Brother MFC 990CW User Manual

							Safety and Legal139
A
16 Unplug this product from the wall outlet and refer servicing to Authorized Service Personnel under the following conditions:
„ If the power cord is damaged or frayed.
„ If the product has been spilled by liquid.
„ If the product has been exposed to rain or water.
„ If the product does not operate normally when the operating instructions are followed. 
Adjust only those controls that are covered by the operating instructions. Improper 
adjustment of other controls may result in damage and will often require extensive work by 
a qualified technician to restore the product to normal operation.
„ If the product has been dropped or the cabinet has been damaged.
„ If the product exhibits a distinct change in performance, indicating a need for service.
17 To protect your product against power surges, we recommend the use of a power protection  device (Surge Protector).
WARNING 
For protection against the risk of electrical shock, always disconnect all cables from the wall 
outlet before servicing, modifying or installing the equipment.
  
This equipment may not be used on coin service lines provided by the telephone company or 
connected to party lines.
  
Brother cannot accept any financial or other responsibilities that may be the result of your use 
of this information, including direct, special or consequential damages. There are no warranties 
extended or granted by this document.
 
 
						

							140
Legal limitations for copyingA
It is an offence to make reproductions of certain items or documents with the intent to commit 
fraud. This memorandum is intended to be a guide rather than a complete list. We suggest you 
check with relevant legal authorities if in doubt about a particular item or document.
The following are examples of documents which may not be copied:„ Money
„ Bonds or other certificates of debt
„ Certificates of Deposit
„ Armed Forces Service or Draft papers.
„ Passports
„ Postage Stamps (cancelled or uncancelled)
„ Immigration Papers
„ Welfare documents
„ Cheques or Drafts drawn by Governmental Agencies
„ Identification Documents, badges or insignias
Copyrighted works cannot be copied. Sections of a copyrighted work can be copied for ‘fair 
dealing’. Multiple copies would indicate improper use.
Works of art should be considered the equivalent of copyrighted works.
Licenses and Certificates of Title to motor vehicles may not be copied under certain 
state/provincial laws.
 
						

							Safety and Legal141
A
TrademarksA
The Brother logo is a registered trademark of Brother Industries, Ltd.
Brother is a registered trademark of Brother Industries, Ltd.
Multi-Function Link is a registered trademark of Brother International Corporation.
© 2008 Brother Industries, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Windows Vista is either a registered trademark or a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the 
United States and other countries.
Microsoft, Windows and Windows Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in 
the United States and/or other countries.
Macintosh and TrueType are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.
The Bluetooth
® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and 
any use of such marks by Brother Industries, Ltd. is under license. 
Nuance, the Nuance logo, PaperPort and ScanSoft are trademarks or registered trademarks of 
Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.
Presto! PageManager is a registered trademark of NewSoft Technology Corporation.
Microdrive is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
CompactFlash is a registered trademark of SanDisk Corporation.
Memory Stick is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.
SanDisk is a licensee of the SD and miniSD trademarks.
xD-Picture Card is a trademark of Fujifilm Co. Ltd., Toshiba Corporation and Olympus Optical Co. 
Ltd.
PictBridge is a trademark.
Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Duo and MagicGate are trademarks of 
Sony Corporation.
BROADCOM, SecureEasySetup and the SecureEasySetup logo are trademarks or registered 
trademarks of Broadcom Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
AOSS is a trademark of Buffalo Inc.
Wi-Fi, WPA and WPA2 are registered trademarks and Wi-Fi Protected Setup is a trademark of 
Wi-Fi Alliance.
FaceFilter Studio is a trademark of Reallusion, Inc.
Each company whose software title is mentioned in this manual has a Software License 
Agreement specific to its proprietary programs.
All other brand and product names mentioned in this Users Guide are registered 
trademarks of their respective companies.
 
