Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Extensions => TCE Talk => Topic started by: remus on March 14, 2011, 07:52:53 AM
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Hi all,
I found tinycore linux while googling a linux os that works well on an old Pentium 2.
I've booted the machine up with a stock standard current release of tinycore linux cd and it worked fine.
I see that tinycore linux is meant to be a boot clean os, is it possable to setup cups to serve a printer to a windows network, and have all settings for the print server and cups loaded in case a reboot occurs ?
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Search the forum for CUPS. You will find many threads.
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Hi all,
Heres what i've done.
Installed tinycore to hard drive. following > http://tinycorelinux.com/install.html
I've installed cups using the following > http://wiki.tinycorelinux.com/cups1311
installed the following software with AppBrowser set to onboot
cups1311
nano
openssh
lynx
gutenprint
Added.
/usr/local/etc/init.d/dbus start
/etc/init.d/cups start
To /opt/bootlocal.sh
set my root password and added
etc/shadow
to /opt.filetool.lst
I also added
etc/cups
to /opt/.filetool.lst
Assuming that would be needed to save changes I make to /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
upon reboot both.
sudo /usr/local/etc/init.d/dbus status
sudo /etc/init.d/cups status
give good results, saying they are ok
But when I try to start editing /etc/cups/cupsd.conf and save changes I am told the file is read only.
Sooo i'm kind of stuck now, any advice welcomed
PS, does tinycore look for a persistent settings file on any attached usb drive/floppy/the tinycore cd during bootup ?
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I assume you are using sudo vi /etc/cups/cupsd.conf or what does ls -l /etc/cups/cupsd.conf show?
EDIT: During the boot process TC will automatically look for a 'tce' directory in all attached file systems (of supported types, e.g. EXT[2-4], FAT, VFAT). IIRC it takes the first one it finds, so it would be a good idea to use the 'tce=...' boot code (in the boot loader configuration) to provide "guidance" in this search. Also note that the 'waitusb=...' boot code is typically required for all this to work for USB devices. I'd suggest to study the FAQ (http://tinycorelinux.com/faq.html#pendrives) and / or use the earch function of the forum to find more information about this.
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Hi Marco, thanks for your replay,
I used "sudo nano /etc/cups/cupsd.conf" to try to edit the /etc/cups/cupsd.conf file as its an editor i have basic experience with.
I also tried sudo vi /etc/cups/cupsd.conf" both vi and nano give a read only error when trying to save the cupsd.conf file.
This is a new one for me, i've got the root password sorted out on boot, but I can't edit the file even if i su first.
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Again, what does ls -l /etc/cups/cupsd.conf show?
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extensions should copy conf files to the filesystem rather than leaving them linked to the read-only file under /tmp/tcloop/extension_name.
you can delete /etc/cups/cupsd.conf and copy /tmp/tcloop//etc/cups/cupsd.conf to take its place - it will then be editable.
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The problem will remain that restore will not be able to restore the config file because the symbolic link still points to a ro file.
The kit needs to be fixed.
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Again, what does ls -l /etc/cups/cupsd.conf show?
Sorry about the delay, pc is at work,
Ok
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 40 Mar 16 03:45 /etc/cups/cupsd.conf -> /tmp/tcloop/cups1311/etc/cups/cupsd.conf
Hope this helps.
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Update,
Ok, i've deleted the /etc/cups/cupsd.conf link file, and copied /tmp/tcloop/cups1311/etc/cups/cupsd.conf to /etc/cups/
Is this really required ? Perhaps its something i've done wrong, or a side effect of installing tinycore linux to hd ?
Then I changed ownership of /etc/cups/cupsd.conf with sudo chown tc /etc/cups/cupsd.conf I could then edit and save changes to /etc/cups/cupsd.conf using user tc.
ls -l /etc/cups/cupsd.conf showed user as tc and group as staff
upon shutdown with backup and reboot
ls -l /etc/cups/cupsd.conf showed root as the owner and staff as group, I now have to edit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf with sudo nano /etc/cups/cupsd.conf which is ok, I then rebooted and could see my changes to /etc/cups/cupsd.conf as persisting ;D
my /opt/.filetool.lst file now looks like this
opt/bootlocal.sh
opt/bootsync.sh
opt/shutdown.sh
opt/tcemirror
opt/.filetool.lst
opt/.xfiletool.lst
home
etc/cups/cupsd.conf
etc/cups/printers.conf
etc/cups/ppd
etc/hosts
I got an error during reboot/backup as etc/cups/printers.conf does not exist yet, but I created a blank file to keep the system happy. Sorry if doing this is very dumb, im a newbie, and was just trying to get the system to reboot, I made an assumption that when i add a printer later, I'll need that file to persist a backup, ASSUMING THATS WHAT THE FILE IS FOR.
