Posted on 03/19/2010 8:17:44 AM PDT by brytlea
I hope this won't get me in trouble, and I'm not sure I put this in the right place, but I know that Freepers are the smartest people on earth and I am in need of tech help. I have a HP B8350 printer that suddenly is telling me there is a problem with the cartridges. Initially it said the tri-color cartridge had a problem and suggested I take it out and put it back in and/or replace it. I did both of those things, and it still will not print (just continues to give me an error window when I try). I stupidly took the other cartridge out to see if there was some issue with the way the problem one was put in, and when I put it back in the light started blinking for that one too! At any rate, I have tried unplugging the printer, turning everything off and back on, and taking out and reinserting the cartridges. I am working on a project and need to print and I really don't want to have to buy another printer (this is the large format pro model, so a little more expensive to replace). Can anyone give me some ideas. Oh, yeah, I did go to the HP website and google, but have not found anything about this particular problem. :(
http://www.hp.com/country/us/en/contact_us.html
Go to Start > Control Panel > Printers and Faxes...
What is listed. If your B8350 is there, is it selected as the default printer?
Sorry the new cartridge replacement didn’t fix the problem.
As for making sense, a lot of things don’t make sense.
This friend of mine I was talking about has an all-in-one printer, scanner, copyer and he couldn’t even scan, until he changed the cartridges. (Obviously, when you scan you don’t use the cartridges, so it shouldn’t make any difference, but it did — apparently machine was set to do nothing, until it got its new cartridges)
As others suggested, you may try cleaning the contacts, make sure the cartridges are in the correct place, try reinstalling the driver, turn you computer on and off, in case there is some magical thing that will fix it.
Failing all that, you can probably find a place that fixes printers, ask them how much they would charge to diagnose your printer, if it’s not too much, you might try it. It’s probably something simple.
I know you don’t want to buy another printer, but these days you can actually buy a decent color laser printer for around $400.
Any program Cnd overlap any other at times. A browser over-lapping a file - could be a lot of things. It is always best to make sure you make a large cache for browsers and clean them out often also, and some will disagree, but run de-fragg weekly (you can set up to auto-run) just to keep your disk drive clean.
Lasers aren’t worth a damn for photographs.
If you don’t need the wide carriage, you can buy a new printer for the price of a couple of ink cartridges.
People, please!
When having a problem with a computer accessory, isolate the problem to software or hardware.
All printers have a self-test function which works even when not connected to a computer (doesn’t need OS drivers to test).
To determine if the hardware has a problem:
1. Disconnect the printer from the computer.
2. Turn the printer off.
3. Reseat the ink cartridges (or print ribbon).
4. Remove and reload a small supply of paper (about a dozen sheets).
5. Turn on the printer. *
6. Run the printer self-test. *
* Some printers require holding 1 or more buttons while turning on in order to start the self-test. Other printers require pressing 1 or more buttons after the printer has been turned on and initialized. Consultant your owners manual or manufacturer’s website for specific instructions.
If the self-test does not print a correct test page, then you have a hardware problem. Further hardware testing is needed to determine cause. Some printers have a display panel which may indicate the source of the problem, either using plain text or a trouble code which you can then look up.
If the self-test does print a correct test page, then you have a software problem and need to uninstall/reinstall the printer drivers and/or app. software on your computer. Remember that some printers require a separate software application (feature manager which is in addition to the device driver) to properly access various features (such as scan, fax, copy functions on all-in-ones).
Good luck,
OOPS - Just realized that some people would not do the obvious step (after a successful hardware self-test) of reconnecting to computer and attempting to print a test page using the software on the computer BEFORE uninstalling/reinstalling drivers and software.
Sorry, if you didn’t see that as obvious (which I did).
I fully understand.
Spent a lot of time trying to get the all-in-one to work. Then when the machine itself said there is air in the distributor tubes and to contact HP, I thought life is too short to spend it like this.
Replaced it with an Officejet Pro 7780 all-in-one and have had no problems with the new one.
Oh, that would be a problem for me.
I use a large format printer, so it gets upwards of $250.
I could not get onto the internet earlier, after I downloaded a new driver (which I could not install because my computer thinks my printer is not hooked up. Anyway, I finally figured out that the connection to the phone line had come undone (I looked about a zillion times and did not see that, but well, I guess I have totally lost my mind).
Anyway, that is why I didn’t get back to you all.
In the meantime I downloaded the driver, (which won’t install) and somewhere along the line, I ran across something that said my port was not installed.
This is getting to be a much bigger issue than I can deal with myself, so I guess I will have to get professional help.
Thanks to everyone who responded. I really hate this stuff!
:)
Before spending the money on an expert to mess with the computer, try resetting to a past configuration back when the printer was working. That should fix the port problems.
Google search your printer and any error codes or messages. There will be others that have had the same problem and you can benefit from their experience.
Before you drop the cash on an expensive tech or a new printer, call around, just about everybody I know has an extra printer in the basement that they would let you use as a loner, that will take the time pressure off and give you more time to figure out what is going wrong.
Printers are kind of like Democrats in that respect. Especially those cheapo inkjet printers with ink cartidges that cost more than the printer.
What was the result when you disconnected the printer from your computer and tried a printer self-test?
(Instructions are in my earlier post.)
OK, I have tried pretty much everything. When I tried to print a self test as per your instructions it just sat there, doing nothing (2 red lights are still blinking and power light is on, otherwise it looks dead. I tried a different cable to attach it to the computer and tried a different port (since at one point I got a message that the port was bad). I even installed the software on my laptop and still, it doesn’t work. So, clearly there is a problem with the printer. The message boxes it gives me are no help, and I can’t get the printer to respond in anyway.
Drat, I guess I’m going to have to stimulate the economy by buying a new printer. I’m sick about it, as this is a relatively expensive printer (and did a fantastic job).
GRRRRRR!
Thank you and thank you to everyone who tried to help. At least I can say I’ve tried everything (except of course, taking it apart, but that would likely make things worse).
The two red lights may be blinking in a sequence that gives you a code. For ex.: left light rapid blinking non-stop, right light - slow blinking 3 times, pause, repeat.
If you can discern a pattern, try to find the meaning in the owners manual or the manufacturer’s website. Or you could google the printer name and model number and the words ‘error codes’.
By finding the correct meaning of an error code, you might find that all you need is to replace an inexpensive part or do some maintenance (like clear a paper jam or clean the roller).
Good luck.
RT
They are just blinking at a steady rate (and from what I can gather from the manual that means problems with both cartridges which has to be a problem with the printer, since I have changed them both).
If this is an HP printer (and depending on the age of the printer), check the expiration dates on the cartridges - some HP cartridges have an embeded chip which prevents printing beyond the expiration date.
If this is the case, you might be able to change the date (temporarily) in your computer’s BIOS & reboot, then try reconnecting printer and test.
Give me the printer name, model #, and cartridge #s used. I will check the web to see if there’s anything else you can do.
I have to go get some groceries, so I will check back in abour an hour or so.
Where would the expiration date be? If this is the issue, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!
The printer info is:
HP Photosmart Pro B8350
Cartridges are HP 97 and 100
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