USB Printers

[PWY]

This may not be the proper group for this post, but it's the one I have the
most confidence in after a few years lurking.
I had a Canon i950 printer and was very happy with it for three years. It
stopped printing and started giving a flashing light signal that indicated a
print head problem. I took it to an authorized shop and the guy wanted 75
dollars for the printhead and 30 more for the one minute install. Being old
and stubborn I refused. He suggested I buy an ip4200 at Office Depot for 99
dollars,which I did. Now the problem:

My computer, an Intel Gigabyte 8iexp, Intel p4 2.26 overclocked to 2.5 gig,
would not communicate with the USB printer. So I bought a new cable. Same
result. The drivers would not install because the computer could not find
the printer. I unplugged the cable from the printer and plugged it into the
i950. Windows suddenly found new hardware.
To me this indicated that the problem was not the computer but obviously the
printer. Today I returned the printer to Office Depot and bought a HP4180.
Same problem. The computer cannot communicate with the printer. I was able
to install the drivers manually to USBoo1 emulated printer port. This is the
port the old Canon was using.

What is going on? I have spent 3 days talking to both Canon and HP and am
at the end of my rope. All the info they seem able to supply is the same
info I got from the online manual. Basically, delete the software and start
again.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on here. The HP is a multifunction
printer if that matters.

PWY

 

[Dave]

My computer, an Intel Gigabyte 8iexp, Intel p4 2.26 overclocked to 2.5
gig,
would not communicate with the USB printer. So I bought a new cable. Same
result. The drivers would not install because the computer could not find
the printer. I unplugged the cable from the printer and plugged it into
the i950. Windows suddenly found new hardware.
To me this indicated that the problem was not the computer but obviously
the printer. Today I returned the printer to Office Depot and bought a
HP4180. Same problem. The computer cannot communicate with the printer. I
was able to install the drivers manually to USBoo1 emulated printer port.
This is the port the old Canon was using.

What is going on? I have spent 3 days talking to both Canon and HP and am
at the end of my rope. All the info they seem able to supply is the same
info I got from the online manual. Basically, delete the software and
start again.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on here. The HP is a multifunction
printer if that matters.

PWY

Uhhhh . . . With most printers today (HP specifically), the drivers need to
be installed before the printer is plugged into the computer using a USB
cable. Part of the problem is that there is more than one driver needed,
the printer itself and USB printing support. It's possible that the i950
printer had a workaround for this somehow (an "emulated" printer port?)

You need to completely uninstall all printer software (especially everything
related to Canon), reboot, install the HP printer drivers (and not just the
"BASIC" drivers, ALL of them). During the HP printer driver installation,
you will be prompted to plug the HP printer into a USB port. At that time,
try a different USB port than the one you plug the Canon into.

Oh, and do NOT use any CD that comes with a printer to install printer
drivers, ever. -Dave

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...s&dlc=en&submit.y=8&submit.x=13&lang=en&cc=us

 

[PWY]

Thanks Dave. The method you describe is exactly the method both Canon and HP
instructions call for and exactly the method I used except I did use the cd.
The Canon would not install because it couldn't find the printer. The HP
install program had a check box to allow the install to continue after it
could not find the drivers. Windows then had the drivers although the
printer did not show in Printers and faxes. I installed these drivers by
using Add a Printer in Printers and Faxes. The computer still cannot find
the printer.

Previous to the i950, which was a simple Windows install, all my printers
have been parallel port printers. At the moment I wish this one was.

PWY

 

[T Shadow]

Thanks Dave. The method you describe is exactly the method both Canon and HP
instructions call for and exactly the method I used except I did use the cd.
The Canon would not install because it couldn't find the printer. The HP
install program had a check box to allow the install to continue after it
could not find the drivers. Windows then had the drivers although the
printer did not show in Printers and faxes. I installed these drivers by
using Add a Printer in Printers and Faxes. The computer still cannot find
the printer.

Previous to the i950, which was a simple Windows install, all my printers
have been parallel port printers. At the moment I wish this one was.

Disconnect the printers. Uninstall the printers then uninstall the USB
drivers and reboot to let Windows reinstall them befor trying the print
divers again. Haven't needed to change printers yet but its helped with
other USB devices.
YMMV

 

[Brian K]

Disconnect the printers. Uninstall the printers then uninstall the USB
drivers and reboot to let Windows reinstall them befor trying the print
divers again. Haven't needed to change printers yet but its helped with
other USB devices.
YMMV

I don't think I recall PWY mentioning his machine's OS. While it may
the trend to assume that everybody is using some flavor of XP, PWY may
not be using XP. If he is using Win 95, Win 98 or Win 98SE USB support
by those OS is not very good. I got by with Win 98SE for a while, until
I added an external HDD to my system. Then it became an absolute must
to move up to Win XP. Another area that can cause trouble is the USB
specification on PWY's machine. Most current USB devices are USB 2.x
specification. If the motherboard's USB ports are USB 1.0 - some
devices will step down to the slower speed. Other devices that do not
have this capability will run into recognition problems. A work around
that sometimes works is to install a USB 2.0 card in a spare PCI slot.
Then when the printer install process calls for device plug-in, plug it
into the new USB 2.0 port after you have first installed and gained
recognition of the USB 2.0 card.

