HP JetDirect interface ceases to work... why?

[Jonathan Sachs]

For several years I have operated an HP LaserJet 4M Plus printer
through an Ethernet network, using a JetDirect J2552B interface card.
Up until last month I did this from a Windows 2000 system, and it
worked smoothly.

Last month I moved across country, and when I set up my system in my
new home it was unable to print. Windows sent print jobs to the
printer, but they just disappeared. I tried reconfiguring the printer
driver, without results.

I have now acquired a new computer which runs Windows XP. I tried to
run HP's printing software installation wizard for the JetDirect
interface, and cannot do so. It says that there is no printer on my
network.

I now suspect that something bad happened to the JetDirect interface
during the move, and I'm going to have to replace it. Are there any
other plausible explanations for this situation? I do not want to
replace the card unless I have to -- particularly if replacing it
won't help!

My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net.

 

[Bruce Sanderson]

Print the printers configuration page. It should have info about the
JetDirect.

From your computer see if you can ping the JetDirect's IP address as seen on
the configuration page. The IP address must be in the same sub-net as your
computer.

See if you can communicate with the JetDirect using telnet. At a command
prompt, key telnet, then the IP address of the JetDirect. Press Enter, then
Press Enter again. You should get a sort of "menu" displayed.

I'm not sure what exactly you mean by "HP's printing software installation
wizard for the JetDirect", but if it is "Jet Admin" or something similar, it
doesn't work properly on Windows XP and you don't need it anyway. Add a
"Standard TCP/P Port" via Add Printer wizard or the Printers and Faxes,
File, Server Properties, Ports dialog.

 

[Jonathan Sachs]

Print the printers configuration page. It should have info about the
JetDirect.

From your computer see if you can ping the JetDirect's IP address as seen on
the configuration page...

All of that assumes that the JetDirect card HAS an IP address. It
doesn't -- never did. The address is set to 0.0.0.0. I have always
communicated with the printer through DLC protocol.

I know the JetDirect is supposed to support IP, but I never found an
explanation of how to set the address. I puzzled over this years ago,
but as I recall, all of the documents I read seemed to assume that it
would just get set by magic, or maybe by mental telepathy.

At this point I'd be happy to shift from DLC protocol to TCP/IP if it
would work better. I'd need to know how to set the address, though.

Also, my current ISP requires my computer to use a dynamic IP address
to communicate with the broadband modem, which creates problems for
any use of TCP/IP on my local network. If the DHCP server decides to
change my computer's IP address, will the printer get confused? If the
DHCP server becomes unavailable, will I be unable to print at all? I
haven't found answers to these questions, either.

These problems wouldn't necessarily prevent me from pinging the card
(if it had an address to ping), although if I couldn't ping, they'd
leave me in doubt about the reason. Pinging seems pointless, though,
unless I can resolve the questions about DHCP, so that I can use
TCP/IP protocol to print if I determine that it the card works.

My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net.

 

[Bruce Sanderson]

Hmmm. This is a somewhat old device, but take a look at
http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?lc=en&docName=bpj05337#P19_594

According to
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpj05150,
the J2552B supports DHCP if its firmware is A.05.05 or higher.

According to
http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?lc=en&docName=bpj02300, if you
do a "Cold Reset", the MIO should revert back to the factory set IP address.
Looks like you can do a "Cold Reset" on your 4M printer by holding down the
ONLINE button while turning on the printer.

Assuming that the Cold Reset does what its supposed to, see
http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?lc=en&docName=bpj05732 for how
to communicate with it using Telnet. If you can do that, you should be able
to set its IP configuration to what you need on your network.

Usually, with the Internal type Jet Directs, you can set the IP
configuration via the printer's front panel. See if there is a menu item
for MIO Configuration.

The printer won't get confusesd if your computer's IP address changes, but
you won't be able to print if the IP address of the JetDirect changes and
you don't create a new "port" for it on your computer. Most DHCP servers
will issue the same IP address each time they get a request from a
particular device. This is based on the MAC address which is fixed in the
Ethernet adapter when it is manufactured.

It's not clear from your note what your network topology is. For example do
you have:
a. the broadband modem connection on one NIC in your computer and the
JetDirect connected via a second NIC
or
b. the broadband modem connected to the "uplink" on a hub with your computer
and Jet Direct connected to other hub ports
or
c. the broadband modem connected to a router with your computer and
JetDirect on "internal LAN" ports?

If your Windows XP computer has two NICs, you can use Windows XP ICS, which
will provide DHCP and NAT services to devices connected to your second NIC.

I hope all this is of some use.

I'm going to be out of town for a while, so I may not see any new posts for
a week or more.

 

[Jonathan Sachs]

Hmmm. This is a somewhat old device, but take a look at
http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?lc=en&docName=bpj05337#P19_594

Thanks for your response. Unfortunately I no longer have much time to
work on this, and things are not likely to get better until the
holidays. I'll try to do a bit each day, but I may just have to live
with the problem for a while.

According to
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpj05150,
the J2552B supports DHCP if its firmware is A.05.05 or higher.

According to
http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?lc=en&docName=bpj02300, if you
do a "Cold Reset", the MIO should revert back to the factory set IP address.
Looks like you can do a "Cold Reset" on your 4M printer by holding down the
ONLINE button while turning on the printer.

I didn't know about that. I tried it, and did get a cold reset, but
the status page still shows the IP address as 0.0.0.0.

Usually, with the Internal type Jet Directs, you can set the IP
configuration via the printer's front panel. See if there is a menu item
for MIO Configuration.

There is, but it has only one item: CFG NETWORK={NO|YES}. I have no
documentation to tell me what that does, but it doesn't sound
obviously useful.

The printer won't get confusesd if your computer's IP address changes, but
you won't be able to print if the IP address of the JetDirect changes and
you don't create a new "port" for it on your computer. Most DHCP servers
will issue the same IP address each time they get a request from a
particular device. This is based on the MAC address which is fixed in the
Ethernet adapter when it is manufactured.

Then assuming I find out how to set the device's IP address, I can set
it to something in the same subnet as the computer's assigned address,
if I can find out what that is. Is there a way? The answer may be
hidden somewhere in the Windows Resource Kit, but I did not find it
in a quick check.

It's not clear from your note what your network topology is.

One Ethernet interface in the computer; everything attached to one
hub.

The computer is a laptop, so the only way I could add a second
interface would be to buy a PC Card. Which would complicate things
whenever I needed another card; for example, if I get a wireless card
(very likely, very soon) to use when I take the machine a-roving with
me. A second Ethernet adapter is a solution I'd much rather avoid.

My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net.

 

[Jonathan Sachs]

I've made no further progress with this, nor have I been able to find
any additional information. I've decided that since used J2552 cards
are so cheap, I should buy one just to see if it helps.

Many of the cards are advertised with hyphenated model numbers:
J2552-60001, J2552-60013, etc. And I correct to assume that these are
revision numbers, and that the highest numbers are most recent? Are
there significant differences among them that would make it useful to
select or avoid particular numbers?

My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net.