printer not printing

"Elmo" wrote in message
m...
Jo-Anne wrote:
"Elmo" wrote in message
m...
Jo-Anne wrote:
I'm using WinXP and an HPLaserJet4100 on my desktop computer. Suddenly,
my
printer won't print. It's on, it's connected, and until yesterday it
was
printing just fine.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but yesterday we had major
thunderstorms
(with one lightning strike that went through the roof of a house across
the
alley), and I lost my landline. It was just restored this afternoon,
along
with my internet service (I have DSL). The repairman said the line
between
the alley and my house had to be replaced.

The error message is "This document failed to print." It goes on to
name
the
job, the printer, etc.

I turned the printer and the computer off and then back on. I also
tried
printing from my laptop, which is networked to my desktop computer. It
appears to send the order to the desktop computer, but it just lands in
a
queue and doesn't print.

My husband checked all the physical connections, and they seem fine.

Any idea of what I should do next?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne
Here's something you might try:

Open the Properties of the printer and see if, under the Ports tab,
there's a USB... Virtual Printer Port. If so, change to that port.
That's possibly what Windows sees, not the parallel port.

--

Joe =o)

Thank you, Joe, but there's no USB virtual printer port...

Jo-Anne

This article suggests that you should have a USB port. Their
installation and troubleshooting steps look quite useful too:

http://sewelldirect.com/support/usbt...elsupport.aspx

--

Joe =o)

Thank you, Joe! That article offered excellent help--but the printer still
isn't printing. HOWEVER, when I unchecked "Enable bidirectional support,"
the printer started flashing "Data Received" and then "Ready." What I tried
to print is not in the print queue any more, but it's not printing either.
Any idea of what this means?

"SC Tom" wrote in message
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"SC Tom" wrote in message
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"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
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"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
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"SC Tom" wrote in message
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"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
I'm using WinXP and an HPLaserJet4100 on my desktop computer.
Suddenly, my printer won't print. It's on, it's connected, and
until yesterday it was printing just fine.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but yesterday we had major
thunderstorms (with one lightning strike that went through the
roof of a house across the alley), and I lost my landline. It was
just restored this afternoon, along with my internet service (I
have DSL). The repairman said the line between the alley and my
house had to be replaced.

The error message is "This document failed to print." It goes on
to name the job, the printer, etc.

I turned the printer and the computer off and then back on. I
also tried printing from my laptop, which is networked to my
desktop computer. It appears to send the order to the desktop
computer, but it just lands in a queue and doesn't print.

My husband checked all the physical connections, and they seem
fine.

Any idea of what I should do next?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne


Does the printer show up in Printers and Faxes? If so, right-click
on it, pick Properties, then click on Print Test Page. Do you get
an error message, or does it try to print? Is there a document
showing in queue after clicking on Test Page, and does it
eventually go away (with or without printing), or do you have to
manually clear the queue?
Also, is your Print Spooler service running?
--
SC Tom


Hi, SC Tom,

Here are the answers:

I clicked on Print Test Page and didn't get an error message. The
document showed up in the queue but didn't go away until I manually
cleared it. (That's the way it's been happening since the problem
started; I've had to manually clear it each time--and, for what
it's worth, the status is always "offline" when I look at it.) As
far as I can tell in Properties, the Print Spooler is running--or
at least is set to do so.

Per pjp, I used the right syntax today to print from the command
line, but the same thing happened--the document ended up in the
queue and stayed there.

Last night, my husband dug out a new parallel printer cable and
plugged it into the computer and the printer. No change.

I did some troubleshooting through HP Help, and at this point it
suggests using another printer port if there is one (I don't think
there's another parallel port on this computer) or uninstalling the
port and letting Windows reinstall it. Is that worth trying?

The only other thing I've been able to think to do (per LVTravel
above) is to connect my laptop (not the desktop computer currently
connected) directly to the printer. For that, however, I'd have to
buy a parallel/USB cable (almost $40 locally). Of course, if I do
that, I can probably connect the printer to a USB port on the
desktop computer to see if the parallel port is the problem.

Any further advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne


If you don't mind waiting, you can get it a lot cheaper on-line:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If you buy it locally, will they allow you to return it if it
doesn't work? If Yes, then at least you can find out if it's the
printer or the PC.

