

Additional Hang Signature 1: 5b36059a0c38fef024d849e468d7566a

Additional Hang Signature 2: a79a

Additional Hang Signature 3: a79abadf0a9b820e2941f84355e06205

Additional Hang Signature 4: 5b36

Additional Hang Signature 5: 5b36059a0c38fef024d849e468d7566a

Additional Hang Signature 6: a79a

Additional Hang Signature 7: a79abadf0a9b820e2941f84355e06205

[#3]

Do you have a *.pc3 file that you're using?  Is it local or on a network? (We use a network location).  If it's networked, is the folder pathed properly in your options?

If you're not using a *.pc3 file, try creating one to use.

Is your printer installed locally?  Through a IP address?  Connected through the server?

[#4]

That was the suggestion of OCE's technitian.  They created a new PC3 but given the risk to my machine and the large amount of work I had piling up on me I haven't had the opportunity to test it yet.  I've been printing by another computer in the plotter room.  I won't be back there until next week.

[#5]

Something 'like' it, yes.  Our KIP 3000 was shut down for repair so people were printing to a smaller printer for check plots.  Most drawings were saved with the page setup configured for the KIP.  Since the KIP couldn't respond when AutoCAD started to open the plot dialog, it acted like it was hung for a stupidly long time.  Enough patience shown, the plot dialog eventually timed out waiting on the KIP and showed itself so the printer could be changed.  We couldn't do this for every drawing, obviously.  So I think we changed the KIP printer driver port to FILE: rather than the KIP's IP address.  It's been a while, though, so I may not be remembering this correctly.  Have never heard of something like that killing AutoCAD, though.  Can you ptint to the Oce from other apps?  Maybe a DWF from Design Review?

[#6]

Next week I'll try printing a PDF from my station.  If nothing else works and this does I'll just have to plot to PDF and then plot the PDF's though I hope not!

[#7]

Plotting a PDF didn't work either. 

OCE provided IT with a new PC3 file.  It ran once and hung on Printing Progress.  Afterwards AutoCAD could be reopened so it seems I can use it but I can't plot.  The PC3 file is local and pathed correctly.  They reinstalled AutoCAD on my new machine and it works perfectly though I'm afraid to attempt plotting since I need at least one working machine to do my work.

They put my old machine on another network connection in the plotter room and reinstalled AutoCAD with the new PC3 file so I could test printing there.  I was able to open a drawing, make some changes, save it, open the plotter dialog, select the PC3 and preview a plot but the old machine hung when I tried to plot.  After that, AutoCAD on the old machine would no longer start.

So I went back to my desk and opened AutoCAD on the new machine.  Now it won't start EITHER!

[#8]

looks to me like you have a problem with the "printer" install on the workstation.  If you are printing directly to the OCE HDI driver I would start there.  It appears that you are have spooling problems or some other problem related to the printer that is causing cad to terminate.

start with your printer