LMDE has lost my Printer

[Ashocka]

It's been working all fine since I installed it a few weeks ago, but then suddenly my printer can't be detected. Have unplugged and replugged it in. Have stopped and restarted cups. cups can't connect to localhost (I notice). Printer works fine and detected when plugged into my Ubuntu machine. Printer is a Brother HL-2140

[slider]

Hi Ashocka

Usually the first thing to try is deleting then re-installing your printer.

Try your CUPS page in a web browser > http://127.0.0.1:631/printers/

Let us know how things go.

S

[Ashocka]

Hi Ashocka

Usually the first thing to try is deleting then re-installing your printer.

Try your CUPS page in a web browser > http://127.0.0.1:631/printers/

Let us know how things go.

S

I can connect to http://127.0.0.1/ but not http://127.0.0.1:631/printers/ (Oops! Google Chrome could not connect to 127.0.0.1:631)

In my printer setup there are no printers whatsoever. It's empty. So where do I go to delete and reinstall it?

Thanks

[slider]

Please try with a different browser as a test such as Firefox.

From some of the search results that I have seen Chrome sometimes has problems with this.

If the problem still persists please post the results of

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netstat -tulpn

S

[Ashocka]

Opera -

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Could not connect to remote server

Check that the address is spelled correctly, or try searching for the site.

Firefox -

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Unable to connect

 can't establish a connection to the server at 127.0.0.1:631.

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gdeering@lmde ~ $ netstat -tulpn
(Not all processes could be identified, non-owned process info
 will not be shown, you would have to be root to see it all.)
Active Internet connections (only servers)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address           Foreign Address         State       PID/Program name
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:9418            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -               
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:3306          0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -               
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:111             0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -               
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:10000           0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      -               
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:51413           0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      7860/transmission
tcp6       0      0 :::9418                 :::*                    LISTEN      -               
tcp6       0      0 :::139                  :::*                    LISTEN      -               
tcp6       0      0 :::80                   :::*                    LISTEN      -               
tcp6       0      0 :::51413                :::*                    LISTEN      7860/transmission
tcp6       0      0 :::445                  :::*                    LISTEN      -               
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:5353            0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:10000           0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:51413           0.0.0.0:*                           7860/transmission
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:68              0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:111             0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:57459           0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 192.168.1.3:123         0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 127.0.0.1:123           0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:123             0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 192.168.1.255:137       0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 192.168.1.3:137         0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:137             0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 192.168.1.255:138       0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 192.168.1.3:138         0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:138             0.0.0.0:*                           -               
udp6       0      0 :::5353                 :::*                                -               
udp6       0      0 :::46534                :::*                                -               
udp6       0      0 ::1:123                 :::*                                -               
udp6       0      0 fe80::222:15ff:fea9:123 :::*                                -               
udp6       0      0 :::123                  :::*                                -               

I also have Webmin installed and when I went into Printer Admin I got (Failed to start scheduler : sh: /etc/init.d/cupsys: not found)

It looks like I have no cups daemon??

[slider]

Thank you for performing the tests!

I have to concur with you that it appears your CUPS may be corrupted or not running? Did you try running

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sudo /etc/init.d/cups start

and then the tests?

According to netstat it looks like Loopback is listening correctly, but not on 631 printer port.

Check

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ifconfig lo

for output. Should show "UP LOOPBACK RUNNING".

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sudo ifconfig lo up

will get it up, but as for as I can tell it is up already according to netstat output. It would be hard for your system to be running correctly without Loopback up, but I've heard of it being done before on occasion.

Also run

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aptitude search cups

and list what is installed. An "i" before the package name will denote what is installed.

You can try purging and then re-installing CUPS packages, then re-testing. Please don't forget to run the start command for CUPS server first if you do or restart your system (in this case better than just logging out).

I will need to sleep soon, but I'll try and wait awhile longer. If I miss you I will check back here ASAP tomorrow.

Thank you for being patient.

S

[Ashocka]

Thank you for performing the tests!

I have to concur with you that it appears your CUPS may be corrupted or not running? Did you try running

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sudo /etc/init.d/cups start

and then the tests?

According to netstat it looks like Loopback is listening correctly, but not on 631 printer port.

Check

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ifconfig lo

for output. Should show "UP LOOPBACK RUNNING".

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sudo ifconfig lo up

will get it up, but as for as I can tell it is up already according to netstat output. It would be hard for your system to be running correctly without Loopback up, but I've heard of it being done before on occasion.

