'Puter/Printer help please

[TT Dee]

Morning all,

We have recently bought a new base unit. We had our former operating system installed (XP). All our previous hardware has installed and is working again - except the printer.

We have a HP5552 deskjet. The 'puter detects the hardware and I follow the instuction regarding installing the software/drivers. However I cannot get the blessed thing to print. All it does is spit out blank sheets. :smt022


Does anyone know whats going wrong???

Thanks in advance

Dee

PS .... Can I have idiot proof intructions if I need to do any fiddling with stuff !! (that sentence should provide you with an accurate gauge of my technical knowledge/skill)

[Balddood]

Pick up the printer, turn it upside down, shake it from side to side, then up and down. See what falls from inside. Then try and print again. Seriously.

Sean

[Law]

I haven't a clue, is the ink cartridge nozzle blocked?

[fizzwheel]

We used to get all sort of weirdness with HP printers where I used to work. Especially if they were USB connected.

HP printer drivers are always weird, are you installing the drivers and then plugging the printer in. If not, uninstall the driver, disconnect the printer and then reboot the PC. Re-install the printer driver and it should come up with a a screen halfway through that say to "now connect your printer" follow the instructions and if its a driver problem then that should sort it out.

Failing that, I'd agree with Law sounds like your print cartridge could be dried up. Get a bit of damp tissue and gentle wipe the bottom contacts on the catridge and then run the printer through its cleaning / catridge re-allignment cycle from the HP control panel. If it is the cartridge that might resuce it, if not try a new cartridge.

Its been ages since I looked at a HP printer, so things might have changed but what I've posted might get you round your problem.

[TT Dee]

We used to get all sort of weirdness with HP printers where I used to work. Especially if they were USB connected.

HP printer drivers are always weird, are you installing the drivers and then plugging the printer in. If not, uninstall the driver, disconnect the printer and then reboot the PC. Re-install the printer driver and it should come up with a a screen halfway through that say to "now connect your printer" follow the instructions and if its a driver problem then that should sort it out.

Failing that, I'd agree with Law sounds like your print cartridge could be dried up. Get a bit of damp tissue and gentle wipe the bottom contacts on the catridge and then run the printer through its cleaning / catridge re-allignment cycle from the HP control panel. If it is the cartridge that might resuce it, if not try a new cartridge.

Its been ages since I looked at a HP printer, so things might have changed but what I've posted might get you round your problem.

Thanks Fizz

I've plugged in the printer then installed the drivers as per onscreen instruction to no effect

Also removed cartridges and wiped

It printed a test page when I asked it to clean cartridges

It printed to calibrate print cartridges

It prints a test page

However, It wont print anything from the print comand - (word docs, screen prints, notepads.)

](*,)

[fizzwheel]

Thats Odd, if it prints a test page and the calibration pages then its not a physical problem.

Its weird that it wont print from word but does print a test page. Sounds like a driver problem to me, have you downloaded the latest printer drivers for your printer and tried those ? You should be able to get them from www.hp.co.uk (http://www.hp.co.uk)

[TSM]

check the default page size, go to printers, then right click on the printer in question and select printing prefs, check in there.

[Cumfy]

It could be that the printers internal memory is full. To discharge memory, turn off at wall and press the on/off button 8 times. If this continues unistall and reinstall as suggested with a downloaded driver from hps site. I get this problem often, I'm an inks technician, if problem continues do you have another usb cable to use? sometimes changing the cable can work.

HTH

[TT Dee]

It could be that the printers internal memory is full. To discharge memory, turn off at wall and press the on/off button 8 times. If this continues unistall and reinstall as suggested with a downloaded driver from hps site. I get this problem often, I'm an inks technician, if problem continues do you have another usb cable to use? sometimes changing the cable can work.

HTH

TSM : Paper size - A4


I've done the turn on/turnoff thing

Downloaded new Parallel port driver from HP - No joy!

Swapped to USB and downloaded driver - Nada!!!!

Think I'll just go out and buy a new printer.

[TEC]

Are you just hitting the print button from within the app or doing File - Print, if the former then you may not be printing to the HP printer, check to ensure the HP is the default printer in the Printers and Faxes bit, if the later then you may be right about a new printer

[northwind]

I just bought a HP printer today :smt120

[Filipe M.]