made the following changes to /etc/cups/cupsd.conf with > sudo nano /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
# "$Id: cupsd.conf.in 7199 2008-01-08 00:16:30Z mike $"
#
# Sample configuration file for the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS)
# scheduler. See "man cupsd.conf" for a complete description of this
# file.
#
# Log general information in error_log - change "info" to "debug" for
# troubleshooting...
LogLevel info
# Administrator user group...
SystemGroup root
# Only listen for connections from the local machine.
Listen 631
Listen /var/run/cups/cups.sock
# Show shared printers on the local network.
Browsing On
BrowseOrder allow,deny
BrowseAllow all
# Default authentication type, when authentication is required...
DefaultAuthType Basic
DefaultEncryption Never
# Restrict access to the server...
<Location />
Order deny,allow
allow all
</Location>
# Restrict access to the admin pages...
<Location /admin>
Order deny,allow
allow all
</Location>
# Restrict access to configuration files...
<Location /admin/conf>
AuthType None
Require user @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
allow all
</Location>
# Set the default printer/job policies...
<Policy default>
<Limit All>
Order deny,allow
allow all
</Limit>
</Policy>
#
# End of "$Id: cupsd.conf.in 7199 2008-01-08 00:16:30Z mike $".
#
then i ran sudo /etc/init.d/cups restart
I just accessed my print server via google chrome from another computer, using its ip address http://10.1.1.202:631
Sooo tried accessing the server from another computer using http://box:631 and received Oops! Google Chrome could not find box:631 from google chrome, I edited /etc/hosts file to include >10.1.1.202 box< added etc/hosts to /opt/.filetool.lst and rebooted. Still no luck acessing computer, so another look at /etc/hosts showed first line as >127.0.0.1 box localhost< I removed box from this line, my /etc/hosts file now looks like
127.0.0.1 localhost
10.1.1.202 box
rebooted with backup, but still can't access cups remotly using hostname, well i'm not going to worry about this for now.
I'm moving the computer over to the current print server running ubuntu, i'll replace it with tinycore linux and see if I can add the printer, share it and access it, will report back soon.
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@remus: The difficulties you've seen related to the host name 'box' are a consequence of the fact that by default all TC systems will use the same host name. To change this one could use the boot code 'host=...' or try some other approach (as discussed (http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=8866.0) just a few days ago). I can imagine that just changing the entry in '/etc/hosts' might not be enough, and attempting to make this change persistent via backup will probably not work either.
BTW, the problem with the '/etc/cups/cupsd.conf' file is nothing you've done wrong. As gerald_clark has already pointed out the issue is due to the way the 'cups1311.tcz' extension was build, and would require a correction on that level. I'm not sure whether this will happen soon (if at all) as the original extension creator (i.e. user 'perthie') appears to have been rather inactive in the last couple of month.
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Thanks for the input Maro, and for clarifying what gerald_clark said,
The kit needs to be fixed
I made the mistake of assuming gerald_clark was talking about tinycore linux ::)
I've yet to sort out adding the printer, i'm going to take a look to see if there are hp driver extensions available for tinycore linux when I get to work later, and install openssh
each step forward is worth the sweat :)
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i'm going to take a look to see if there are hp driver extensions available for tinycore linux when I get to work later
..if you mean hplip, there is an extension
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A patch you can try is to create a config file named cupsd.conf.new.
edit .filetool.lst to back up this file.
Add a line in bootlocal.sh that deletes cupsd.conf and symlinks cups.conf.new to cupsd.conf.
Add another line to bootlocal.sh that starts cups.
Another option is to start cups with the option to use a different config file if possible.
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Thanks gerald_clark, i'm happy to delete the files in /etc/cups and replace them with the sym link files.
I'm been thinking of writing a shell script to take care of this for me in the future, then I started thinking about updating the extension, haven't looked into how thats done yet :)
Also, i'm wondering why people are using the old version of cups over the new version ???
