Epson Stylus Color 400=Help

[Burt]

Blair - I had an Epson printer that was connected with a parallel cable
(before I had USB ports) and it worked well for a few years. When I
upgraded to a new computer I still had it connected with the parallel cable.
After a while it would only appear to be connected intermittently. After
switching cables and switching printers I found that the cable was ok and
the parallel port on the computer was ok. What was left was the parallel
port on the printer. I hooked it up with a USB cable and it worked just
fine. Could be the cable or the parallel connection on the printer itself.
Check it out.

 

[Blair]

Thanks for your reply. Yes I am coming to the conclusion that it may be the
connector or the cable which is faulty.
Someone else has suggested that I should uninstall the software for the
printer and reinstall. I will do this first. before tackling the connector
and cable question.
I am not sure how I will check the cable itself. Any ideas?
Blair

 

[Arthur Entlich]

It might be the cable, but they rarely fail. It could be the driver, as
I think I mentioned before, although it would be odd that both computers
were corrupted, unless they both have a similar conflict.

It is possible the parallel port is failing on the printer end, or that
you have the wrong parallel option set in your bios, or a driver setting
is incorrect. I assume the printer cable was working fine previously
with this printer.

Art

 

[Blair]

Yes the printer has been working for years with this connector.
Waiting for my friend to say he is back home so I can visit and do the
uninstalling
Blair

 

[Burt]

I checked it by trying a different cable and also by using it to connect my
laser printer. I found that the cable was ok, as was the parallel port in
the computer. I had accumulated several parallel cables over the years -
just threw them away with other assorted computer junk - old keyboards,
mice, etc.- and I just substituted one I had stored away.

 

[Blair]

The following are the facts:

1 The printer is working by itself OK Prints check prints

2 The printer cable when installed in another PC belonging to a friend which
has an Epson printer which works perfectly indicates a "communication
problem."

3 The printer cable from the other friends working PC when installed in the
problem PC set-up shows the following

3a Using the Epson status monitor there is a red sign which says the
printer is idle
Also "There was an error writing to LPT1. The printer is not ready.
Make sure it is turned on and online.

3b Using the print command I get a large red cross against the icon
of the printer and a statement "out of paper"

4 The printer cable when installed in my system indicates a communication
problem

I have carried out all the checks that have been suggested and I'm still
beaten!

Blair

 

[Arthur Entlich]

The following are the facts:

1 The printer is working by itself OK Prints check prints
OK


2 The printer cable when installed in another PC belonging to a friend which
has an Epson printer which works perfectly indicates a "communication
problem."

So, to be clear... this is a parallel port to centronics cable, yes?
And it indicates a communication problem when used on a known good
computer and a known good printer? Do you know if the cable is
bi-directional or not? Obviously, something is wrong with this cable.

Which printer is your friend using?

3 The printer cable from the other friends working PC when installed in the
problem PC set-up shows the following

3a Using the Epson status monitor there is a red sign which says the
printer is idle
Also "There was an error writing to LPT1. The printer is not ready.
Make sure it is turned on and online.

3b Using the print command I get a large red cross against the icon
of the printer and a statement "out of paper"

It is possible something happened that damaged the printer port either
on the computer or printer side. My guess is that the cable failed and
shorted something on one side or the other. I would not "test" the
cable elsewhere, because it might damage another computer or printer.

Possibly something happened to the computer or printer port and damaged
the cable, hard to know which direction... did you have any severe
lightning storms, surges, or other surprises recently? Have you tried
any other parallel device in the computer port?

Have you checked in control panel to see if the parallel port is
indicted as working correctly?

4 The printer cable when installed in my system indicates a communication
problem

OK, obviously since the cable indicates a communication problem on a
known good computer and printer, and one that's unknown, the cable is
likely bad (bent pin, broken pin, failed pin to wire connection,
shorted wire, etc),

Since your printer doesn't work even with a known good cable, either
your computer's parallel port or the port on the printer is not working
correctly... is it possible a bad pin/socket on one side or other (bent
contact, dirty contact, etc?

You *might* want to try connecting a different printer with a known good
cable to your computer's parallel port, but there may be a risk of a
failure to the printer or cable if the ports are bad in some manner.
Unfortunately, you haven't done enough combinations of alternatives to
rule out something exclusively, but I can't vouch for the safety in
attempting to do so. I blew a computer power supply and some parts on
the mainboard of a Laserjet one many years ago by using an incorrectly
wired serial cable.

Art