If it's the PC, then there may be other things wrong with it, or
ready to go wrong, and you may be ready for a new PC. I know no one
wants to hear that, or fork out the bucks for one, but lightning is
hell on electronics (we lost two fax machines at work the week I
retired). If you think that maybe just the parallel port is gone on
the motherboard, you could get a PCI card with a parallel interface
to hook the printer to:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If it turns out to be the printer, well, it's a lot cheaper to buy
one of them than a PC :-)
--
SC Tom


Thank you, SC Tom! Actually, I think the computer is on its last legs
(it's a 7-year-old Dell). It's been slowing down lately, and I've had
trouble with the hard drive (had to use chkdsk with repair before I
could image the drive recently) and in fact have a new one ready to
install once I get up the nerve to do it--but I'm beginning to think
I'd better look into a new computer instead if indeed the printer
port has gone. I have a laptop and a netbook I can use, but I'm more
comfortable with a desktop for my real work.

One more question: If it IS the parallel port on this old computer,
couldn't I use one of its USB ports to print from--if I get a
parallel/USB cable?

Thank you very much!

Jo-Anne

Yes, either method would work, although some of the USB-to-Whatever
adaptors can sometimes be flaky. My serial convertor works well enough
for what I need it to do, but my SCSI adaptor, not so great.
--
SC Tom


Hi, again, SC Tom,

Here's the latest. I bought a USB to parallel printer cable, plugged it
into the turned-off printer, turned the printer on, and plugged the USB
connector into my laptop computer. Windows said "USB printing device"
followed by "Your new hardware is installed and ready to use." However,
no printer showed up. I checked Printers and Faxes in Control Panel and
found nothing but the network printer I had used before. I tried to
print, but nothing happened.

I then installed the printer's drivers from the Hewlett-Packard
website, picking the port mentioned by Joe: USB... Virtual Printer
Port. I tried to print, and nothing happened. Eventually, I got the
usual error message and had to manually cancel the print job.

Does this sound like the printer is the problem?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

Sounding more and more like it's the printer. Did you try it on both
computers, or just the laptop? Who knows, you may have luck with your
desktop. Generally, on a USB HP printer, the drivers are supposed to be
installed before the printer is even hooked up.
--
SC Tom


Didn't know that, SC Tom! I did, however, try it on the desktop computer
too. I even changed the printer port on it to USB-Virtual Printer Port,
which became part of the list after I connected the USB cable. I guess
it's time to look for a new printer--something I had hoped to put off for
a while.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

You're welcome. Sorry it's going to cost you :-(
--
SC Tom


Thank you again, SC Tom! I suspect it will.

One interesting change today: Elmo referred me to a site that detailed how
to set up a USB printer cable. The only difference from what I had done was
that it said to uncheck "Enable bidirectional support." I did that and tried
to print something again. The printer started flashing "Data Received" and
then "Ready." What I tried to print is not in the print queue any more, but
it's not printing either. As I asked Elmo, any idea of what this means? (I
suspect it means that the cable is working but the printer isn't.)

Jo-Anne

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
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"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
I'm using WinXP and an HPLaserJet4100 on my desktop computer.
Suddenly, my printer won't print. It's on, it's connected, and
until yesterday it was printing just fine.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but yesterday we had major
thunderstorms (with one lightning strike that went through the
roof of a house across the alley), and I lost my landline. It
was just restored this afternoon, along with my internet service
(I have DSL). The repairman said the line between the alley and
my house had to be replaced.

The error message is "This document failed to print." It goes on
to name the job, the printer, etc.

I turned the printer and the computer off and then back on. I
also tried printing from my laptop, which is networked to my
desktop computer. It appears to send the order to the desktop
computer, but it just lands in a queue and doesn't print.

My husband checked all the physical connections, and they seem
fine.

Any idea of what I should do next?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne


Does the printer show up in Printers and Faxes? If so,
right-click on it, pick Properties, then click on Print Test
Page. Do you get an error message, or does it try to print? Is
there a document showing in queue after clicking on Test Page,
and does it eventually go away (with or without printing), or do
you have to manually clear the queue?
Also, is your Print Spooler service running?
--
SC Tom


Hi, SC Tom,

Here are the answers:

I clicked on Print Test Page and didn't get an error message. The
document showed up in the queue but didn't go away until I
manually cleared it. (That's the way it's been happening since the
problem started; I've had to manually clear it each time--and, for
what it's worth, the status is always "offline" when I look at
it.) As far as I can tell in Properties, the Print Spooler is
running--or at least is set to do so.