I just bought a HP printer today :smt120

Return it while you still can, buy an Epson / Canon instead. You won't regret it.

[ooger]

Morning all,
PS .... Can I have idiot proof intructions if I need to do any fiddling with stuff !! (that sentence should provide you with an accurate gauge of my technical knowledge/skill)

OK, I'll try....

I can't promise anything, but I've got a HP 5652 and Windows XP 64 bit edition, and thats a total nightmare (HP don't really like 64 bit OS's, but thats another story).

I assume you have the usual 32 bit version of Windows - which is the norm. You can check by going to Properties of the My Computer shortcut on the desktop, it'll say "64 bit" or something under the "System" entry.

(If it is 64 bit let me know - these instructions won't do you any favours!)

Try this:

1) Start - Settings - Control Panel - add or remove programs
HP Printer driver (or similar). Might be there, might not be. If it is there. Uninstall it using the Change/Remove button.

2) Open the "Start" menu and choose "Run..."
3) Type in "cmd" (without the quotes) and click "ok".
4) At the cmd prompt, type in "set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" (without the quotes) and press enter. (Note that nothing seems to happen--this is ok.)
5) On the next cmd prompt line, type in "devmgmt.msc" (without the quotes) and press enter. This will launch the Windows Device Manager Console.
6) In the Device Manager Console, from the "View" menu, select "Show Hidden Devices".

7) If anything is yellow, with a "?" listed next to it, THAT LOOKS LIKE THE PRINTER! Uninstall it by right clicking and "Uninstall". Also uninstall ALL devices listed under "Printers" - I'm assuming you only have one printer, in which case this is OK....if you've got more than one....remove them all at your peril :p

7.5) Unplug the printer from the computer. This is important.

8) Download this to somewhere you'll be able to find it ;). I like the desktop.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=dj-10447-1&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=299087&os=228&lang=en

9) Reboot. Come back to this thread....:mrgreen:

10) Run the download from wherever you saved it to. (dont plug the printer in yet!)

11) Follow the instructions as you've probably already done. Plug the printer in only when it tells you.

This is a full uninstall and reinstall of the device removing anything that "might" be screwing it up so far, which might make it work, or it might just leave you in the same position you're in now, in which case you've lost nothing.

-- good luck :)

If the printer prints a test page and not your chosen page(s) then the drivers are the problem. Don't bin the printer, the printer works! Also, you'll find USB is more friendly than parallel printing, so stick with it.

Kev

[TT Dee]

Many thanks for your help and suggestions. However, all has been in vain:reaper:

A new Lexmark has now been installed (with 3 year replacement cover for a fiver) ......

We now have printed words. Huzzah!!!!!!! \\:D/\\:D/\\:D/

[JediGoat]

Ahh poo...I was too slow on this one. It may well have been that you needed newer drivers (that did not necessarily match the model number of your printer).

I had a problem with my HP printer when I lost the driver disk, and downloaded the wrong one - a quick email to customer support, and I got a reply within an hour with a link to the correct driver.

When I first got my HP printer, I needed to move my pooter, so unplugged everything, plugged it all back in and the printer wouldn't work - all the lights just kept flashing. I emailed HP support, they called me back, and within a few mins had said they would send a courier round the next day with a replacement printer.

The courier turned up, I switched the power and pc connections to the new one in...same fault :confused: The courier took the 'new' one back, and I called HP support again. They were quite bemused about what it could be, and said that they would dispatch a new power supply unit to me the next day (on the off chance that it may be at fault), and in the meantime they would get a new printer in, test it, then dispatch it to me.

So next day, the courier (same one) turned up with the replacement PSU....it was only as I was scrabbling around on the floor changing over the old PSU for the new one that I discovered the fault. Some numptey (i.e. me) had used the speaker PSU in the printer and the printer PSU in the speakers.

I kept the discovery to myself, plugged the new PSU in, and voila! It worked.

I even got a follow up call from HP support later that day to see if replacing the PSU had solved the problem.....I just said yes :oops:

So, I was so impressed with the quality of the customer support, and the printer has been happily going for 5 years now, that I will probably buy HP again.

Sorry for the long waffle.

Jo