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Also, i'm wondering why people are using the old version of cups over the new version
As mentioned earlier (or maybe in a different thead), there were a lot of problems with the cups usb backend and the kernel module usblp in early versions of cups-1.4.x
This should be fixed in the later versions of cups-1.4.x, but I am unable to check it as I need to use the hp backend with the printers I have access to.
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Update on cups.
I've set hplip as a onboot item.
I've got cups1331 installed and all the files I need are setup in /etc/cups
When I try to install the printer via the cups gui interface.
- I click add printer
- hp printer is available in the list so I select it and click continue
- i'm presented with screen asking me to setup the ipp network link... NOT a driver selection screen.
I assumed at this stage that the problem might be with the old version of cups.
So I removed cups1331 from onboot in appaudit and swaped it for the uptodate cups extension.
my root password was already setup so did not need to do that.
If I try to setup the printer with hplip 2-6 I get the same problem as I did with cups1331.
If I try to setup the printer with hplip 2-7 I get a screen asking me to select manufacturer and then the driver. I set some default printer options, and I'm done. BUT if I try to do a print test, I get an error.
/usr/libexec/cups/filter/hpcups failed
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I'm using cups with hplip-2.7 as the family shared printer/scanner, a couple of comments/questions:
1. What sort of hp printer are you using - parallel port, usb, network?
2. when cups is used with hplip, the browser interface will automatically propose the correct cups hp driver for your printer - this driver in turn will automatically create the ppd file for your device.
3. if you execute /usr/local/lib/cups/filter/hpcups from the command line, does it show an error message?
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1. What sort of hp printer are you using - parallel port, usb, network?
Its a HP T45 with a parallel port connector, the printer works fine when served from a windows xp home machine.
2. when cups is used with hplip, the browser interface will automatically propose the correct cups hp driver for your printer - this driver in turn will automatically create the ppd file for your device.
Method
boot: tinycorelinux 3.5.1 cd
settings on usb flash drive
extensions (cups, hplip 2-7, minefield, nano) on flash drive
When trying this on the old P2 333Mhz pc
- Boot into tinycorelinux
- start minefield
- access localhost:631
- Click Administration
- enter user:root, password: *****
- Click Add Printer
Printer is listed as : HP Printer (HPLIP)
- Select > HP Printer (HPLIP) > click Continue
I am presented with the following page, instead of a driver selection list.
Examples:
http://hostname:631/ipp/
http://hostname:631/ipp/port1
ipp://hostname/ipp/
ipp://hostname/ipp/port1
lpd://hostname/queue
socket://hostname
socket://hostname:9100Hmmm, seems that cups is not detecting the printer as a locally connected printer, but a network printer. The printer is connected via Parallel port.
So at this stage the printer is not installed.
I will attach the printer to another computer running a much more modern P4 system and post results.
3. if you execute /usr/local/lib/cups/filter/hpcups from the command line, does it show an error message?
If I run /usr/local/lib/cups/filter/hpcups or sudo /usr/local/lib/cups/filter/hpcups
I get
prnt/hpcups/HPCupsFilter.cpp 46: ERROR: /usr/local/lib/cupsfilter/hpcups job-id usr title copies options {file]
Just discovered hp-setup and hp-prove
hp-probe gets the following results
Prompt: select connection I/O type
Input: I select 2 for Parallel Port LPT:
Output: Device Discovery
warning: No devices found on the 'par' bux. If this isn't the result you are expecting, warning: check to make sure your devices are properly connected and powered on.
I'm guessing that the problem with the older computer is that the bios is not set to this printer.
I will experiment with the parallel port bios options and report back.
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Is the "lp" kernel driver loaded (check lsmod)? I believe it may need to be loaded manually and might need to be loaded on boot.
You might also need the ieee1284 extension
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In addition to the BIOS being correctly configured this topic may help...
http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=9112.0
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thanks to both SamK and Juanito,
Here is current progress.
Running sudo modprobe lp does not do the trick, but thanks to both of your posts, I googled around and found the following similar idea
sudo modprobe parport_pc
I've added "sudo modprobe parport_pc" to my /opt/bootlocal.sh file BEFORE cups
Accessing add printer in cups now shows the following option
* HP OfficeJet T Series LPT parport0 HPLIP (HP OfficeJet T Series)
I select that option and click continue
I use default options for Name, description, location, click share this printer
click continue
Make is preset to: HP
Model is preset to : HP OfficeJet T Series, HPCups 3.1.6 (en)
I searched the list for specific options for HP Officejet T45 but there is none, so I go with default
I click Add Printer button
Next page is about general default options.