Per pjp, I used the right syntax today to print from the command
line, but the same thing happened--the document ended up in the
queue and stayed there.

Last night, my husband dug out a new parallel printer cable and
plugged it into the computer and the printer. No change.

I did some troubleshooting through HP Help, and at this point it
suggests using another printer port if there is one (I don't think
there's another parallel port on this computer) or uninstalling
the port and letting Windows reinstall it. Is that worth trying?

The only other thing I've been able to think to do (per LVTravel
above) is to connect my laptop (not the desktop computer currently
connected) directly to the printer. For that, however, I'd have to
buy a parallel/USB cable (almost $40 locally). Of course, if I do
that, I can probably connect the printer to a USB port on the
desktop computer to see if the parallel port is the problem.

Any further advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne


If you don't mind waiting, you can get it a lot cheaper on-line:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If you buy it locally, will they allow you to return it if it
doesn't work? If Yes, then at least you can find out if it's the
printer or the PC.

If it's the PC, then there may be other things wrong with it, or
ready to go wrong, and you may be ready for a new PC. I know no one
wants to hear that, or fork out the bucks for one, but lightning is
hell on electronics (we lost two fax machines at work the week I
retired). If you think that maybe just the parallel port is gone on
the motherboard, you could get a PCI card with a parallel interface
to hook the printer to:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If it turns out to be the printer, well, it's a lot cheaper to buy
one of them than a PC :-)
--
SC Tom


Thank you, SC Tom! Actually, I think the computer is on its last
legs (it's a 7-year-old Dell). It's been slowing down lately, and
I've had trouble with the hard drive (had to use chkdsk with repair
before I could image the drive recently) and in fact have a new one
ready to install once I get up the nerve to do it--but I'm beginning
to think I'd better look into a new computer instead if indeed the
printer port has gone. I have a laptop and a netbook I can use, but
I'm more comfortable with a desktop for my real work.

One more question: If it IS the parallel port on this old computer,
couldn't I use one of its USB ports to print from--if I get a
parallel/USB cable?

Thank you very much!

Jo-Anne

Yes, either method would work, although some of the USB-to-Whatever
adaptors can sometimes be flaky. My serial convertor works well
enough for what I need it to do, but my SCSI adaptor, not so great.
--
SC Tom


Hi, again, SC Tom,

Here's the latest. I bought a USB to parallel printer cable, plugged
it into the turned-off printer, turned the printer on, and plugged the
USB connector into my laptop computer. Windows said "USB printing
device" followed by "Your new hardware is installed and ready to use."
However, no printer showed up. I checked Printers and Faxes in Control
Panel and found nothing but the network printer I had used before. I
tried to print, but nothing happened.

I then installed the printer's drivers from the Hewlett-Packard
website, picking the port mentioned by Joe: USB... Virtual Printer
Port. I tried to print, and nothing happened. Eventually, I got the
usual error message and had to manually cancel the print job.

Does this sound like the printer is the problem?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

Sounding more and more like it's the printer. Did you try it on both
computers, or just the laptop? Who knows, you may have luck with your
desktop. Generally, on a USB HP printer, the drivers are supposed to be
installed before the printer is even hooked up.
--
SC Tom


Didn't know that, SC Tom! I did, however, try it on the desktop computer
too. I even changed the printer port on it to USB-Virtual Printer Port,
which became part of the list after I connected the USB cable. I guess
it's time to look for a new printer--something I had hoped to put off
for a while.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

You're welcome. Sorry it's going to cost you :-(
--
SC Tom


Thank you again, SC Tom! I suspect it will.

One interesting change today: Elmo referred me to a site that detailed how
to set up a USB printer cable. The only difference from what I had done
was that it said to uncheck "Enable bidirectional support." I did that and
tried to print something again. The printer started flashing "Data
Received" and then "Ready." What I tried to print is not in the print
queue any more, but it's not printing either. As I asked Elmo, any idea of
what this means? (I suspect it means that the cable is working but the
printer isn't.)

