Mac OS X 10.4.5 (#10): More on Epson printer problems; Processor performance setting missing; more

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 11:18 p.m. PT

3 min read

More on Epson printer problems We continue to cover issues printing to Epson devices after the update to Mac OS X 10.4.5.

As described by one MacFixIt reader:

"Yesterday, I updated to Mac OS X 10.4.5 and (my Epson) printers do not work at all. It seems communication is established with the printer and then it?s cancelled. When I try to use the printer utility I get a message that says ?A communication error has occurred". I have no problem with a Samsung ML-1210 laser printer."

Fixes

Gutenprint and usbtb Some users have been able to resolve this issue by installing the excellent open-source Epson printer drivers available as part of the Gutenprint package (formerly known as Gimp-print) and usbtb, a CUPS back-end for USB printing.

Connect directly to Mac Some problems that may occur when an Epson printer is connected through an AirPort Express or other AirPort base station are resolved by plugging the device directly into a Mac's USB port.

MacFixIt reader Ray Dudley writes:

"I was also having problems using the Epson printer utility. It never saw my printer. I had it plugged into the usb port on my AirTunes, but, finally I plugged it into the usb port on the Intel iMac and it works perfectly."

Remove non-required drivers MacFixIt reader Charlie reports that removing extraneous Epson drivers from /Library/Printers/EPSON resolved the issues with his RX-700 printer.

He writes:

"Just a follow up on the problems I reported yesterday. After searching around a bit I found a note about incompatibilities and workarounds related to Epson printers under Tiger which mentioned removing unnecessary printer plugins from /Library/Printers/EPSON. After removing most of the non-required plugins for my installation, I'm happy to report that the Epson Printer Utility works perfectly again with my RX-700."

Mac OS X 10.4.5 (Intel): Duplicate "Open With" items Some users have reported duplicate "Open With" items after updating to the Intel version of Mac OS X 10.4.5.

There are a couple fixes for this issue, previously noted on MacFixIt.

A Terminal-based fix, involves use of the lsregister command, which can be invoked to perform general maintenance of Launch Services, working to eliminate duplicate applications and other system issues.

We also have a tutorial called "Deleting old copies of applications (documents opening with the wrong version, program)" that offers several fixes for this issue.

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