						

							142
B
Troubleshooting B
If you think there is a problem with your machine, check the chart below and follow the 
troubleshooting tips.
Most problems can be easily resolved by yourself. If you need additional help, the Brother 
Solutions Center offers the latest FAQs and troubleshooting tips. Visit us at 
http://solutions.brother.com
.
If you are having difficulty with your machineB
Troubleshooting and Routine 
Maintenance
B
Printing
DifficultySuggestions
No  printout Check the interface cable on both the machine and your computer. (See the  Quick 
Setup Guide .)
Make sure the machine is plugged in and not in Power Save mode.
One or more ink cartridges are empty. (See Replacing the ink cartridges  
on page 160.)
If the LCD says  Cannot Print  and Replace Ink , see Replacing the ink 
cartridges  on page 160.
Check to see if the LCD is showing an error message. (See  Error and 
Maintenance messages  on page 150.)
Check that the correct printer driver has been installed and chosen.
Make sure that the machine is online. Click  Start and then  Printers and Faxes . 
Brother MFC-XXXX  (where XXXX is your model name), and make sure that  Use 
Printer Offline  is unchecked. 
When you choose the  Print Odd Pages and Print Even Pages  settings, you may 
see a printing error message on your computer, as the machine pauses during the 
printing process. The error message will disappear after the machine re-starts 
printing.
Poor print quality Check the print quality. (See Checking the print quality on page 166.) 
Make sure that the Media Type setting in the printer driver or the Paper Type 
setting in the machine’s menu matches the type of paper you are using. (See  
Printing  for Windows
® or Printing and Faxing  for Macintosh® in the Software 
User’s Guide on the CD
-ROM and Paper Type  on page 25.) 
Make sure that your ink cartridges are fresh. The following may cause ink to clog:
„ The expiration date written on the cartridge package has passed. (Brother 
Original cartridges stay usable for up to two years if kept in their original 
packaging.)
„ The ink cartridge was in your machine over six months.
„ The ink cartridge may not have been stored correctly before use.
Try using the recommended types of paper. (See  Acceptable paper and other print 
media  on page 17.) 
The recommended environment for your machine is between 20°  C to 33° C.
 
						

							Troubleshooting and Routine Maintenance143
B
White horizontal lines appear in text 
or graphics.Clean the print head. (See 
Cleaning the print head on page 165.)
Make sure you are using Brother Original Innobella™ Ink.
Try using the recommended types of paper. (See Acceptable paper and other print 
media  on page 17.) 
The machine prints blank pages. Clean the print head. (See  Cleaning the print head on page 165.)
Make sure you are using Brother Original Innobella™ Ink.
Characters and lines are stacked. Check the printing alignment. (See  Checking the print alignment on page 167.)
Printed text or images are skewed. Make sure the paper is loaded correctly in the paper tray and the paper side  guides are adjusted correctly. (See Loading paper and other print media  
on page 10.)
Make sure the Jam Clear Cover is closed correctly.
Smudged stain at the top centre  of 
the printed page. Make sure the paper is not too thick or curled. (See Acceptable paper and other 
print media
 on page 17.) 
Smudged stain at the right or left 
corner of the printed page. Make sure the paper is not curled when you print on the back side of the paper 
with the 
Print Odd Pages  and Print Even Pages  settings.
Printing appears dirty or ink seems 
to run. Make sure you are using the recommended types of paper. (See 
Acceptable 
paper and other print media  on page 17.) Dont handle the paper until the ink is 
dry.
Make sure you are using Brother Original Innobella™ Ink.
If you are using photo paper, make sure that you have set the correct paper type. 
If you are printing a photo from your PC, set the  Media Type in the Basic  tab of 
the printer driver.
Stains appear on the reverse side 
or at the bottom of the page. Make sure the printer platen is not dirty with ink. (See 
Cleaning the machine’s 
printer platen  on page 164.)
Make sure you are using the paper support flap. (See  Loading paper and other 
print media  on page 10.)
Make sure you are using Brother Original Innobella™ Ink.
The machine prints dense lines on 
the page. Check 
Reverse Order  in the Basic tab of the printer driver.
The printouts are wrinkled. In the printer driver  Advanced tab, click Colour Settings , and uncheck 
Bi-Directional Printing  for Windows
® or Bi-Directional Printing  for Macintosh®.
Make sure you are using Brother Original Innobella™ Ink.
Cannot perform ‘Page Layout’ 
printing. Check that the paper size setting in the application and in the printer driver are the 
same.
Print speed is too slow.  Try changing the printer driver setting. The highest resolution needs longer data 
processing, sending and printing time. Try the other quality settings in the printer 
driver Advanced  tab. Also, click  Colour Settings , and make sure you uncheck 
Colour Enhancement .
Turn the borderless feature off. Borderless printing is slower than normal printing. 
(See  Printing  for Windows
® or Printing and Faxing  for Macintosh® in the Software 
User’s Guide on the CD
-ROM.)
Colour Enhancement is not 
working correctly. If the image data is not full colour in your application (such as 256 colour), Colour 
Enhancement will not work. Use at least 24 bit colour data with the Colour 
Enhancement feature.
Printing (continued)
DifficultySuggestions
 
