Slow printing on locally shared or networked FamilySearch center printers

Article Id: 6308
October 18, 2024
Share

If the computers in a FamilySearch center take 5 minutes or more to send a print job to a shared printer which is connected directly to a computer, try the following steps.

The instructions are for Windows 7.

Test the speed of the network connection.

  1. Click Start.
  2. In the Search programs and files box, type CMD in the Open text box.
  3. Type ipconfig and press Enter.
  4. Write down the IP Address that appears.
  5. Right-click Computer on the desktop, and click Properties to find the computer name. Write it down.
  6. On a different computer, open a command prompt (see steps 1 and 2), and type the word ping followed by a space and the IP address of the first computer. (For example: ping 192.168.0.10)
  7. You should see these results: Ping statistics for [the IP address you entered]: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss); Approximate round-trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = [your time]ms, Maximum = [your time]ms, Average = [your time]ms
  8. You should have 4 sent and received packets, and the approximate round-trip time must average 1,000 ms (one second) or less.
  9. On the same computer, in the command prompt window, type ping and then a space and the name of the first computer.
  10. If you have a delay of 6–8 seconds before the replies show on the screen, you have a problem which also shows as long printer delays (5 minutes or more to print a family group sheet). You also see a delay of 15 or more seconds when you try to access contents of a shared folder across your network.

Solution

Usually, the problem happens if you append suffixes in DNS name resolution. Use these steps to correct it. Perform the steps on each computer.

If you have the Deep Freeze program or another program that locks the desktop or prevents changes to the computer, turn it off for the settings to remain after a reboot.

  1. Sign in as an administrator (or a Windows user with admin privileges).
  2. Click Start.
  3. Click Control Panel.
  4. Click Network and Sharing Center.
  5. Click Local Area Connection.
  6. Click Properties. 
  7. Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) [Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)].
  8. Click properties.
  9. Click Advanced.
  10. Click DNS.
  11. Click in the radio button next to Append these DNS suffixes (in Order).
  12. Click ADD.
  13. In the window, type a single period (.).
  14. Click ADD. (Adds the period to the list. Make sure that the period is at the top of the list. The computer is forced to attempt local name resolution before asking the DNS server.
  15. Make sure you see a check mark in the box near the bottom of the screen next to Register this connection's address in DNS.
  16. Click OK.
  17. Click OK.
  18. Click Close.

If it does not work right away, reboot after you add the DNS suffix. 

Windows PrintNightmare Issue for FamilySearch Center Printing and Network Connectivity

Was this helpful?