Device busy

[Duane Whitty]

Guus De Graeve wrote:
>    Hello,
>    I was wondering if someone could help me with an anoying problem i
>    having for a while now.
>    It's about my printer a 'Brother HL-2030', it's attached to my first
>    usb port and recognized by the kernel as /dev/ulpt0.
>    ulpt0: Brother HL-2030 series, rev 2.00/1.00, addr 2, iclass 7/1
>    ulpt0: using bi-directional mode
>    When i try to print to my printer with a basic test like 'echo Test >
>    /dev/ulpt0' i get the message "/dev/ulpt0: Device busy".
>    The problem is that i can't think of any other running proces that
>    could be using the port to.
>    My FreeBSD version is 6.0
>    Thanks,
>    Greetings Guus De Graeve,
> _______________________________________________
>   
Hi,

I believe the problem is actually that your printer does not accept plain
text input.  You need to run it through a filter first.  The problem is that
many new printers only accept input in the form of a binary command
language.  In the case of this printer it is through GDI, a windows 
standard.
I notice on the Brother website that a linux driver is available.  Perhaps
this would be a starting point.

It would definitely be worth checking out CUPS, the Common UNIX Printing
System.  I don't know if it supports this particular printer but it 
seems to
offer support for a lot of different printing devices.

Hope this helps,

Duane Whitty,
-- 
duane at greenmeadow.ca