						

							144
Photo paper does not feed 
properly.When you print on Brother photo paper, make sure you always load one additional 
sheet of photo paper first before loading the paper you want to print on.
Clean the paper pick
-up roller. (See 
Cleaning the paper pick-up roller  
on page 165.)
Photo paper does not feed 
properly. When you print on Brother Photo paper, load one extra sheet of the same photo 
paper in the paper tray. An extra sheet has been included in the paper package 
for this purpose.
Clean the paper pick
-up roller. 
(See  Cleaning the paper pick-up roller  on page 165.)
Machine  feeds  multiple  pages. Make sure the paper is loaded correctly in the paper tray. (See  Loading paper and 
other print media  on page 10.)
Check that more than two types of paper are not loaded in the paper tray at any 
one time.
Printed pages are not stacked 
neatly. Make sure you are using the paper support flap. (See 
Loading paper and other 
print media on page 10.)
Printing Received Faxes
DifficultySuggestions
Condensed print and white streaks 
across the page or the top and 
bottom of sentences are cut off. You probably had a bad connection, with static or interference on the telephone 
line. Ask the other party to send the fax again.
Vertical black lines when receiving. The senders scanner may be dirty. Ask the sender to make a copy to see if the  problem is with the sending machine. Try receiving from another fax machine.
Received colour fax prints only in 
black and white. Replace the colour ink cartridges that are empty or nearly empty, and then ask the 
other person to send the colour fax again. (See 
Replacing the ink cartridges 
on page 160.)
Left and Right margins are cut off or 
a single page is printed on two 
pages. Turn on Auto Reduction. (See Printing a reduced incoming fax
 on page 53.)
Telephone Line or Connections
DifficultySuggestions
Dialling does not work. (No dial 
tone) Make sure the machine is plugged in and not in Power Save mode.
Check the line cord connections.
(Not available in New Zealand)
Change the Tone/Pulse setting. (See the Quick Setup Guide
.)
Lift the external telephone’s handset, (or the machine’s handset or cordless 
handset if available), and then dial the number to send a manual fax. Wait to hear 
fax receiving tones before pressing  Mono Start or Colour Start.
The machine does not answer 
when called. Make sure the machine is in the correct receiving mode for your setup. (See 
Choose the Receive Mode
 on page 43.) Check for a dial tone. If possible, call your 
machine to hear it answer. If there is still no answer, check the telephone line cord 
connection. If there is no ringing when you call your machine, ask your telephone 
company to check the line.
Printing (continued)
DifficultySuggestions
 
						

