If a printer selection has never been made, application programs may exhibit a variety of symptoms including:
- The computer stops responding.
- The computer stops responding, and a System error type 1 (or 11) message appears.
- When trying to send a fax by using the Command-Option keyboard shortcut, an error message appears and states that no printer is selected in the Chooser; you are unable to fax.
Solution
The computer may have never been set up to use a printer. Many application programs assume that a printer has been chosen; when that isn't the case, the application(s) may exhibit the symptoms listed above.
If a printer is connected
If your computer is connected to a printer, use the Chooser to select the printer. Close the Chooser and restart your computer before trying to print again.
If a printer is not connected
Macintosh with USB port
If you do not have any USB-compatible printer drivers installed (none of Apple's serial printer drivers, such as ImageWriter or StyleWriter, are USB-compatible), and are not connected to a network printer, there are no printers left in the Chooser to select. In that event, select the "FaxPrint" driver (found in the Chooser) instead. Note that a desktop printer icon is not created for the "FaxPrint" driver. Print commands invoke the Send Fax dialog box instead of the standard Print dialog box.
All other Macintosh computers
Use the Desktop Printer Utility to set up a desktop printer that is not associated with any actual printer (see Figure 1). Then use the Chooser to select the newly-created desktop printer.
Figure 1 Creating a desktop printer that is not associated with any printer.
Alternatively, if the modem port or serial port is unused, set up a "phantom" serial printer selection through the unused port. For example, set up a StyleWriter printer connection through the printer port if your printer port is not being used. If both the modem port and the serial port are being used, you can use the Chooser to set up a fax driver connection.
Technical Background
Setting up a Macintosh without a printer selection is undesirable. There are a few ways that this can happen:
- You skip the Mac OS Setup Assistant at startup.
- When going through the Mac OS Setup Assistant, in the section on selecting a printer, if "Network" is chosen and there is no printer on the network, the Assistant allows you to continue, but no printer is chosen.
- If desktop printing has been turned off, resetting the PRAM causes the Macintosh to forget its printer selection.