Although laser printers require low maintainance but if neglected over time, they can give you a lot of problems like inkjet printers. Laserjet printers have a long duty cycle and hence they tend to be neglected under the toner runs out. A little bit of care can help your printer running smoothly over longer periods of time.

Tip 1 : Use latest drivers and software

Drivers hold an important key to smooth functioning of the printer. Driver and software updates are regularly released by the printer manufacturer. Check the manufacturer's website regularly for updates and install them as and when they are released.

Tip 2 : Clean the printer regularly

This task should be performed often depending on the environment it is placed in. In an office environment, it is bound to be cleaner than when placed at home. Cleaning not only refers to the interior but also the exterior of the printer. Use appropriate cleaning material for cleaning the interior parts and be very careful, always refer to manual for instructions.

Tip 3 : Do not use empty toner

It is not advisable to use the printer when it has run out of ink or has started giving faded printouts. Get the toner refilled or replaced with a new one. Also remember that multiple refills can lead to leaks and hence chances of damaging your printer.

Tip 4 : Check for toner spills frequently

Toner spills are dangerous, especially color toner ones and need to be cleaned as soon as they detected. They are also hazardous to your health. Toner spills can be cleaned by using a toner vacuum with a micro-toner filter.

Tip 5 : Check and replace damaged fuser want

Fuser wand is usually marked with the word "Hot" and its malfunctioning leads to image defects. So check if the fuser wand is fine or burnt up, and get it replaced immediately.

Tip 6 : Clean ozone filter

Ozone filter is mostly made up of carbon and tends to accumulate dust over period of time. If there is heavy accumulation of dust on it, then you need to get it replace , else you can clean up the dust by using a vacuum cleaner.

Tip 7 : Clean the roller

Depending on your roller type, ie. plastic or rubber, you need to use different cleaning material to clean them off. Rubber rollers need special cleaning material like Goof-Off to clean them effectively. Plastic ones can be cleaned simply by alcohol.

These simple tips can help you enhance the life of your laser printer and keep it running without problems. It is always better to follow these tips than pull your hair when it stops working just before an important printout.

This is a guide to walk you through the procedure to slipstream Service Pack 3 in to your Windows XP installation. There are two ways to slipstream Service Pack 3 in Windows XP Installation, the easy and short way - using nLite, and the normal way - using CLI. We will look in to the former, simply because it is much faster and easier as well as less time consuming. Slipstreaming SP3 with your XP Installation CD means integrating Service Pack 3 with your default XP Install CD so that you dont have to install SP3 everytime you reinstall Windows XP. It saves up on time and space. You will need the following to do this :

• Microsoft Windows XP Setup CD / Image
• Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 Setup
• nLite
• A Blank CD / Image software

Procedure :

Initial Windows XP, SP3 and nLite configuration

Insert the Windows XP Installation CD in your disk drive and copy the folders and files inside it to a new directory on your Hard drive (C:), namely XP (You can name it anything you want) such that C:\XP has the files and folders of the Windows XP installation CD - i386, SETUP.EXE etc. Keep your Windows XP SP3 installation file handy, It should be named windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-enu.exe by default. If you don't have the Windows XP SP3 installation file, you can download it from microsoft.com. Here is the direct link - Microsoft Windows XP SP3 Install Now just install and start nLite (remember you will need .NET framework 2.0 to run nLite. You can download it here - Microsoft .NET 2.0 FrameWork ). Note: NLite is a nifty and light XP Bootable CD editing and creation tool. You can get it here. There is a similar utility for Windows Vista called VLite.

Integrate SP3 with XP

At the startup screen, select your language and press "Next". Then browse to the path of your Windows XP installation ( C:\XP in our case) and click "Next". When you reach the task selection window, select "Integrate - Service Pack" and "Create - Bootable ISO" and click "Next" again. In the next Service Pack selection window, select the Service Pack 3 installation file - windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-enu.exe. nLite will extract and start integrating the SP3 setup with your Windows XP Installation. This can take quite some time, about 4-5 minutes on slow computers.

Burn it to an ISO / CD

When it is done, a Dialog box will popup informing you that the "Integrated Install has completed successfully". Click "Next" and you will be greeted by a Bootable ISO Creation window. Select "Create Image or Direct Burn" and burn the Windows XP with SP3 setup to a CD or Image file. Give it another label if you prefer to (like XPSP3). After selecting all the proper options, just click "Make ISO / Burn" and save it to any location you want. Click "Next" and your Windows XP with Slipstreamed SP3 setup CD is done. Happy Installing.