							Troubleshooting and Routine Maintenance145
B
Receiving Faxes
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot receive a fax. Check all line cord connections. Make sure the machine is in the correct receiving mode for your setup. (See 
Receive mode settings on page 46.) 
If you often have interference on the telephone line, try changing the menu setting 
of Compatibility to  Basic(for VoIP) . (See Telephone line interference  
on page 149.)
Sending Faxes
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot send a fax. Check all line cord connections.
Make sure that the Fax   key is illuminated. (See  Entering Fax mode 
on page 34.)
Ask the other party to check that the receiving machine has paper.
Print the Transmission Verification Report and check for an error. (See  Reports 
on page 84.)
Transmission Verification Report 
says ‘Result:ERROR’. There is probably temporary noise or static on the line. Try sending the fax again. 
If you send a PC FAX message and get 
‘Result:ERROR’ on the Transmission 
Verification Report, your machine may be out of memory. To gain extra memory, 
you can turn off Memory Receive (see  Turning off Memory Receive Operations  
on page 50), print fax messages in memory (see  Printing a fax from the memory 
on page 54) or cancel a Delayed Fax or Polling Job (see  Cancelling a fax in 
progress  on page 36 or Checking and cancelling waiting jobs  on page 40). If the 
problem continues, ask the telephone company to check your telephone line.
If you often get transmission errors due to possible interference on the telephone 
line, try changing the menu setting of Compatibility to  Basic(for VoIP). (See 
Telephone line interference  on page 149.)
Poor fax send quality. Try changing your resolution to Fine or S.Fine. Make a copy to check your 
machines scanner operation. If the copy quality is not good, clean the scanner. 
(See  Cleaning the scanner glass  on page 164.)
Vertical  black  lines  when  sending. Black vertical lines on faxes you send are typically caused by dirt or correction fluid  on the glass strip. Clean the glass strip. (See  Cleaning the scanner glass 
on page 164.)
 
						

							146
Handling Incoming Calls
DifficultySuggestions
The machine ‘Hears’ a voice as a 
CNG Tone. If Fax Detect is set to On, your machine is more sensitive to sounds. It may 
mistakenly interpret certain voices or music on the line as a fax machine calling 
and respond with fax receiving tones. Deactivate the machine by pressing 
Stop/Exit
. Try avoiding this problem by turning Fax Detect to Off. (See  Fax Detect 
on page 47.)
Sending a fax call to the machine. If you answered on an external or extension telephone, press your Remote  Activation Code (the factory setting is  l 5 1 ( l 9  1  for New Zealand)). When your 
machine answers, hang up.
Custom features on a single line. If you have Call Waiting, Call Waiting/Caller ID, an alarm system or other custom  feature on a single telephone line with your machine, it may create a problem 
sending or receiving faxes.
For example: If you subscribe to Call Waiting or some other custom service and 
its signal comes through the line while your machine is sending or receiving a fax, 
the signal can temporarily interrupt or disrupt the faxes. Brothers ECM (Error 
Correction Mode) feature should help overcome this problem. This condition is 
related to the telephone system industry and is common to all devices that send 
and receive information on a single, shared line with custom features. If avoiding 
a slight interruption is crucial to your business, a separate telephone line with no 
custom features is recommended.
Copying Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot make a copy. Make sure that the Copy   key is illuminated. (See Entering Copy mode  
on page 90.)
Poor copy results when using the 
ADF. Try using the scanner glass. (See 
Using the scanner glass on page 21.)
Vertical black lines or streaks 
appear in copies. Vertical black lines or streaks on copies are typically caused by dirt or correction 
fluid on the glass strip. Clean the glass strip. (See 
Cleaning the scanner glass 
on page 164.)
Fit to Page does not work properly. Make sure the document is not skewed on the scanner glass.
Scanning Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
TWAIN/WIA errors appear when 
starting to scan. Make sure the Brother TWAIN/WIA driver is chosen as the primary source. In 
PaperPort™ 11SE with OCR, click 
File, Scan or Get Photo  and click Select to 
choose the Brother TWAIN/WIA driver.
(Hong Kong users only)
Make sure the Brother TWAIN/WIA driver is chosen as the primary source. In 
Presto!
® PageManager® with OCR, click  File, Select Source  and choose the 
Brother TWAIN/WIA driver.
Poor scanning results when using 
the ADF. Try using the scanner glass. (See 
Using the scanner glass on page 21.)
OCR does not work. Try increasing the scanner resolution.
 
