Ever since upgrading our computer our Epson Stylus Photo 700 printer has not worked properly. Sometimes after the first page prints, it produces page after page with a couple of garbled lines. Epson Support suggested that we check the basics, reload the updated software, etc…but this was to no avail. Finally they advised that we should take the computer to a retail computer store to ‘do a bios’. We rang the computer store who want us to bring in the hard drive and printer to have a look. However, they will charge us for this service. Surely there must be a simple solution. All was well until we updated our computer - we previously had a Pentium with Windows 95. Our current computer is a Pentium III running Windows ME.

When Epson Support said that you may need to have something done to your computer’s BIOS by a computer store, I think that they are referring to the parallel port mode. The computer’s parallel port can operate in several different modes, including: ECP, EPP, and bi-directional. As the problem only occurred after upgrading your computer (in particular, the motherboard), it may be that the new motherboard does not have the same configuration as does your parallel port. If the parallel port mode currently set in your BIOS is not compatible with your printer, then this can cause problems. Before you start changing settings in your BIOS, be aware that the BIOS is an especially sensitive area of your computer. Changing any settings in the BIOS can cause major ramifications for your computer and sometimes may leave it unbootable. Only complete the following procedure at your own risk! If you do wish to proceed, start by accessing your BIOS by pressing a hotkey (e.g., DEL) during the power-on self-test portion of your computer’s bootup (i.e., when the memory tests, etc… occur). The key you need to press will be displayed, such as ‘Press DEL to enter setup’, when the POST is running. Once your BIOS setup appears, you will need to find the sub-menu that contains the setting. This varies from computer to computer. It may be something like ‘Advanced Settings’ or ‘Peripheral Settings’. However, DO NOT enter a menu option such as ‘Auto-Detect HDD’. This will cause all sorts of problems. If you do accidently select such an option, the BIOS should prompt you for confirmation. At that point, abort the operation! But assuming that you do find the parallel port mode setting, you will notice that it can take on many different values. Change the setting (e.g., if it is currently ECP, change it to EPP) and then exit and save the BIOS. Try your printer again. If it doesn’t work, go back into the BIOS and try changing this to another setting. Repeat the procedure until your printer is working. However, should you arrive back at the original setting, you should consult a computer store to sort out the problem for you.