I change media size: to A4
And click Set Default Options, leaving all else default
I click maintenance drop down> and select Print Test Page
Under Jobs it shows
HP_OfficeJet_T_Series-1 Test Page root 1k Unknown stopped
"/usr/local/lib/cups/filter/pstoraster failed"
With this progress I tried
/usr/local/lib/cups/filter/hpcups
again with the same error
prnt/hpcups/HPCupsFilter.cpp 46: ERROR: /usr/local/lib/cupsfilter/hpcups job-id usr title copies options {file]
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It definitely looks like progress is being made.
I'd guess that either pstoraster is missing the ghostscript or ghostscript_common extensions or that hpcups is missing dbus_python-2.7 or one of its deps.
Is there anything in the cups error log if you set logging to "debug" in cupsd.conf?
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As mentioned in another recent post on printing, rather than seeking the most minimalist set-up, I prefer one that gives (me) the fewest problems. To that end my standard printing arrangements include loading:
- ghostscript
- ghostscript_common
- poppler-bin
On a slightly different aspect...Running sudo modprobe lp does not do the trick...
sudo modprobe parport_pc
I've added "sudo modprobe parport_pc" to my /opt/bootlocal.sh file BEFORE cups
The machines here are a range of different manufacturers and models. Explicitly loading parport_pc has not been needed on any of them; it has been automatically loaded by TC at boot-up. I have always accepted this as an indicator that the module is enabled in TC and loaded as standard. Perhaps one of the devs may comment. The lp module, however, is not enabled by default and manual loading is conducted.
Just musing out loud here...
- As you find it necessary to manually load parport_pc does this point to some form of contention between the BIOS settings and TC?
- Should loading the lp module also be conducted as you are using a parallel connection?
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FWIW, the lp module is not autoloaded, because it might conflict with newer cups (do I remember this right? Juanito?).
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it's usblp that causes the problem (or perhaps used to cause the problem) with the cups usb backend
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Hi all,
I've added the following to OnBoot in AppsAudit
ghostscript.tcz <- already downloaded
ghostscript_common.tcz <- had to download this
poppler-bin.tcz <- had to download this
While tinycorelinux is booting I think I see what might be an error for dbus_daemon or something, its only for a split second, so am not sure exactly, I 'll have a look at the boot options and see if there is a way to keep a log of boot messages.
Here is the contents of /var/log/cups/error_log once tinycore linux is booted, but before I open the cups interface via minefield at localhost:631
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Listening to 0.0.0.0:631 (IPv4)
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Listening to :::631 (IPv6)
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Listening to /var/run/cups/cups.sock (Domain)
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Remote access is enabled.
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Added auto ServerAlias box
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Added auto ServerAlias localhost
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Loaded configuration file "/usr/local/etc/cups/cupsd.conf"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Creating missing directory "/var/spool/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing ownership of "/var/spool/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing access permissions of "/var/spool/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Creating missing directory "/var/cache/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing ownership of "/var/cache/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing access permissions of "/var/cache/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Creating missing directory "/var/cache/cups/rss"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing ownership of "/var/cache/cups/rss"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing access permissions of "/var/cache/cups/rss"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Creating missing directory "/var/run/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing ownership of "/var/run/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing access permissions of "/var/run/cups"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Creating missing directory "/var/run/cups/certs"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing ownership of "/var/run/cups/certs"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing access permissions of "/var/run/cups/certs"
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Using default TempDir of /var/spool/cups/tmp...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Creating missing directory "/var/spool/cups/tmp"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing ownership of "/var/spool/cups/tmp"
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Repairing access permissions of "/var/spool/cups/tmp"
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Configured for up to 100 clients.
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Allowing up to 100 client connections per host.
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Using policy "default" as the default!
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Full reload is required.
