StopIt 3 The Quota Management System

Updates and fixes

Version 3.25

StopIt 3 now supports Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2 servers.  Prior to this version, StopIt will not locate StopIt servers running on Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2.  This is a chargeable upgrade - please see the StopIt 3 section for pricing.

Version 3.21

The following modifications have been made to StopIt since version 3.15 and will be included in version 3.21 once it has been validated:

• Modification to the Epson page counter to allow it to correctly count pages with the Epson Stylus Pro 9600 and other similar printers.
• Messages sent via Sysmess to users are prefixed before any existing message(s) for that user.  Messages are also time-stamped for the convenience of users.
• Option to specify a specific folder to ignore when calculating a user's home folder size (for example, 'Application Data'.
• Various minor improvements to Quick Reports when reviewing quota requests.  (Grant Request tools renamed to Review Requests.)
• Option to reset disk quota grace logons back to global default setting when user is under their quota.
• Fixed bug causing StopIt to fail following a change in the printer job header size generated by Windows Server 2003 following a recent Microsoft update.

Version 3.15

• Auxiliary printer queues can optionally be used for server-based printer queues.
• Support for Minolta-QMS 2200 DeskLaser and 2300W printers.  Please contact us about support for other Minolta-QMS printers.
• Colour detection for Epson ESC/Page printers added.
• Printer Groups now have full range of Auditing and Restriction settings.  Printer queues which are members of a Printer Group inherit their Auditing and Restrictions settings from their Group.
• Option to disable Exit in QuotaCheck.
• QuotaCheck hides the printer or disk quota sections of its displays if they are not configured for use.
• QuotaCheck allows users to view the restrictions configured on each monitored printer queue.
• Fixed bug which caused the number of credits to deduct for a colour page to be ignored when using an auxiliary printer queue.

Version 3.1

• Significantly faster startup time for StopIt Administrator - it can now optionally only list items in the Active Directory as folders are opened, as opposed to listing them all at the beginning.
• Dialog layout improved in StopIt Administrator.
• Option to configure who or where to get extra extra printer credits from.
• Multiple installations of StopIt can be setup in a single domain - useful for a domain which is physically spread of several physical sites, each of which requires an independent installation of StopIt.
• Several global options converted to domain specific options.
• The default item in StopIt Administrator can be stored.
• Service modules now operate reliably on dual processors.
• Service modules now operate reliably with the new HP TCP/IP port.
• Fixed bug in database compact routine.
• Fixed bug when checking for multiple job submission.

Please contact us if you would like to upgrade to version 3.15. This is free for purchasers of a current support contract.

Frequently asked questions

When I use Help the topic contents are not displayed.  Instead, I get a message "Page cannot be displayed".

This problem occurs as a result of a Microsoft security update intended to stop the content of networked .CHM help files from being displayed.  A simple solution is to reinstall StopIt Administrator locally on each workstation.  If this is not practical, Microsoft have provided a variety of workarounds which disable part of the security update on each workstation.  This is available on Microsoft's support website.

Jobs printed to an auxiliary printer queue are not passed on correctly to the monitored printer queue.

If User Messaging is enabled, users get the message their documents could not be printed "because the workstation to which it is connected is not available".

This problem has been found on Windows 2003 Server when users print from Windows XP.  It is due to an operating system feature called Spool File Pooling and is recognised by Microsoft to cause problems for products such as StopIt.

Spool File Pooling should be turned off for StopIt to process jobs sent to auxiliary printer queues.  Information about how to do this is provided on Microsoft's support website.

Jobs are not moved from the auxiliary printer queue to the monitored printer queue.

Check that the permissions on the Spool folder (by default, %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\Spool\Printers) has at least Change (Modify) permission for the StopIt user account.

The StopIt user account is granted membership of the Domain Admins group, so the permissions will normally be correct.

StopIt was working fine this morning, but now it isn't.

Although this sounds very vague, this type of "error" is heard on occasions. Generally, it is likely that the problem is not with StopIt, but that something has changed in the way your network is configured. Work out what has been changed, however minor.

The most common problem with this that one or more of the Auxiliary Printer Queues have been released. For StopIt to work correctly, you must make sure that all Auxiliary Printer Queues are permanently paused.

You get a message telling you that a DLL is not initializing or available when running StopIt Administrator, Sysmess or QuotaCheck.

The wrong DLLs are being loaded by the program. Ensure that you are running the correct versions of each program for the relevant operating system. Each program looks for the DLL files in the Windows system directory, the program directory and then current working directory. It is possible that you have the wrong DLLs in the wrong directory. If in doubt delete all FLOLIB*.DLL files and reinstall the workstation files.

Why aren't the Recent Events or Reports displayed in StopIt Administrator?

You have not installed StopIt Administrator on that workstation. Install again and the relevant files will be copied to the workstation's hard drive.

You want to select a different server on a different domain but can't!

Make sure that the relevant domain view is available from the StopIt Administrator Window menu. If not use Select Domain from the File menu.

Why isn't a server listed for an auxiliary printer queue?

Make sure that you have installed StopIt service modules on the particular server and that it is available in the domain.

Why are some print jobs counted incorrectly?

Make sure that the correct type of page counter has been selected. If the page counter is correct, try using a different printer driver, possibly one of the "standard" printer drivers. For PCL / HPGL printers try using an appropriate HP LaserJet driver and for Postscript printers try using an Apple LaserWriter driver.

If you have a PostScript printer allowing the sending of compressed print jobs, ensure that you select the relevant Advanced option (from the Printer Queue Properties window) for the printer queue as otherwise pages will not be counted correctly.

For some HP printers using a PCL6 printer driver, StopIt cannot correctly count multiple copies in jobs.  If this is the case, you must use an alternative PCL5e printer driver.

One copy of a job is sent, but two are printed.

Make sure that the relevant auxiliary printer queue is paused. It must be permanently paused for StopIt to work correctly.

We use a different spool folder for each printer queue.

Windows NT/2000/2003 Server allows you to configure each printer queue to have a separate spool folder by editing values in the registry.

This is a known issue: StopIt will not presently work if you use this configuration.  Please contact us for the latest information.