Mac: programs quit when attempting to print
 

thanks for reading.

let me start by saying that i have tried many methods to get my Apple G4 Ti-Book to communicate with my Epson Stylus Photo 870. i have had the printer for quite some time with no issues. i was reading a Mac book at B&N over a coffee, and took this (apparently wrong) advice:
go into the cache for your printers and devices, including web browser, and delete it. the next time you start the application, it will rebuild a fresh memory cache and your computer will run more efficiently. or something along those lines. i deleted the cache, and have had trouble ever since.
i reloaded the software, drivers and even reinstalled OS X 10.3.6.
when i try to print out of any app, from Safari to Photoshop 7, the program bombs immediately and the "application has unexpectedly quit" message pops up.
any thoughts from my smart tech head buds?!

thx, g

no ideas out there?
i am willing to try just about anything!
thanks

Did it look on the shelf above it?

Sorry...I know that's no help, but I couldn't resist. ;)

Less savvy on the apple side, but it sounds similar to turning off window's spooler process and then trying to print a large doc, it just chokes up the memory.

Do a google and see if you can find info on recreating the printer cache.
See if that solves it.

Found this for PDF's. Do you still have the laptop set to use the spooler (cache)?

9. Disable background printing. (Mac OS 9.x only)

Background printing can affect system resources, so that inadequate memory is available to Print Monitor.

To disable background printing:

1. Choose File > Print, and then choose Background Printing from the menu.

2. Select Foreground (no spool file), and then click Print. Continue as follows:

-- If the PDF file prints, allocate more memory to Print Monitor, which is in the Extensions folder, and then reenable background printing. If the problem recurs after you allocate more memory to Print Monitor, reinstall your printer driver from the system software installation disks or from the disks included with your printer.

-- If the PDF file doesn't print, go to the next task. After you resolve the problem, you can reenable background printing

also:
http://www.sciencequest.org/support/...int_spool.html

Hmm.. sounds like you deleted something you shouldn't have. I have an Epson printer and to print from my powerbook i just plug it in and it imemdiatly recognizes it and does whatever it needs to to get it up and running. Shouldnt need to install anything that i know of, or delete anything.

thanks a zillion.
i am not working in OS 9, so the background printing won't apply, but i have followed the link, WillyPete, to see what i can find. i appreciate all of your efforts. i shall report my findings shortly!

nothing else is working
 

the link seems to be for OS 9.
just cannot seem to get things to work even with all the tinkering.

i just installed 10.3.7 (was running 10.3.6 when this happened).
any ideas from the OS X brain trust?