HP vs Apple

[Dan S]

A little help please -
i inherited a HP all-in-one Deskjet F380 printer/scanner. I've used it
with a PC, it's fine.
I have a Mac with 10.4.
I have tried to download the driver etc. from HP.
It is supposed to be a 150 MB download. I only get a folder whose size
is 50 mb and whose last suffix is " .part"
When i try to open it, Quicktime thinks it should do it, and it can't.
Removing the .part, still no luck.

Any help or explanations would be appreciated!

dan

 

[Don Phillipson]

A little help please -
i inherited a HP all-in-one Deskjet F380 printer/scanner. I've used it
with a PC, it's fine.
I have a Mac with 10.4.
I have tried to download the driver etc. from HP.
It is supposed to be a 150 MB download. I only get a folder whose size
is 50 mb and whose last suffix is " .part"
When i try to open it, Quicktime thinks it should do it, and it can't.

This is a feature of your browser's download module. We cannot
know whether you need to download all 150 Mb at one go (or whether
the browser can recognize FILENAME.PART and join to it the rest
of the package in a single file for you to unbutton.)

 

[emailaddress]

A little help please -
i inherited a HP all-in-one Deskjet F380 printer/scanner. I've used it
with a PC, it's fine.
I have a Mac with 10.4.
I have tried to download the driver etc. from HP.
It is supposed to be a 150 MB download. I only get a folder whose size
is 50 mb and whose last suffix is " .part"
When i try to open it, Quicktime thinks it should do it, and it can't.
Removing the .part, still no luck.

Any help or explanations would be appreciated!

dan

Your download is being interrupted before it is finished.

I see two drivers on their download page, the older of the two is the
one which is ~ 150MB in size, version 9.5, and it reads "Universal".
I don't know what universal means, do you? If not, I suggest trying
to download the newer driver version 9.7 this time. Here's the
download page I'm looking at:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=219&product=1128296

v9.7 direct link - ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software9/COL21238/mp-55820-2/HP_Installer_DJF300_v9.7.dmg
v9.5 direct link - ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software9/COL20268/mp-53121-1/HP_Deskjet_Installer_F300v9.5.dmg

I'm currently trying the v9.5 download that seems to have failed for
you... Ok, it completely downloaded at a fairly decent 500KB/s, but
I'm not running OSX so I can't do anything with it. Is it possible
your OS/config has problems with FTP connections, are you able to
successfully download other larger FTP files in the past and how many
times did you try to d/l v9.5?

It might've just been a glitch in HP's server and it's working better
now, otherwise I would try another FTP client to download it,
especially one that features a resume feature so it won't have to
restart at the beginning if it fails partway through. When the file
is complete, whichever method you use, it will have a .dmg file
extension instead of .part, as shown in the above links.

 

[David Empson]

Your download is being interrupted before it is finished.

I see two drivers on their download page, the older of the two is the
one which is ~ 150MB in size, version 9.5, and it reads "Universal".
I don't know what universal means, do you?

"Universal" in an Apple context means that the software has been
compiled to run natively on Mac models with both PowerPC and Intel
processors. Only applicable for Mac OS X 10.4 and later, since Intel
Macs didn't exist as far back as 10.3. Intel Macs will run most
PowerPC-only software, but some things like drivers and plugins must be
the correct architecture (or Universal).

My reading is that the 9.5 driver is an older version which works on Mac
OS X 10.3 (PowerPC only), or 10.4 (PowerPC and Intel) but it isn't
compatible with Mac OS X 10.5.

The 9.7 driver is a newer version which has been updated to add support
for running on Mac OS X 10.5 (PowerPC and Intel). It must also be
"Universal" but they didn't bother to mention that. It presumably has
other improvements so it might be worth using the later version on 10.3
and 10.4 systems as well.