Yes

sudo ifconfig lo
[sudo] password for gdeering:
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:3866 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:3866 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:607150 (592.9 KiB) TX bytes:607150 (592.9 KiB)

Also run

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aptitude search cups

and list what is installed. An "i" before the package name will denote what is installed.

gdeering@lmde ~ $ sudo aptitude search cups
p apcupsd - APC UPS Power Management (daemon)
p apcupsd-cgi - APC UPS Power Management (web interface)
p apcupsd-doc - APC UPS Power Management (documentation/ex
p bluez-cups - Bluetooth printer driver for CUPS
c cups - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - server
p cups-bsd - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - BSD comm
i cups-client - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - client p
i cups-common - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - common f
p cups-dbg - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - debuggin
c cups-driver-gutenprint - printer drivers for CUPS
c cups-pdf - PDF printer for CUPS
i cups-pk-helper - PolicyKit helper to configure cups with fi
i cups-ppdc - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - PPD mani
p cupsddk - Common UNIX Printing System (transitional
v cupsddk-drivers -
i ghostscript-cups - interpreter for the PostScript language an
p gnuspool-cupspy - CUPS emulation for GNUspool
p hplip-cups - HP Linux Printing and Imaging - CUPS Raste
i libcups2 - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Core lib
p libcups2-dev - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Developm
i libcupscgi1 - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - CGI libr
p libcupscgi1-dev - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Developm
i libcupsdriver1 - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Driver l
p libcupsdriver1-dev - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Developm
i libcupsimage2 - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Raster i
p libcupsimage2-dev - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Developm
i libcupsmime1 - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - MIME lib
p libcupsmime1-dev - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Developm
i libcupsppdc1 - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - PPD mani
p libcupsppdc1-dev - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - Developm
v libcupsys2 -
v libcupsys2-dev -
p libgnomecups1.0-1 - GNOME library for CUPS interaction
p libgnomecups1.0-dev - GNOME library for CUPS interaction (header
p libnet-cups-perl - Perl module for printing through CUPS
i python-cups - Python bindings for CUPS
i python-cupshelpers - Python utility modules around the CUPS pri
v python2.6-cups -
v python2.7-cups -

I'll leave it at that till you get back to me, will purge tomorrow if necessary.

You can try purging and then re-installing CUPS packages, then re-testing. Please don't forget to run the start command for CUPS server first if you do or restart your system (in this case better than just logging out).

I will need to sleep soon, but I'll try and wait awhile longer. If I miss you I will check back here ASAP tomorrow.

Thank you for being patient.

S

THANKS for helping

[slider]

THANKS for helping

You are quite welcome! That is why we are all here, for each other.

I must say, that you have been a pleasure to help. Thank you for running all tests and commands as specified. This makes it a lot easier to help you. I wish all users needing help would be this cooperative and patient as you have.



Now back to business:

Pleases note all the packages with a "c" prefix in the search output. I will list them below:

c cups - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - server
c cups-driver-gutenprint - printer drivers for CUPS
c cups-pdf - PDF printer for CUPS

The "c" designation denotes that these packages were deleted but their configuration files remain on the system.

If I remember correctly the package cups - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - server provides the daemon/scheduler. This package use to be called "cupsys". I believe this to be the main cause of your problem.



Recommendations:

Make careful notes of all packages with the "c" prefix and then re-install them.

Start with cups - Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - server. Keep in mind that this may or may not pull in and install the other deleted packages as well, so check after the first install. Reading the dependency list will also give an idea as to what else will be brought in.

Using aptitude is usually more user-friendly than apt-get as for as information/choice is concerned.

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sudo aptitude install cups

You may also use an GUI like synaptic or such to check and do this (your favorite package manger).

Once all packages have been restored try to access your CUPS page as before. Hopefully, this should get you fixed up.

Please report back on how things go. I will monitor this thread as close as possible so that we can get you back up and running.

Thanks.

S

[Ashocka]

I re-installed as you suggested.

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gdeering@lmde ~ $ sudo aptitude install cups
[sudo] password for gdeering: 
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  cups cups-driver-gutenprint{a} 
0 packages upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0 B/3,107 kB of archives. After unpacking 17.3 MB will be used.
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
  foomatic-db-engine: Breaks: cups (< 1.5.0-3~) but 1.4.8-2 is to be installed.
The following actions will resolve these dependencies:

     Remove the following packages:                           
1)     foomatic-db-engine                                     
2)     foomatic-filters-ppds                                  

     Leave the following dependencies unresolved:             
3)     foomatic-db recommends foomatic-db-engine              
4)     foomatic-filters recommends foomatic-db-engine (>= 4.0)


