Some PowerBook computers are bundled with Assistant Toolbox installed. The Assistant Toolbox opens AppleTalk during the startup process so it is available without having to restart if you need to make it active. This causes problems with some serial printers.
There are two workarounds for this situation.
- Turn the printer on only just before you need to use it. If it is not on when you turn the PowerBook on, then it will not print out garbage.
- Remove Assistant Toolbox from the Extensions Folder, then reset PRAM and choose the printer in the Chooser.