Communication problems with Lexmark printers

[Printer Guy]

Recently, the company that I work for purchased Lexmark inkjet
printers through eBay. The models were the Z45 and Z54, which only
uses a USB port to receive data. After acquiring one of them for
myself, which was a Z45, I installed the printer's software via the
Add Printer wizard on my Windows ME based Compaq Pentium III computer
and attempted to print, but instead of printing, I got "printer cannot
communicate with computer" messages. After several attempts at
printing, I removed and re-installed the printer software via CD-ROM
and current drivers downloaded from Lexmark's website, but the results
were the same. Assuming that the problem was limited to the Z45, I
decided to use the Z54, which didn't fair any better. Also, when I
decided to re-install the software for my Lexmark Z52 printer, it also
didn't print via USB, something that hadn‘t occurred previously.
However, it will print with a parallel connection, but even that is
somewhat tenuous, for it doesn't initialize when the computer boots up
(it has to be turned off and on again for the computer to recognize
it). The reason that I need a printer was because another Z52 that I
was using "died" when the motor that controls the cartridges' movement
stopped working and the printer became unusable. Could that be the
cause of the problem? Also, I briefly tried to print with another Z52
that gave me error messages because it was missing a cartridge (could
this also be a factor?). BTW, all the Lexmark printers mentioned in
this post worked when they were connected to our other computers,
which all use the Windows XP operating system.

Anyway, does anyone know of a way to fix my problem? Any advice in
this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Printer Guy

 

[Al]

o change the printer from parallel to usb, try the following, should work
with any "Z" series that can use a usb port.

click on: start/settings/printers. Right click on the printer in question,

select properties. From the menu, click on the "details" tab. In the
details window, in the "Print to following port" select the usb port from
the dropdown menu. That should take care of the problem.

Al

 

[Printer Guy]

Al,

I have tried that and the printers still won't work.

Printer Guy

 

[glasnostJDC]

Windows ME is a really buggy operating system, if you can I'd say install
windows XP and see if the problem goes away as a last resort. Also check the
bios options, is the USB on its own interrupt, if not what is it sharing it
with and can it be changed? Does the parallel port automatically assign it's
I/O and interrupt or is it set manually (automatic assignment can cause
problems). Are there any bios updates available for the computer? Have you
done all the security updates for your operating system? Tried a different
cable? Is PNP option for windows off or on in the BIOS of your PC? Did you
install the printer drivers before hooking up the printer or after (some USB
equipment will not work if done in the wrong order) Etc, each setup has its
own little quirks.

-glasnostJDC

 

[Printer Guy]

How do I get into BIOS?

Printer Guy

Windows ME is a really buggy operating system, if you can I'd say install
windows XP and see if the problem goes away as a last resort. Also check the
bios options, is the USB on its own interrupt, if not what is it sharing it
with and can it be changed? Does the parallel port automatically assign it's
I/O and interrupt or is it set manually (automatic assignment can cause
problems). Are there any bios updates available for the computer? Have you
done all the security updates for your operating system? Tried a different
cable? Is PNP option for windows off or on in the BIOS of your PC? Did you
install the printer drivers before hooking up the printer or after (some USB
equipment will not work if done in the wrong order) Etc, each setup has its
own little quirks.

-glasnostJDC

 

[glasnostJDC]

Go to Compaq's website, they should list how to access it. Also your user
manual should have that information. If you are not familiar with the BIOS
of a PC I would not recommend playing around in there. As incorrect setting
can cause your PC not to run properly (can be fixed by removing the battery
for a couple hours to days, or by a jumper) only if you know what you are
doing go in there. I'd first think about how it was installed (stated in
previous post) and try that. Also try removing all the USB devices from the
device manager and letting it redetect everything, sometimes this fixes some
non-detection problems with USB.

-glasnostJDC

 

[Wayne Ware]

I think the secret to success is to install the printer and drivers EXACTLY as
indicated in the document Lexmark provides. By that I mean, (a)don't connect
the printer to the computer until the documentation says you should, (b)install
the drivers exactly as the documentation says to do.

 

[krosk]

Printer guy-

I have had the same problem with my Lexmark X83. This has been my
experience, I hope helps narrow down the solution. I have found that
the problem is not related to the OS, because I have recently changed
from Win 2k to Win XP and it would not work on either OS. Also, the
problem is not related (in my case) to the USB cable, because the
scanning feature of the X83 works fine. So data is being transferred
between computer and printer. However, the scanner works, but when I
try to print, it just says "problem communicating with printer". I
know how to manipulate the BIOS and I have found nothing wrong with
it. My USB is fine also, because other devices (including my Epson
printer) work fine in the same USB connection. I have just concluded,
to the best of my knowledge that the printer has just died even though
it's only about 6 months old. Anyway, hope it helps,

elliot