Well, if foomatic-filters isn't installed, then that's not the problem. Try removing these two:

I suggest this because they were two packages I initially suggested, and thus they may be installed. They're not necessary, and because they're older, they may be bungling stuff up (if they were installed).

Also, go to http://localhost:631 and look under Jobs, Show All Jobs. If there's none, then good. If there are any, and if you can remove them, then do so. Then, go to Printers. If you see any listed, press on them and then press Administration, and then remove the printer. Do this with any printer that's listed. Then you can start fresh.

Reboot and try again. Hopefully your printer is not trying to print now. If so, go to http://localhost:631, and click Administration, then Find New Printer. If it lists anything, add it. If not, try the Add Printer button instead, and see if this time you can set up something that works.

Good luck.

Mark, I will give it a go and get back to you, Thanks, Jim

james@james-System-Product-Name:~$ sudo apt-get remove foomatic-db foomatic-db-engine
[sudo] password for james:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
alien at cabextract debugedit libjpeg62 libpod-plainer-perl librpmbuild3
librpmsign1 libsigsegv2 linux-headers-3.13.0-32
linux-headers-3.13.0-32-generic linux-image-3.13.0-32-generic
linux-image-extra-3.13.0-32-generic lsb-core lsb-cxx lsb-desktop
lsb-graphics lsb-languages lsb-multimedia lsb-security m4 ncurses-term pax
rpm
Use 'apt-get autoremove' to remove them.
The following packages will be REMOVED:
foomatic-db foomatic-db-engine foomatic-db-gutenprint
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 3 to remove and 6 not upgraded.
After this operation, 191 MB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
(Reading database ... 274473 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing foomatic-db-gutenprint (5.2.10~pre2-0ubuntu2) ...
Removing foomatic-db (20140410-0ubuntu1) ...
Removing foomatic-db-engine (4.0.11-0ubuntu1) ...
dpkg: warning: while removing foomatic-db-engine, directory '/etc/foomatic' not empty so not removed
Processing triggers for cups (1.7.2-0ubuntu1.5) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.6.7.1-1ubuntu1) ...
james@james-System-Product-Name:~$
Mark, I wanted to get this in after using the command just in case I might lose it. I will now try the rest you had asked about the printers, Jim

Just a hint here;
You can copy/paste all your terminal output to a text editor and save it to a file. That way you can keep it as long as it is at all helpful.

You can also add notes to it if you find something else out that is pertenant to it and to you.

Screen shots are many times not useful in the least because they are not really readable. At least not to geezers.

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Mark, I tried everything you suggested but it did not change anything concerning the printer. I removed all the printers after checking for jobs. I restarted the machine several times as well. However the printer remains doing the same thing. I read someplace about the "Fifo" having something to do with the Paralell Port. So I started snooping around in the system log area. I grabed the end of the current date wich is now. This is what it shows.
ar 9 23:34:53 james-System-Product-Name dbus[468]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.hostname1'
Mar 9 23:34:53 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 137.570078] systemd-hostnamed[3456]: Warning: nss-myhostname is not installed. Changing the local hostname might make it unresolveable. Please install nss-myhostname!
Mar 9 23:36:01 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 205.640025] parport0: FIFO is stuck
Mar 9 23:36:01 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 205.688025] parport0: BUSY timeout (1) in compat_write_block_pio
Mar 9 23:36:11 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 215.688051] DMA write timed out
Mar 9 23:37:21 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 285.736019] parport0: FIFO is stuck
Mar 9 23:37:21 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 285.784021] parport0: BUSY timeout (1) in compat_write_block_pio
Mar 9 23:37:31 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 295.784032] DMA write timed out
Mar 9 23:38:41 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 365.832026] parport0: FIFO is stuck
Mar 9 23:38:41 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 365.880027] parport0: BUSY timeout (1) in compat_write_block_pio
Mar 9 23:38:51 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 375.880041] DMA write timed out
Mar 9 23:40:01 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 445.936019] parport0: FIFO is stuck
Mar 9 23:40:01 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 445.984028] parport0: BUSY timeout (1) in compat_write_block_pio
Mar 9 23:40:11 james-System-Product-Name kernel: [ 455.984019] DMA write timed out
Even while just sitting there and watching the log it kept growing with the same stuff. I think whatever is stuck is the problem. Thank you, Jim

widget, I actually figured the copy thing out by mistake. The screen shot doesn't work all that well for this stuff. I also am in the geezer hood too. I still haaven't figured out how to get a lot of print so I can see it as some things don't change with the Ctrl + deal. Thank you, Jim

Hey Jimmyjack67, sorry to hear that the problems persist.