Does appear something got transmitted that time but if the printer didn't
spit anything out and it's not jammed, has paper etc. etc. still looks like
a new printer is in order and from what you said previously a new pc as
well. Does it print it's own on-board test page? Your manual should tell you
what buttons to hold down (or whatever) on the printer so the printer prints
out some type of summary page of it's settings etc. etc. Never had a printer
didn't have that feature.

Jo-Anne

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
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"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"pjp" wrote in message
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"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
I'm using WinXP and an HPLaserJet4100 on my desktop computer.
Suddenly, my printer won't print. It's on, it's connected, and
until yesterday it was printing just fine.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but yesterday we had major
thunderstorms (with one lightning strike that went through the roof
of a house across the alley), and I lost my landline. It was just
restored this afternoon, along with my internet service (I have
DSL). The repairman said the line between the alley and my house
had to be replaced.

The error message is "This document failed to print." It goes on to
name the job, the printer, etc.

I turned the printer and the computer off and then back on. I also
tried printing from my laptop, which is networked to my desktop
computer. It appears to send the order to the desktop computer, but
it just lands in a queue and doesn't print.

My husband checked all the physical connections, and they seem
fine.

Any idea of what I should do next?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne


Does the printer show up in Printers and Faxes? If so, right-click
on it, pick Properties, then click on Print Test Page. Do you get an
error message, or does it try to print? Is there a document showing
in queue after clicking on Test Page, and does it eventually go away
(with or without printing), or do you have to manually clear the
queue?
Also, is your Print Spooler service running?
--
SC Tom


Hi, SC Tom,

Here are the answers:

I clicked on Print Test Page and didn't get an error message. The
document showed up in the queue but didn't go away until I manually
cleared it. (That's the way it's been happening since the problem
started; I've had to manually clear it each time--and, for what it's
worth, the status is always "offline" when I look at it.) As far as I
can tell in Properties, the Print Spooler is running--or at least is
set to do so.

Per pjp, I used the right syntax today to print from the command
line, but the same thing happened--the document ended up in the queue
and stayed there.

Last night, my husband dug out a new parallel printer cable and
plugged it into the computer and the printer. No change.

I did some troubleshooting through HP Help, and at this point it
suggests using another printer port if there is one (I don't think
there's another parallel port on this computer) or uninstalling the
port and letting Windows reinstall it. Is that worth trying?

The only other thing I've been able to think to do (per LVTravel
above) is to connect my laptop (not the desktop computer currently
connected) directly to the printer. For that, however, I'd have to
buy a parallel/USB cable (almost $40 locally). Of course, if I do
that, I can probably connect the printer to a USB port on the desktop
computer to see if the parallel port is the problem.

Any further advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne


If you don't mind waiting, you can get it a lot cheaper on-line:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If you buy it locally, will they allow you to return it if it doesn't
work? If Yes, then at least you can find out if it's the printer or
the PC.

If it's the PC, then there may be other things wrong with it, or ready
to go wrong, and you may be ready for a new PC. I know no one wants to
hear that, or fork out the bucks for one, but lightning is hell on
electronics (we lost two fax machines at work the week I retired). If
you think that maybe just the parallel port is gone on the
motherboard, you could get a PCI card with a parallel interface to
hook the printer to:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If it turns out to be the printer, well, it's a lot cheaper to buy one
of them than a PC :-)
--
SC Tom


I'll add, if you can buy that convertor cable locally, can't you just
take the printer in and ask them to do a quick check of it? Given you
mentioned you replaced cable and still a no-go, personally at that time
I'd be cutting my loss and not waste more time. Note - at $40 for a
convertor cable you can pretty much buy a new printer can't you?

The converter cable would come from Best Buy; I wouldn't want them to
look at the computer. The only place in town where I'd take the printer
to get it checked is a real repair shop, and they're asking $49 just to
look at it. If I think I can get by for a few more days, a friend with
such a cable will be visiting and can bring it. But if it's the
computer's parallel port, that's a strong indication that I should get a
new computer: The hard drive is failing, the CD-RW drive is sticking
closed--and if the port is bad, what next?

AND I want a good quality business-level printer, which will cost big
bucks, I'm sure--and require some research first.


Then go with a new color laser and forget inkjets entirely. Only reason
there's still one in this house (and 2 color lasers) is because they
still want really big bucks to include the fax option and so the inkjet
is more a fax/scanner/copier than used as a pc printer.