Another thing to note in the manual is the maximum length of the USB
cable. You can be spot on with everything else, but if the device's
manual indicates a maximum length and you exceed it - possible
recognition problems, no communication with pc, or crashes may result.

My first printer was a Panasonic Dot Matrix, then I moved up to an HP
Desk Jet 855C and currently an HP Photosmart 7760. I agree with other
posters, unless the intention is to use multiple printers for dedicated
tasks...it's best to start with a clean slate. Uninstall all printer
drivers. Never take short cuts! It doesn't matter how many printers
you've installed. Read the manual and follow the steps outlined.

While it doesn't hurt to check HP's Printer web site for updated
drivers, on one occasion I found that the drivers on my install cd were
newer and more updated than the ones available for download. After
install, I've subscribed the HP's update service. I've used it for the
last 4 years without incident.

I hope some of what I've posted here is found to be useful.



--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

 

[Peter]

Thanks Dave. The method you describe is exactly the method both Canon and HP
instructions call for and exactly the method I used except I did use the cd.
The Canon would not install because it couldn't find the printer. The HP
install program had a check box to allow the install to continue after it
could not find the drivers. Windows then had the drivers although the
printer did not show in Printers and faxes. I installed these drivers by
using Add a Printer in Printers and Faxes. The computer still cannot find
the printer.

Which port does the I950 think it's using? Have a look in the printer's
properties. It may be that for some strange reason it's defaulting to
the wrong port (lpt1 possibly) and that you may need to manually change
it to the USB port. Worth a try.

 

[PWY]

I don't think I recall PWY mentioning his machine's OS. While it may the
trend to assume that everybody is using some flavor of XP, PWY may not be
using XP. If he is using Win 95, Win 98 or Win 98SE USB support by those
OS is not very good. I got by with Win 98SE for a while, until I added an
external HDD to my system. Then it became an absolute must to move up to
Win XP. Another area that can cause trouble is the USB specification on
PWY's machine. Most current USB devices are USB 2.x specification. If
the motherboard's USB ports are USB 1.0 - some devices will step down to
the slower speed. Other devices that do not have this capability will run
into recognition problems. A work around that sometimes works is to
install a USB 2.0 card in a spare PCI slot. Then when the printer install
process calls for device plug-in, plug it into the new USB 2.0 port after
you have first installed and gained recognition of the USB 2.0 card.

Another thing to note in the manual is the maximum length of the USB
cable. You can be spot on with everything else, but if the device's
manual indicates a maximum length and you exceed it - possible
recognition problems, no communication with pc, or crashes may result.

My first printer was a Panasonic Dot Matrix, then I moved up to an HP
Desk Jet 855C and currently an HP Photosmart 7760. I agree with other
posters, unless the intention is to use multiple printers for dedicated
tasks...it's best to start with a clean slate. Uninstall all printer
drivers. Never take short cuts! It doesn't matter how many printers
you've installed. Read the manual and follow the steps outlined.

While it doesn't hurt to check HP's Printer web site for updated drivers,
on one occasion I found that the drivers on my install cd were newer and
more updated than the ones available for download. After install, I've
subscribed the HP's update service. I've used it for the last 4 years
without incident.

I hope some of what I've posted here is found to be useful.



--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

Thanks Brian. The O.S. is Windows XP Home. Sorry about that.
The machine has both USB 1.1 and USB 2 ports. With the Canon I tried them
all. Your mention of a USB 2 card is a good one. That had not occurred to me
yet.

PWY

 

[PWY]

Which port does the I950 think it's using? Have a look in the printer's
properties. It may be that for some strange reason it's defaulting to
the wrong port (lpt1 possibly) and that you may need to manually change
it to the USB port. Worth a try.

--

The i950 is the old broken printer. It was using port USB001. I have set the
HP to that port but it doesn't work.
In the on line chat with the HP tecnician, she had me to copy the set up
disk to the hard drive and use a file from there to do a level three
cleaning of the of the previous install of the HP software. Then she double
click the set up folder and run set up from hard drive. Great idea. Problem
is, double clicking set up only opens the folder and of the files in the
folder there is nothing that looks like it might install the files.

 

[T Shadow]

The i950 is the old broken printer. It was using port USB001. I have set the
HP to that port but it doesn't work.

USB001 is a virtual port, as in, not real. If the USB drivers were detecting
the printer, Windows would be asking you for drivers.

 

[JAD]

The i950 is the old broken printer. It was using port USB001. I have set the
HP to that port but it doesn't work.
In the on line chat with the HP tecnician, she had me to copy the set up
disk to the hard drive and use a file from there to do a level three
cleaning of the of the previous install of the HP software. Then she double
click the set up folder and run set up from hard drive. Great idea. Problem
is, double clicking set up only opens the folder and of the files in the
folder there is nothing that looks like it might install the files.

remove all mention of 'USB composite devices' from device manager(under
USB/system heading)
remove all 'other devices' from device manager.
if you UN installed all things canon, then there should not have been any
USB printer ports available (virtual or otherwise){as long as there are no
USB printers installed}
reboot
insert CD and begin install
wait for prompt to plug in
found new hardware wizard will finish the install