Maybe try installing these two packages listed below, but first do a test to make sure the install won't do anything dramatic (the command below won't install anything, it's just a simulation):

Test:


If that looked fine, then install them with the following:

Reboot and see. I hope these packages might help with fonts or character recognition or something, and hopefully stop your printer from printing gibberish.

Mark, I tried the commands and re-booted but the parallel port still seems to be still active and the printer LQ570, is still trying to print. I don't get it as before, it wouldn't work at all and now it seems to be a non-stop deal?? The only printer I set up so I could print out your instructions is my HP Deskjet 6988dt which I connected through its USB cable rather than going through the LocalHost to get it on its Wifi connection. I did it this way trying to avoid everything else so as not to fool around to much with anything else. Thank you, Jim

Hmm. Sorry to hear that. There must be some way to stop it. Maybe something with the printer. I think this is the manual for your printer.

If you have the printer disconnected from the computer, and you turn it on, with it loaded with paper, does it still wish to print?

I browsed the manual, but couldn't find any definitive answer. There's some stuff with the Pause button or the DIP-switch buttons or the LF/FF and LOAD/EJECT buttons that might do something. Don't really know what to suggest, unfortunately.

Mark, It really doesn't matter concerning the printer. I say this as whatever problem/s have come up it is effecting other areas of the machine as well. First though I've tried the printer without being connected to the computer at all and it is okay and just sits there with the power lamp on. It also operates unders Windows 7 properly so,, I know the printer is ok as it runs fine from the dual boot into windows 7.
What ever has happened is also messing up the ability to stay online, ((seemingly)) as well. I have the original manual that came with it as well.
My thoughts at the moment is to try to remove Unbuntu and re-install the OS. I think something has over written something some place and it is foweling things up some place. I will fool around for a time seeing if I might come accross something first though before I try that route. From what I have been able to gather so far is there are few folks that know much about the Fifo problem. I do appreciate your efforts in any event and don't worry.

Thank You, Jim

From time to time over the years, I've had printers act like this, spewing out page after page of nonsense. In my case, the cause has been an attempt to print an image, which for some reason got interrupted very early in the transfer of data from computer to printer, followed by the printer automatically resetting itself to text mode and attempting to continue printing the job. The image data then comes out as garbled nonsense, usually only a few lines per page followed by a new page.

Attempting to cancel the job in such a situation didn't work, but turning the printer completely off, then re-booting the computer, and finally turning the printer back on, always did stop the non-stop action.

In almost all printer setups, here's an outline of what happens behind the scenes: Your application stores the data to be printed in a portion of memory owned by the program itself. When you tell the app to print, it begins copying that data over to another portion of memory owned by the printer driver, first telling the driver what you want done. The driver does its magic with the data; if it's an image, it sends a command to the printer that establishes image mode, while if it's text, the driver lets the printer know to treat it differently. The printer acknowledges these commands, and when the driver has processed enough of the data, it begins sending it over to the printer. The printer stores the data as it comes in, in its own memory (physically in the printer, not in the main computer at all), and each time it finds the data codes for "end of line" (if it's text) or has enough data to fill a single line (if it's an image), does the actual printing on the paper.

If something goes wrong midway, then both the memory area in the printer driver, and the printer's own memory, will have incomplete data stored in them. If the error gets corrected immediately, either by a command from you or by automatic action of either the printer or the driver, then the printer attempts to continue -- but without the original command that tells it how to treat the data that's still stored in those two areas. This usually causes another error, which in turn causes this paragraph to be repeated -- giving you the non-stop mess you're seeing.

Turning the printer off for at least a minute should clear its internal memory of any stored data. Re-booting the computer should clear the printer driver's storage area. These two actions normally break the "loop" that's burning up ink and paper, although it you have some kind of damage to the system itself (as you've suggested may be the case) it could be starting things all over again automatically.

Re-installing the system should take care of that possibility, but would lose everything you have stored on the machine unless you first copy it off to another system or an external drive of some sort.