Oh, and I'm not sure it makes sense to think long term and pay big bucks
for a printer. Maybe if you're publishing something etc. but if it only
lasts a year at $50 then you can have six each newer with likely
better/more features (and supported drivers etc.) than the previous in
same time frame as something originally $300.


Jo-Anne



I have a different philosophy, pjp. I like good quality and am willing to
pay for it--computer, printer, copier, etc.--even if they go out of date
eventually.

I used to believe in that also but found the technology changes so fast and
never sure if you can get a new driver given manufacturer decides if they do
that ... Threw away an Officejet, printer, scanner, copier, fax little while
ago simply because my wife upgraded to a new pc with Vista and HP has no
drivers and states never will as printer is 7 years old. Made it useless for
her. In fact over the last almost 30 years now that pc's have fed me and
family God knows how much good working stuff just got thrown out or given
away just because of that.


Jo-Anne

Thank you, Joe! That article offered excellent help--but the printer still
isn't printing. HOWEVER, when I unchecked "Enable bidirectional support,"
the printer started flashing "Data Received" and then "Ready." What I
tried to print is not in the print queue any more, but it's not printing
either. Any idea of what this means?
Contact their support, HoopleHead!!

"pjp" wrote in message
news:IoY6o.10716$z%6.983@edtnps83...

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"SC Tom" wrote in message
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"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
I'm using WinXP and an HPLaserJet4100 on my desktop computer.
Suddenly, my printer won't print. It's on, it's connected, and
until yesterday it was printing just fine.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but yesterday we had major
thunderstorms (with one lightning strike that went through the
roof of a house across the alley), and I lost my landline. It
was just restored this afternoon, along with my internet
service (I have DSL). The repairman said the line between the
alley and my house had to be replaced.

The error message is "This document failed to print." It goes
on to name the job, the printer, etc.

I turned the printer and the computer off and then back on. I
also tried printing from my laptop, which is networked to my
desktop computer. It appears to send the order to the desktop
computer, but it just lands in a queue and doesn't print.

My husband checked all the physical connections, and they seem
fine.

Any idea of what I should do next?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne


Does the printer show up in Printers and Faxes? If so,
right-click on it, pick Properties, then click on Print Test
Page. Do you get an error message, or does it try to print? Is
there a document showing in queue after clicking on Test Page,
and does it eventually go away (with or without printing), or do
you have to manually clear the queue?
Also, is your Print Spooler service running?
--
SC Tom


Hi, SC Tom,

Here are the answers:

I clicked on Print Test Page and didn't get an error message. The
document showed up in the queue but didn't go away until I
manually cleared it. (That's the way it's been happening since
the problem started; I've had to manually clear it each
time--and, for what it's worth, the status is always "offline"
when I look at it.) As far as I can tell in Properties, the Print
Spooler is running--or at least is set to do so.

Per pjp, I used the right syntax today to print from the command
line, but the same thing happened--the document ended up in the
queue and stayed there.

Last night, my husband dug out a new parallel printer cable and
plugged it into the computer and the printer. No change.

I did some troubleshooting through HP Help, and at this point it
suggests using another printer port if there is one (I don't
think there's another parallel port on this computer) or
uninstalling the port and letting Windows reinstall it. Is that
worth trying?

The only other thing I've been able to think to do (per LVTravel
above) is to connect my laptop (not the desktop computer
currently connected) directly to the printer. For that, however,
I'd have to buy a parallel/USB cable (almost $40 locally). Of
course, if I do that, I can probably connect the printer to a USB
port on the desktop computer to see if the parallel port is the
problem.

Any further advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne


If you don't mind waiting, you can get it a lot cheaper on-line:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If you buy it locally, will they allow you to return it if it
doesn't work? If Yes, then at least you can find out if it's the
printer or the PC.

If it's the PC, then there may be other things wrong with it, or
ready to go wrong, and you may be ready for a new PC. I know no
one wants to hear that, or fork out the bucks for one, but
lightning is hell on electronics (we lost two fax machines at work
the week I retired). If you think that maybe just the parallel
port is gone on the motherboard, you could get a PCI card with a
parallel interface to hook the printer to:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If it turns out to be the printer, well, it's a lot cheaper to buy
one of them than a PC :-)
--
SC Tom


Thank you, SC Tom! Actually, I think the computer is on its last
legs (it's a 7-year-old Dell). It's been slowing down lately, and
I've had trouble with the hard drive (had to use chkdsk with repair
before I could image the drive recently) and in fact have a new one
ready to install once I get up the nerve to do it--but I'm
beginning to think I'd better look into a new computer instead if
indeed the printer port has gone. I have a laptop and a netbook I
can use, but I'm more comfortable with a desktop for my real work.