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Loaded MIME database from "/usr/local/share/cups/mime" and "/usr/local/etc/cups": 35 types, 45 filters...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Loading printer HP_OfficeJet_T_Series...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] cupsdMarkDirty(P-----)
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] cupsdSetBusyState: Dirty files
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] load_ppd: Loading /usr/local/etc/cups/ppd/HP_OfficeJet_T_Series.ppd...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] load_ppd: Saving /var/cache/cups/HP_OfficeJet_T_Series.ipp4...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] cupsdRegisterPrinter(p=0xb8a1cab0(HP_OfficeJet_T_Series))
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Generating printcap /etc/printcap...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Scanning /var/spool/cups for jobs...
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Full reload complete.
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] cupsd_clean_files(path="/var/spool/cups/tmp", pattern="(null)")
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Cleaning out old files in "/var/spool/cups/tmp"...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] cupsd_clean_files(path="/var/cache/cups", pattern="*.ipp")
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Cleaning out old files in "/var/cache/cups"...
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Listening to 0.0.0.0:631 on fd 4...
E [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Unable to open listen socket for address :::631 - Address family not supported by protocol.
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Listening to /var/run/cups/cups.sock on fd 6...
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Resuming new connection processing...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] cupsdRegisterPrinter(p=0xb8a1cab0(HP_OfficeJet_T_Series))
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:19 +0000] Discarding unused server-started event...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] cupsdNetIFUpdate: "lo" = localhost:631
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] Report: clients=0
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] Report: jobs=0
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] Report: jobs-active=0
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] Report: printers=1
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] Report: printers-implicit=0
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] Report: stringpool-string-count=4944
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] Report: stringpool-alloc-bytes=8008
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:20 +0000] Report: stringpool-total-bytes=94480
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:46 +0000] process_browse_data: hpt-1@10.1.1.100 not found...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:46 +0000] Added remote printer "hpt-1"...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:46 +0000] Discarding unused printer-added event...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:46 +0000] cupsdMarkDirty(---p--)
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:46 +0000] cupsdMarkDirty(--R---)
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:46 +0000] cupsdMarkDirty(--Rp--)
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:46 +0000] cupsdRegisterPrinter(p=0xb8a243b8(hpt-1))
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:50 +0000] Saving printers.conf...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:50 +0000] Saving remote.cache...
I [07/Apr/2011:16:15:50 +0000] Generating printcap /etc/printcap...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:15:50 +0000] cupsdSetBusyState: Not busy
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:17 +0000] process_browse_data: hpt-1@10.1.1.100 not found...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] cupsdNetIFUpdate: "lo" = localhost:631
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] cupsdNetIFUpdate: "eth0" = 10.1.1.202:631
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] Report: clients=0
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] Report: jobs=0
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] Report: jobs-active=0
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] Report: printers=2
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] Report: printers-implicit=0
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] Report: stringpool-string-count=4996
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] Report: stringpool-alloc-bytes=8400
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:22 +0000] Report: stringpool-total-bytes=95720
D [07/Apr/2011:16:16:48 +0000] process_browse_data: hpt-1@10.1.1.100 not found...
D [07/Apr/2011:16:17:19 +0000] process_browse_data: hpt-1@10.1.1.100 not found...
I now access admin and print test page, it works.
Have not yet tried printing from a windows computer, will try this tomorrow, they are shutting down work now.
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ghostscript_common.tcz <- had to download this
I'm guessing that was the problem, i.e. that pstoraster needs gs, which in turn needs gs_init.ps in this context, which is in ghostscript_common
While tinycorelinux is booting I think I see what might be an error for dbus_daemon or something, its only for a split second, so am not sure exactly, I 'll have a look at the boot options and see if there is a way to keep a log of boot messages.
Although libcups depends on dbus, I don't believe the daemon needs to be running for basic printing services (hplip fax requires it though). You can probably see the error message in dmesg, if not you could use the "syslog" boot code and look in /var/log/messages
I now access admin and print test page, it works.
Great :)
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Yeah its great to see it working.
Just musing out loud here...
As you find it necessary to manually load parport_pc does this point to some form of contention between the BIOS settings and TC?
That is possible, I've tried tinycore linux boot cd 3.5.1 on a modern p4 computer and I had no trouble adding the printer via cups and hplip 2.-7, the same p4 computer still could not print but I'll try ghostscript_common.tcz OnBoot on that computer as well. I will also check on the modern computer with lsmod if the required lp and par ports are detected on boot.
