Cannot open port error

[SummitSignsandmore]

Not sure if it is related to the issue but my modem went bad. Comcast installed a new one next day and claims there was a power surge. Although I have everything hooked up behind surge protectors. My internet card, modem and HDMI for my graphics card all seemed to have went bad. While I was down internet I "Organized" my PC wire cluster some now when I send a job to print I get the "cannot open port" error.

I have tried trouble shooting a bit on my own with no success.
My Mutoh VJ 1204 runs off the ethernet hookup. Everything is about 15 years old. Computer only about 5 years old.

In my device manager for PORTS COM & LPT. I only see my desktop printer and my cutter listed. The ethernet hook up on my pc has a light and is lit green so I assume that the connection is good?

Any advises on how to trouble shoot this issue?

 

[weyandsign]

Did comcast give you a modem/router combo? Is your PC and your printer both plugged into the comcast box? If so, then possibly the new router/modem is configured differently than the old one was. You would need to make sure the IP settings in your printer software is configured properly for the new modem/router.

 

[Pauly]

i dont know how much stuff you have plugged into the router. but get a switch like this one - (amazon link)

TP-Link TL-SG108 8 Port Gigabit Unmanaged Ethernet Network Switch

Plug the router into port 1 of the switch
Plug everything else into the other ports. There should be no communication errors.
IF there is, it something on your PC. But having the switch is better then using the router as a switch.

Sometimes internet provider hardware can have stupid configs for no reason.

 

[SummitSignsandmore]

My PC is connected directly to the printer through ehternet.

Also the modem is a router combo. That is connected to the PC to router.

The ip address in my production manager does match the IP that is on my printer. I don't believe it would or have to be the same IP address as my internet would it?

 

[Pauly]

My PC is connected directly to the printer through ehternet.

Also the modem is a router combo. That is connected to the PC to router.

The ip address in my production manager does match the IP that is on my printer. I don't believe it would or have to be the same IP address as my internet would it?

Was the printer always directly connected to the PC before you cleaned up the cables? (not usually how ethernet works)

Yes i know all routers (well most) are router/switch combos. When you have a few thing plugged in to the router, it's better to run a separate switch.

the IP should be your internal IP. e.g 192.168.1.xxx (what ever your printer IPs gives out)
If it's directly connected to the PC, (if that works) it might be a different IP. usually you would choose the IP in the printer settings. same with the port.
(i dont know much about your printer & rip but network settings for any device all have the same basic principals)

 

[weyandsign]

Just trying to understand your setup. Do you have the PC connected to the router via Wifi? Or do you have 2 ethernet ports on the pc? If you're doing a direct ethernet connection from the printer to the PC, then you need to have the PC ethernet port configured to 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. And you would need the printer IP set to 192.168.0.2 or 192.168.1.2 or something other than the PC IP. And gateway address on the printer needs set to the PC IP address.

 

[SummitSignsandmore]

I sincerely appreciate all the help. To explain my set up I do have an extra ethernet port on my pc. Therefore I had the printer directly connected to the PC and the router/modem combo also connected to a separate port on the pc.

I went and got a switch at Walmart hooked it up to try and still am getting this communication error.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Sounds like your printer's ethernet also got hit by the surge perhaps. I would test it with another computer or laptop to rule out the computer as the issue. You don't need Flexi to test it. Just use the windows command prompt. Hook the second computer up to the printer and then open the command prompt. Then type: tracert followed by a space and then the printer's IP address. It will tell you if it can connect to the printer or not. If not, I'd say the printer's network chip got cooked.

Also, doublecheck the printer's IP address on the printer itself. It's very common for Mutoh's to reset back to the default especially in power surges. If you set it up with a different IP address than the default, that could cause this same issue.

 

[SummitSignsandmore]

I was leaning toward thinking it maybe the connection at the printer. As it seems I have all the ip address info set up correctly.

Here is some new info that I believe confirms that the printer chip got cooked.

When I hook the printer up directly to the router (the blue ethernet pictured) the port lights up orange which I assume signify the connection isn't good/complete?

 

[weyandsign]

You're using a crossover cable. Use a regular ethernet cable instead.

 

[SummitSignsandmore]

I switched the blue cross over cable with a 7' cat6 cable as suggested. Still no luck. I'm assuming the network chip may be cooked? The crossover cable I what I used for many years prior.


Not sure If I mentioned but I did change the network card on my pc. Is there a configuration I maybe missing since I have a new network card?

How do I know what "PORT" to use in the setup from production manager? I've included a screenshot I'm using port 9100.

My IP address between my machine and PC match and I have tried 1 digit off as well.

 

[balstestrat]

You have to give the ethernet card an IP address as well in windows.

 

[SummitSignsandmore]

I will try to do that now. I assume the ethernet card, production manager and the printer all need to match?

 

[SummitSignsandmore]

Looks like the network chip is attached to the main board . Is there anyone that can repair these. Or is a new mainboard in my future if I want to get this back up and running??

I've included a pic of the main board, there are a few lights lit.

 

[weyandsign]

Since you changed the network card in your PC this is likely the issue. Just change the IP address of your new card to 172.18.3.1. Then plug the printer back into the PC directly with the crossover cable. Don't change the port number in PM. (assuming your printer is still set to 172.18.3.102 as shown in your screenshot). After that, try to ping your printer's IP from the command prompt

 

[SummitSignsandmore]

I sincerely appreciate all the help. I had to step away from this issue to regain my thoughts. I'm hoping it is a network issue as you guys have been trying to explain to me. I'm not very knowledgeable with networking sadly.

When trying to manually change my IP address on my network card it is asking for some other info that I don't know/understand. It wants to know:
Subnet prefix length
Gateway
Preferred DNS
Alternate DNS

To recap I have my
printer ip 172.018.003.102
production manager 172.018.003.101

my network ip currently is 75.75.155.241
this I am trying to change to the same IP as Production manager? 172.018.003.101

 

[weyandsign]

Your network ip of 75.xxx is the one connected to the modem for the internet. Since you have 2 network cards make sure you're changing the correct one. Subnet should automatically fill itself in when you click on it, it's probably going to be set to 255.255.0.0. Make Your IP and gateway and DNS the same number for your network card (172.18.3.001)and leave alternate DNS blank since your doing a direct crossover connection. The IP in production manager needs to be set to your printer IP address. Can you post a screenshot of where you're changing your network card settings?

 

[SummitSignsandmore]

It certainly was an issue with IP configuration. I connected with a kind member through PM that whatsapped me and was able to navigate me through setting up my IP addresses correctly. Thank you again for all the amazing support to all through this.