JimKyle, Thank you for your thoughts. The things you have said as well as suggested I have tried a number of times. I really haven't used any programs as far as doing any "real" work on the machine other than e-mail. I think where my problems came into being was possibly trying to get some PPDs and other files to work. I am thinking that somehow something has got written to some area and is basically stuck there. My problems are possibly due to the fact I don't really know what I am doing.
I had even removed the parallel cable from my printer as well as the computer. Then fired up the printer with paper and with out paper and it sits there with just the power indicator lit and does nothing as it should. I also have tried (Many times now), rebooting the computer through re-starting. I also have shut it down completely and even disconnected the power to the computer and restarted it. With out the printer connected and then with the printer connected. As soon as everything is re-connected, the printer starts printing all over again. I simply do not know enough about how the OS talks to the parallel port or where to look to see if I might be able to kill or flush out the problem. I also have been removing some programs I added through the Ubuntu program for that rather than trying through the Terminal as I haven't mastered well enough as yet and still need to get the hang of the areas the files need to be saved too. Unfortunately I am on a Windows machine and can't remember all the various programs I have installed on that machine which is giving me the headaches.
When I stared with Ubuntu 14.04LTs in December, I had installed a brand new hard drive, 750GB and basically used half for Ubuntu and half for Windows 7 Pro. My greater concern is the possibility of having to deal with Windows 7 as it is a pure headache to re-key the license code and the rest of the junk and hoops Microsoft requires as I had purchased and OEM OS deal just for that machine. If, there is a safe way to transfer the programs to a 2nd hard drive, a 500GB also in the machine, then I might be okay?? First though, I am going to try removing a few other programs to see if it "might" do anything to change things. Thank you, Jim

If you're very careful with the installation process, you can re-install only Ubuntu while leaving Win7 unaffected. There's no need to remove the existing Ubuntu first, since the installation process will automatically wipe it away as one of the first steps in re-installing.

To achieve this, you have to select the "something else" option when you get to the screen that asks "What do you want to do?" and offers choices of using the whole disk, installing ubuntu alongside Windows, or "something else."

When the "something else" screen comes up it can be quite puzzling and confusing. It tends to assume that you know what you're doing, and thus leads many newcomers astray. Mark can probably give you more detailed instructions about this than I can, since it's been a couple of years since I last did an install here. This screen essentially shows you a picture representing your total disk area as a horizontal bar that's divided into smaller areas which represent the partitions used by Win7 and by Ubuntu. The usage for each of these areas appears in a table below that bar. As you select a line in the table, the corresponding area gets highlighted, and there will be checkboxes indicating what you want to happen to that partition.

You'll need to make sure that the checkbox labelled "Format?" (or something very similar) for all of the partitions used by Win 7 is NOT checked, and that the same box for all partitions used by Ubuntu IS checked. The other items for all of them can be left as is, I believe, but verify this with Mark. That one checkbox controls the erasing of the old Ubuntu, and leaving Win7 unchanged.

Once you've made these changes you can have the install process continue, and see whether that fixes things. Since you've been using Ubuntu for your email, you'll need to be sure to save your address book, because the existing one will be erased along with everything else in the old system. And if you go this route, be very sure about everything on the "something else" screen before continuing, because there's no going back from that point.

As for the true non-stoppability of the printing, that almost has to be something mismatched between the print driver in use, and the printer itself. This could cause garbled signals to be sent to the printer continually. Since it works properly under Win7, there's not much else left that could possibly cause the problem -- although in almost 55 years with computers I've not heard of this specific situation before!

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JimKyle, To be very honest about this deal, I haven't been trough anything like it either and I have fooled around with computers sense 1985. I never tried to learn a prrograming language due to not ever being able to grasp algebra. I could get answers but never mastered the letter thing as it just didn't make sense to me. So,,, programing is out of my league. I do believe it is caught up in the Fifo end of things and, I also have seen many folks with the same errors but different printers and what have you. Also, there doesn't seen as though they are getting many answers to their problems either. So I guess you could say I'm not alone. I also have seen posts with codes writen to help some things but I do not know how to go about that stuff or even what it all means. I have been in the hope to find out something to be able to post it back as a help to all but, that is not the case. Thank You, Jim and thanks for your information concerning the re-installation. I will go that as a last option.

Reinstalling is really not that hard. It could even be done using the automagical type install you used, probably, in the first place.

This would include another step; getting rid of your current Ubuntu install. This can be done using the live CD booted to the live session quite easily.

I would recommend using the "something else" option too but you don't have to do it that way. Using that option you can have a somewhat better install than the automagical installer could possibly do simply because it is a job that is easier for even a rank beginner to do than for software to do. Just one of those things that needs human choices made.

You can set all that you need, easily, with gui tools in the live session before starting the install and then just follow easy instructions on what to do when in the installer.

Considerably easier than things you have been doing on this problem already.

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