If not, I suggest trying to download the newer driver version 9.7 this
time. Here's the download page I'm looking at:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=219&product=1128296

v9.7 direct link - <ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software9/COL21238/
mp-55820-2/HP_Installer_DJF300_v9.7.dmg>
v9.5 direct link - <ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software9/COL20268/
mp-53121-1/HP_Deskjet_Installer_F300v9.5.dmg>

I'm currently trying the v9.5 download that seems to have failed for
you... Ok, it completely downloaded at a fairly decent 500KB/s, but
I'm not running OSX so I can't do anything with it. Is it possible
your OS/config has problems with FTP connections, are you able to
successfully download other larger FTP files in the past and how many
times did you try to d/l v9.5?

It might've just been a glitch in HP's server and it's working better
now, otherwise I would try another FTP client to download it,
especially one that features a resume feature so it won't have to
restart at the beginning if it fails partway through. When the file
is complete, whichever method you use, it will have a .dmg file
extension instead of .part, as shown in the above links.

I agree with your analysis and the solution. I haven't tried downloading
either one myself (waiting for next month's usage cap) but I expect I
would have no problems as I've downloaded files that big from HP before
on my Mac.

There is a potential issue that the FTP server HP is using might not
support resuming connections, in which case the OP is stuck unless they
can get access to a more reliable or faster Internet connection.

 

[Dan S]

Gents,
All very good I'm sure, I'm trying just the v.9.7, but here's what is
happening:
As soon as I click "download," I mean in a second - I see a window
saying What shall we do with this file? And there is a file on the
desktop.
i ask how big the file is, and it's not the full size.
And i can't mount the "downloaded" driver.
Macs are supposed to find drivers on their own but this model is not on
the list i get; no series F printers are.
The printer is on; the ink empty light is flashing; a big E is lit below
that; I don't even know how to get at the inks!
dan

 

[David Empson]

Gents,
All very good I'm sure, I'm trying just the v.9.7, but here's what is
happening:
As soon as I click "download," I mean in a second - I see a window
saying What shall we do with this file? And there is a file on the
desktop.

Which web browser are you using? That sounds like the way Firefox
handles downloads. It starts downloading in a temporary location (which
might be your desktop), and asks almost immediately where you want to
save the file while the download is still in progress. If you pick a
different location, the partly downloaded file is shifted to the
location you specify while the download continues.

You need to watch the Downloads window in Firefox for progress
information and to see when it actually finishes downloading (or it
might pop up a message to tell you it is finished).

Have you tried using Safari instead?

Also the ".part" suffix is a clue - I haven't noticed that extension
with Safari, where partial downloads have a ".download" suffix (and can
be resumed by double-clicking the .download file, as long as this is
supported by the server).

No matter which web browser you are using, the ".part" suffix clearly
indicates that it is an incomplete download, and it should be possible
to resume an interrupted download from the Downloads window in the
browser.

i ask how big the file is, and it's not the full size.
And i can't mount the "downloaded" driver.

That's because it hasn't finished downloading yet. Either it is still
being downloaded while you're trying to use the file, or it terminated
abnormally and you need to resume the download in your web browser (or
FTP client).

Macs are supposed to find drivers on their own

Not exactly. In 10.4, Apple supplies a bunch of drivers with the
operating system, but only for printer models which existed as at the
point your OS install DVD was manufactured (which might have been as far
back as April 2005), potentially even older depending on how prompt the
printer manufacturer was in getting the drivers to Apple for
distribution with the operating system.

Driver updates and those for newer printer models are generally the
responsibilty of the printer manufacturer via independent download from
their web site (or a driver supplied on CD with the printer).

In 10.5, some printer manufacturers (I've observed at least HP, Brother
and Canon) are distributing some driver updates via Apple, and they can
be obtained using Software Update, or by download from Apple's web site
(in a big file updating all drivers for that manufacturer). There may
still be situations where you need to install a driver manually from the
manufacturer's web site or CD.

 

[Dan S]

Thank you, Mr Empson.
I can't explain how but it's fixed. i ran the disc utility and cleaned
up permissions, which was not hard. The next day all the apps I had
tried to download were waiting on my desktop and they worked!
NOW, I have perfect results from the colored inks but the black is very
clogged-up. Ran cleaning cycle, 3 times, no better; I have over half the
cartridge; any ideas?
Thanks-
Dan