						

							Troubleshooting and Routine Maintenance147
B
Software Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot install software or print. Run the  Repair MFL-Pro Suite program on the CD-ROM. This program will repair 
and reinstall the software.
‘Device Busy’  Make sure the machine is not showing an error message on the LCD.
Cannot print images from 
FaceFilter Studio.  To use FaceFilter Studio, you must install the FaceFilter Studio application from 
the CD-ROM supplied with your machine. To install FaceFilter Studio see the 
Quick Setup Guide
.
Also, before you start FaceFilter Studio for the first time, you must make sure your 
Brother machine is turned On, and connected to your computer. This will allow you 
to access all the functions of FaceFilter Studio.
PhotoCapture Center™ Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
Removable Disk does not work 
correctly. 1 Have you installed the Windows
® 2000 update? If not, do the following:
1) Unplug the USB cable.
2) Install the Windows
® 2000 update using one of the following methods.
„ Install MFL-Pro Suite from the CD-ROM. (See the  Quick Setup 
Guide .)
„ Download the latest service pack from the Microsoft Web site.
3) Wait about 1 minute after you restart the PC, and then connect the USB  cable.
2 Take out the memory card or USB Flash memory drive and put it back in  again.
3 If you have tried ‘Eject’ from within Windows
®, take out the memory card or 
USB Flash memory drive before you continue.
4 If an error message appears when you try to eject the memory card or USB  Flash memory drive, it means the card is being accessed. Wait a while and 
then try again.
5 If all of the above do not work, turn off your PC and machine, and then turn  them on again. (You will have to unplug the power cord of the machine to turn 
it off.)
Cannot access Removable Disk 
from Desktop icon.  Make sure that you have correctly inserted the memory card or USB Flash 
memory drive.
Part of my photo is missing. Make sure that Borderless Printing and Cropping are turned off. (See  Borderless 
printing  on page 111 and  Cropping on page 111.)
 
						

							148
Network Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot print over the Network. Make sure that your machine is powered on and is online and in Ready mode.  Print a Network Configuration list (see Reports  on page 84.) and check the current 
Network settings printed in this list. Reconnect the LAN cable to the hub to verify 
that the cabling and network connections are good. If possible, try connecting the 
machine to a different port on your hub using a different cable. If the connections 
are good, the machine shows  LAN Active for 2 seconds.
 (If you are having Network problems, see the Network User’s Guide for more 
information.) 
The network scanning feature does 
not work. (For Windows
® users only) Firewall settings on your PC may be rejecting the 
necessary network connection. Follow the instructions below to configure the 
Firewall. If you are using personal Firewall software, see the User’s Guide for your 
software or contact the software manufacturer.
For Windows
® XP SP2 and Windows Vista® users, see  Firewall settings  in the 
Software User’s Guide on the CD
-ROM.
For Windows
® XP SP1 user’s, please visit the Brother Solutions Center: 
(http://solutions.brother.com
)
The network PC-Fax Receive 
feature does not work.
Your computer cannot find your 
machine.

Firewall settings on your PC may be rejecting the necessary network connection. 
For detail, see the instruction above.

Re-select your machine in the  Device Selector application located in  Macintosh 
HD/Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities/DeviceSelector  or from the model list in 
ControlCenter2.
Touchscreen Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
The dial pad does not work when 
entering numbers or characters. Use the touchscreen buttons to enter information.