Accept this solution? [Y/n/q/?] y
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  cups cups-driver-gutenprint{a} 
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  foomatic-db-engine{a} foomatic-filters-ppds{a} 
0 packages upgraded, 2 newly installed, 2 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0 B/3,107 kB of archives. After unpacking 16.2 MB will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n/?] y
Preconfiguring packages ...              
(Reading database ... 200634 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing foomatic-filters-ppds ...
Removing foomatic-db-engine ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Selecting previously deselected package cups.
(Reading database ... 200572 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking cups (from .../cups_1.4.8-2_amd64.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package cups-driver-gutenprint.
Unpacking cups-driver-gutenprint (from .../cups-driver-gutenprint_5.2.7-2_amd64.deb) ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up cups (1.4.8-2) ...
insserv: warning: current start runlevel(s) (0 1 2 3 4 5 6) of script `cups' overwrites defaults (2 3 4 5).
insserv: warning: current stop runlevel(s) (empty) of script `cups' overwrites defaults (1).
Starting Common Unix Printing System: cupsd.
Setting up cups-driver-gutenprint (5.2.7-2) ...
Did not update any PPD files
Reloading Common Unix Printing System: cupsd.
Backend usb used by printer HL-2140-series is current.
                                         
Current status: 32380 new [-1].
gdeering@lmde ~ $ 

As you can see my printer came back and everything looked good, but when I attempted to print jobs just jammed in the print queue. Before I went to fix this I went in to synaptic to look at cups and added the pdf component, but the install hung

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Selecting previously deselected package cups-pdf.
(Reading database ... 201523 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking cups-pdf (from .../cups-pdf_2.5.1-3_amd64.deb) ...
Setting up cups-pdf (2.5.1-3) ...
Reloading Common Unix Printing System: cupsd.

It just hung at this point. So I had to kill it and reboot. I was going to go into synaptic and uninstall all the cups and reinstall them, but then I got this message on trying to open synaptic

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E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run 'dpkg --configure -a' to correct the problem. 
E: _cache->open() failed, please report.

Then I ran this in a terminal

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gdeering@lmde ~ $ sudo dpkg - configure
[sudo] password for gdeering: 
dpkg: error: need an action option

Type dpkg --help for help about installing and deinstalling packages [*];
Use `dselect' or `aptitude' for user-friendly package management;
Type dpkg -Dhelp for a list of dpkg debug flag values;
Type dpkg --force-help for a list of forcing options;
Type dpkg-deb --help for help about manipulating *.deb files;

Options marked [*] produce a lot of output - pipe it through `less' or `more' !
gdeering@lmde ~ $ 

So I need some help on how to continue

[slider]

You left off part of the command syntax. Notice there are two "-" and an extra "-a".

Please run

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sudo dpkg --configure -a

Copy and paste the code.

Please report back.

Thanks.

S

[Ashocka]

First, I'm an idiot for trying to install cups-pdf in the middle of such a problem, but hope it teaches me something (not to do that again).

Next, I have been testing things, cleaning a few things up, removing cups and installing it again. All looked good but couldn't find my printer. After doing all this and looking at other docks online finely checked my USB cable and I had unplugged it last night. DOH!! (Getting more and more dull in my old age). System found the printer straight away when I connected it.

If problem occurs again, think I will just uninstall and reinstall it.

So thanks for all the help and patience.

If I can ask one more question, is there a superior way to connecting another PC to the printer coming through this machine than via Nautilus/connect to server/SHH?

Again, thanks for your help.

[slider]

Please don't be too hard on yourself. I think that you did very well. You got things sorted an that is what counts. Well done!

If I can ask one more question, is there a superior way to connecting another PC to the printer coming through this machine than via Nautilus/connect to server/SHH?

If I understand what you are asking correctly let me again point you to your CUPS page as before > http://127.0.0.1:631/

As you can see in the screenshot, the capability to do what you ask is there.

Many very useful controls along with help sections are provided.

screenshot63.png

screenshot64.png

Please try this resource first and then if you experience any problems, just open a new thread on that subject. As always please be as verbose as possible when describing errors, messages, questions, or whatnot.


Also one thing that you can do to help the community forums: When you feel that this thread has been solved to your expectations, please add the word "Solved" to your first original post subject field. By doing so, you will be helping other users find threads with actual solutions quicker.

Again, thanks for your help

You are quite welcome. Thank you for choosing to be a part of the Linux Mint community.


Kind Regards,

S

[Ashocka]

Thanks.

You know, I am IT qualified 20 years, but now a neck and back injury and old age contribute to my cognitive incapacity/inability. I'm in retirement now, so I hope to have some time to run a few websites and contribute to OSS documentation.

Thanks