One more question: If it IS the parallel port on this old computer,
couldn't I use one of its USB ports to print from--if I get a
parallel/USB cable?

Thank you very much!

Jo-Anne

Yes, either method would work, although some of the USB-to-Whatever
adaptors can sometimes be flaky. My serial convertor works well
enough for what I need it to do, but my SCSI adaptor, not so great.
--
SC Tom


Hi, again, SC Tom,

Here's the latest. I bought a USB to parallel printer cable, plugged
it into the turned-off printer, turned the printer on, and plugged
the USB connector into my laptop computer. Windows said "USB printing
device" followed by "Your new hardware is installed and ready to
use." However, no printer showed up. I checked Printers and Faxes in
Control Panel and found nothing but the network printer I had used
before. I tried to print, but nothing happened.

I then installed the printer's drivers from the Hewlett-Packard
website, picking the port mentioned by Joe: USB... Virtual Printer
Port. I tried to print, and nothing happened. Eventually, I got the
usual error message and had to manually cancel the print job.

Does this sound like the printer is the problem?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

Sounding more and more like it's the printer. Did you try it on both
computers, or just the laptop? Who knows, you may have luck with your
desktop. Generally, on a USB HP printer, the drivers are supposed to
be installed before the printer is even hooked up.
--
SC Tom


Didn't know that, SC Tom! I did, however, try it on the desktop
computer too. I even changed the printer port on it to USB-Virtual
Printer Port, which became part of the list after I connected the USB
cable. I guess it's time to look for a new printer--something I had
hoped to put off for a while.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

You're welcome. Sorry it's going to cost you :-(
--
SC Tom


Thank you again, SC Tom! I suspect it will.

One interesting change today: Elmo referred me to a site that detailed
how to set up a USB printer cable. The only difference from what I had
done was that it said to uncheck "Enable bidirectional support." I did
that and tried to print something again. The printer started flashing
"Data Received" and then "Ready." What I tried to print is not in the
print queue any more, but it's not printing either. As I asked Elmo, any
idea of what this means? (I suspect it means that the cable is working
but the printer isn't.)

Does appear something got transmitted that time but if the printer didn't
spit anything out and it's not jammed, has paper etc. etc. still looks
like a new printer is in order and from what you said previously a new pc
as well. Does it print it's own on-board test page? Your manual should
tell you what buttons to hold down (or whatever) on the printer so the
printer prints out some type of summary page of it's settings etc. etc.
Never had a printer didn't have that feature.

Jo-Anne



It does print its own test pages. That was the first thing I tried. It just
doesn't want to print anything from a computer. I called a repair place that
has worked on this printer and they're willing to have a look at it. (They
don't charge for the estimate.) If it's a board that needs replacement,
maybe it'll be worth doing. I'll report back when I know anything more.

Jo-Anne

"pjp" wrote in message
news:IoY6o.10717$z%6.5433@edtnps83...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"pjp" wrote in message
news:ZfJ6o.10733$Z6.9052@edtnps82...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"pjp" wrote in message
news:xVD6o.10720$Z6.6765@edtnps82...

"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
"SC Tom" wrote in message
...

"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...
I'm using WinXP and an HPLaserJet4100 on my desktop computer.
Suddenly, my printer won't print. It's on, it's connected, and
until yesterday it was printing just fine.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but yesterday we had major
thunderstorms (with one lightning strike that went through the
roof of a house across the alley), and I lost my landline. It was
just restored this afternoon, along with my internet service (I
have DSL). The repairman said the line between the alley and my
house had to be replaced.

The error message is "This document failed to print." It goes on
to name the job, the printer, etc.

I turned the printer and the computer off and then back on. I also
tried printing from my laptop, which is networked to my desktop
computer. It appears to send the order to the desktop computer,
but it just lands in a queue and doesn't print.

My husband checked all the physical connections, and they seem
fine.

