Sporadic Spool32 errors

[Nathan Cockrum]

I have been researching Spool32 errors for a while now and I am starting to get tired of chasing my tail. I am funning a network of 300+ machines. O/S's include Win95, 98, 2k, NT. All machines go through Jet Direct cards to HP Laser printers of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Common software includes Mcafee 4.5.1, pcAnywhere, Acrobat Reader, Office 2k, etc. We encounter Spool32 errors on a daily basis. After turning off Mcafee the problems disappear. We would like to keep our virus shield up at all times. The most problematic module is GDI.exe. Micro's forums decode this as a problem with the processor. I do admit to having the most trouble with Celeron, but it is not exclusive to Celeron, we also run PI 200MHz machines. The numbers are not proportional, however. Celeron boxes encounter more problems than PI machines. We have been unable to get help from Mcafee, HP, or Microsoft. I turn to you for any answers or suggestions. I, along with my coworkers thank you.

Nathan C.

[Rune J. Winje]

Some very general suggestions here:

* Update all Jetdirect cards to latest firmware. Firmware files and tools are available for free download. (HP Web JetAdmin, Download Manager etc).

* Qualify if there is any difference between using Jetdirect Ports (HP) or Standard TCP/IP Ports (MS).
The JD Ports give more status feedback which can be a pro or con.

* Update all drivers. Try standardizing on one type of driver (PCL or PS) as much as possible.

* On servers it can be trouble to install an old driver after a new driver as a old .DLL will sometimes overwrite new .DLL Unfortunately no simple solutions to this...

* GDI which you mention is the graphical resouces on a server/pc. If it is on a Server it indicates the printer driver "Print Processor" option is set to "NT EMF" (Enhanced MetaFile). This makes a lot of print processing take place on the server. Use the RAW option instead.

* Lastly check if McAffee has updates. Also I believe it can be a good idea to turn off 'Real Time Scanning' for the SPOOL folder. Open the Printers Folder. Select File -> Server Properties ->Advanced, to find out which catalog this is on a server or client.

Hope this was of some help.


Cheers,
Rune