I think the old P2 333Mhz pc and its ancient motherboard may be part of the problem, ghostscript_common was the rest.
Will do some further testing and report back, for example, i'll try removing (poppler-bin.tcz , ghostscript.tcz)
I'm guessing that was the problem, i.e. that pstoraster needs gs, which in turn needs gs_init.ps in this context, which is in ghostscript_common
Juanito - I am wondering if my problem was unique to a old HP T45 Printer ? Or should ghostscript_common be added as a dependency of cups ?
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...with lsmod if the required lp and par ports are detected on boot.
I think the old P2 333Mhz pc and its ancient motherboard may be part of the problem, ghostscript_common was the rest.
It is certainly possible to run it on kit of this this age as I have a test-rig of similar spec on which it runs flawlessly.
Where the age may be a relevant factor is the BIOS configuration options that were available when the machine was produced. This is what I was referring to in the earlier musings.
My understanding is that where appropriate and possible TC will automatically load the parport_pc kernel module at boot-up as shown by
lsmod | grep parport_pc
In this context
- appropriate could be taken as a working parallel connector
- possible might be taken as suitably configured
In venerable PCs such as this there are frequently BIOS settings to control
1. Whether IRQs are fixed or dynamically-auto-handled
2. Whether the parallel port is enabled/disabled
3. The mode in which the parallel port operates
4. The memory address and IRQ the parallel port uses
My initial preference here is one that I have found works most often:
1. = Dynamically-auto-handled
2. = Enabled
3. = EPP
4. = 378H/IRQ7
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I remember seeing the following settings in the bios related to the parallel port
enabled/disabled
ECP, EPP, SPP
mine was set to ECP, and I did not see any auto detect setting, i'll try your suggested bios settings and let you know how I go.
Its possable that I may have made some mistake when tinkering with settings saved on my flash drive, so i'll boot the old pc up with just the tinycore linux boot cd and check with:
lsmod | grep lpand
lsmod | grep parport_pc
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...I did not see any auto detect setting...
If it exists, it is quite likely that the IRQ fixed/auto-handling (not auto detect) toggle switch may be on a different BIOS configuration page as it refers to the entire machine, not just the parallel port.
...i'll boot the old pc up with just the tinycore linux boot cd and check with:
lsmod | grep lp
This should not appear unless you have previously manually loaded the module with
sudo modprobe lp
As an aside...
Both EPP and ECP were improvements in data transfer rates beyond those of a standard parallel port. ECP is just fine if it's working with your kit. I mentioned EPP as it appears to work most often with the equipment here.
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Clean boot of tcl3.5.1 on pc with p4 cpu gives the following lsmod output
Module Size Used by Not tainted
vfat 5596 1
fat 30220 1 vfat
squashfs 14728 0
ppdev 3732 0
scsi_wait_scan 276 0
parport_pc 18656 0
tg3 84024 0
ramzswap 10240 1
parport 18560 2 ppdev,parport_pc
libphy 8596 1 tg3
loop 8068 0
I did not find anything in the BIOS regarding Auto handling of irq's its very ancient isn't it ;) I've set the Parallel port settings to EPP - 378/IRQ7 and I've tried ECP and the lsmod is always the same, see bellow.
Clean boot of tcl3.5.1 on pc with p2 cpu gives the following lsmod output
Module Size Used by Not tainted
squashfs 14728 0
scsi_wait_scan 276 0
ramzswap 10240 1
loop 8068 0
e100 19332 0
This is no big deal. I now have the info to use lsmod, and know to look for
parport 18560 2 ppdev,parport_pc
when trying to setup a parallel port printer with cups, and I know how to fix it by adding sudo modprobe parport_pc to my /opt/bootlocal.sh file :)
Regarding extra driver extensions.
I've removed both poppler-bin.tcz , ghostscript.tcz from OnBoot and everything works fine. I will keep some documentation that those extensions might be needed in the future to make things easier.
I can connect to the printer server via a windows xp computer and can print fine :)
Everything is working fine here now.
All thats left to do is write up a howto for next time.
Thanks to everyone for their input and advice.
I even learnt some new stuff.
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Hey Juanito,
I'm guessing that was the problem, i.e. that pstoraster needs gs, which in turn needs gs_init.ps in this context, which is in ghostscript_common
I'm wondering how you know about the dependencies, did you do a particular type of google search or did you know from experience ?