Any idea of what I should do next?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne


Does the printer show up in Printers and Faxes? If so, right-click
on it, pick Properties, then click on Print Test Page. Do you get
an error message, or does it try to print? Is there a document
showing in queue after clicking on Test Page, and does it
eventually go away (with or without printing), or do you have to
manually clear the queue?
Also, is your Print Spooler service running?
--
SC Tom


Hi, SC Tom,

Here are the answers:

I clicked on Print Test Page and didn't get an error message. The
document showed up in the queue but didn't go away until I manually
cleared it. (That's the way it's been happening since the problem
started; I've had to manually clear it each time--and, for what it's
worth, the status is always "offline" when I look at it.) As far as
I can tell in Properties, the Print Spooler is running--or at least
is set to do so.

Per pjp, I used the right syntax today to print from the command
line, but the same thing happened--the document ended up in the
queue and stayed there.

Last night, my husband dug out a new parallel printer cable and
plugged it into the computer and the printer. No change.

I did some troubleshooting through HP Help, and at this point it
suggests using another printer port if there is one (I don't think
there's another parallel port on this computer) or uninstalling the
port and letting Windows reinstall it. Is that worth trying?

The only other thing I've been able to think to do (per LVTravel
above) is to connect my laptop (not the desktop computer currently
connected) directly to the printer. For that, however, I'd have to
buy a parallel/USB cable (almost $40 locally). Of course, if I do
that, I can probably connect the printer to a USB port on the
desktop computer to see if the parallel port is the problem.

Any further advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne


If you don't mind waiting, you can get it a lot cheaper on-line:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If you buy it locally, will they allow you to return it if it doesn't
work? If Yes, then at least you can find out if it's the printer or
the PC.

If it's the PC, then there may be other things wrong with it, or
ready to go wrong, and you may be ready for a new PC. I know no one
wants to hear that, or fork out the bucks for one, but lightning is
hell on electronics (we lost two fax machines at work the week I
retired). If you think that maybe just the parallel port is gone on
the motherboard, you could get a PCI card with a parallel interface
to hook the printer to:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CEMQ8wIwAw#

If it turns out to be the printer, well, it's a lot cheaper to buy
one of them than a PC :-)
--
SC Tom


I'll add, if you can buy that convertor cable locally, can't you just
take the printer in and ask them to do a quick check of it? Given you
mentioned you replaced cable and still a no-go, personally at that
time I'd be cutting my loss and not waste more time. Note - at $40 for
a convertor cable you can pretty much buy a new printer can't you?

The converter cable would come from Best Buy; I wouldn't want them to
look at the computer. The only place in town where I'd take the printer
to get it checked is a real repair shop, and they're asking $49 just to
look at it. If I think I can get by for a few more days, a friend with
such a cable will be visiting and can bring it. But if it's the
computer's parallel port, that's a strong indication that I should get
a new computer: The hard drive is failing, the CD-RW drive is sticking
closed--and if the port is bad, what next?

AND I want a good quality business-level printer, which will cost big
bucks, I'm sure--and require some research first.


Then go with a new color laser and forget inkjets entirely. Only reason
there's still one in this house (and 2 color lasers) is because they
still want really big bucks to include the fax option and so the inkjet
is more a fax/scanner/copier than used as a pc printer.

Oh, and I'm not sure it makes sense to think long term and pay big bucks
for a printer. Maybe if you're publishing something etc. but if it only
lasts a year at $50 then you can have six each newer with likely
better/more features (and supported drivers etc.) than the previous in
same time frame as something originally $300.


Jo-Anne



I have a different philosophy, pjp. I like good quality and am willing to
pay for it--computer, printer, copier, etc.--even if they go out of date
eventually.

I used to believe in that also but found the technology changes so fast
and never sure if you can get a new driver given manufacturer decides if
they do that ... Threw away an Officejet, printer, scanner, copier, fax
little while ago simply because my wife upgraded to a new pc with Vista
and HP has no drivers and states never will as printer is 7 years old.
Made it useless for her. In fact over the last almost 30 years now that
pc's have fed me and family God knows how much good working stuff just got
thrown out or given away just because of that.


Jo-Anne


I do understand, pjp. I'm kind of an old fogey when it comes to computers.
My latest one is a netbook--with Windows XP. I avoided Vista entirely but
will probably move up to Windows 7 someday. In the meantime, XP has served
me well, and the drivers I've needed have been available.

Jo-Anne wrote:
"Elmo" wrote in message
m...
Jo-Anne wrote:
"Elmo" wrote in message
m...
Jo-Anne wrote:
I'm using WinXP and an HPLaserJet4100 on my desktop computer. Suddenly,
my
printer won't print. It's on, it's connected, and until yesterday it
was
printing just fine.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but yesterday we had major
thunderstorms
(with one lightning strike that went through the roof of a house across
the
alley), and I lost my landline. It was just restored this afternoon,
along
with my internet service (I have DSL). The repairman said the line
between
the alley and my house had to be replaced.

The error message is "This document failed to print." It goes on to
name
the
job, the printer, etc.

I turned the printer and the computer off and then back on. I also
tried
printing from my laptop, which is networked to my desktop computer. It
appears to send the order to the desktop computer, but it just lands in
a
queue and doesn't print.

My husband checked all the physical connections, and they seem fine.

Any idea of what I should do next?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne
Here's something you might try:

Open the Properties of the printer and see if, under the Ports tab,
there's a USB... Virtual Printer Port. If so, change to that port.
That's possibly what Windows sees, not the parallel port.

--

Joe =o)
Thank you, Joe, but there's no USB virtual printer port...

Jo-Anne
This article suggests that you should have a USB port. Their
installation and troubleshooting steps look quite useful too:

http://sewelldirect.com/support/usbt...elsupport.aspx

--

Joe =o)

Thank you, Joe! That article offered excellent help--but the printer still
isn't printing. HOWEVER, when I unchecked "Enable bidirectional support,"
the printer started flashing "Data Received" and then "Ready." What I tried
to print is not in the print queue any more, but it's not printing either.
Any idea of what this means?

Since there was lightning, I suspect a 70 to 10,000 voltage spike
damaged a chip. The printer repairman is probably your best bet.

But back when I had a Canon 600 printer that I really liked, the printer
head cost $60 more than a new Canon 620 printer. If you can get a free
estimate, try it, but a new printer may be the cheapest route.

--

Joe =o)

"Elmo" wrote in message
m...
Jo-Anne wrote:
"Elmo" wrote in message
m...
Jo-Anne wrote:
"Elmo" wrote in message
m...
Jo-Anne wrote:
I'm using WinXP and an HPLaserJet4100 on my desktop computer.
Suddenly,
my
printer won't print. It's on, it's connected, and until yesterday it
was
printing just fine.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but yesterday we had major
thunderstorms
(with one lightning strike that went through the roof of a house
across
the
alley), and I lost my landline. It was just restored this afternoon,
along
with my internet service (I have DSL). The repairman said the line
between
the alley and my house had to be replaced.

The error message is "This document failed to print." It goes on to
name
the
job, the printer, etc.

I turned the printer and the computer off and then back on. I also
tried
printing from my laptop, which is networked to my desktop computer.
It
appears to send the order to the desktop computer, but it just lands
in
a
queue and doesn't print.

My husband checked all the physical connections, and they seem fine.

Any idea of what I should do next?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne
Here's something you might try:

Open the Properties of the printer and see if, under the Ports tab,
there's a USB... Virtual Printer Port. If so, change to that port.
That's possibly what Windows sees, not the parallel port.

--

Joe =o)
Thank you, Joe, but there's no USB virtual printer port...

Jo-Anne
This article suggests that you should have a USB port. Their
installation and troubleshooting steps look quite useful too:

http://sewelldirect.com/support/usbt...elsupport.aspx

--

Joe =o)

Thank you, Joe! That article offered excellent help--but the printer
still
isn't printing. HOWEVER, when I unchecked "Enable bidirectional support,"
the printer started flashing "Data Received" and then "Ready." What I
tried
to print is not in the print queue any more, but it's not printing
either.
Any idea of what this means?

Since there was lightning, I suspect a 70 to 10,000 voltage spike
damaged a chip. The printer repairman is probably your best bet.

But back when I had a Canon 600 printer that I really liked, the printer
head cost $60 more than a new Canon 620 printer. If you can get a free
estimate, try it, but a new printer may be the cheapest route.

--

Joe =o)

Thank you again, Joe! It'll be interesting to hear what he has to say--but I
agree that a new printer is probably in the works, if not this instant then
soon.

Jo-Anne