| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 2881.1 | Bypass the printer driver to see if the printer's broken | SMURF::PBECK | Who put the bop in the hale-de-bop-de-bop? | Thu Mar 27 1997 12:08 | 9 |
| You can pretty much eliminate any issues with the printer driver
this way: create a small text file with a FF at the end, boot up raw
DOS, COPY file.txt LPT1: , and see if anything comes out. This
doesn't involve the Windows print driver (or any printer-specific
code at all to speak of).
If the printer doesn't work in this case, and jiggling connections
(cable between computer and printer, for example) doesn't help, I'd
probably take the printer to the shop.
|
| 2881.2 | | LEFTY::CWILLIAMS | CD or not CD, that's the question | Thu Mar 27 1997 13:30 | 6 |
| Also, check the printer manual for a self test process. Most of the HP
printers I've owned have a button sequence which forces a self test
page to be printed... If that does not work, then it is repair time.
Chris
|
| 2881.3 | | WRKSYS::TATOSIAN | The Compleat Tangler | Thu Mar 27 1997 23:43 | 2 |
| And if you haven't done it yet, unplug the printer from the wall and
then plug it back in again, then give it another go...
|
| 2881.4 | The printer is a sick puppy | CADSYS::GROSS | The bug stops here | Fri Mar 28 1997 08:34 | 10 |
| The printer failed the self-test. I took it to the shop and (to my
relief :-) it failed the self-test again at the repair desk.
For what it's worth, self-test on the 850/855C is initiated by
pressing the pause button for 3 seconds until the amber light
starts to flash.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Dave
|
| 2881.5 | No problem found | CADSYS::GROSS | The bug stops here | Thu Apr 03 1997 09:55 | 12 |
| My printer returned from the shop with the notation "no problem found".
Indeed, I plugged it in and it worked, so the problem wasn't software.
Along the way, I completely detached the printer cable so maybe jiggling
both ends made a difference.
However...I tried the self-test at the store and it seemed unusually
slow. At home I tried printing a message from inside Eudora Light and
that was extremely slow too. (But MSWORKS printed at normal speed.)
If these symptoms don't sound familiar to anyone I'll just accept that
that's the way it is.
Dave
|
| 2881.6 | Much too slow | CADSYS::GROSS | The bug stops here | Fri Apr 04 1997 09:58 | 13 |
| It now takes over 1/2 hour to print one page from Printshop. I think
it's going back to the shop. I tried reloading the printer driver -
no help. I tried some suggestions I found on HP's web site to cure
slow printing - no help (but it did lead me to save many mega-bytes
of hard drive space devoted to .TMP files). The printer acts like it
has an internal clock that is running 10 times slower than normal.
There is one more thing to try. On the HP web site I found out that
this printer has a "diagnostic" test feature in addition to the self-test.
I haven't tried it, but you hold the power button and tap the pause
button 5 times to initiate the diagnostic test.
Dave
|
| 2881.7 | Printer fixed | CADSYS::GROSS | The bug stops here | Thu Apr 10 1997 10:24 | 11 |
| I got my printer back last night. The analysis was "defective
ink cartridge". I was skeptical but the technician DID pick out
the cartridge that was replaced recently (the one for black ink)
and he had no way of knowing that. I put in a new cartridge and
the printer is back to normal.
I got the defective cartridge from Comp USA. They wouldn't take it
back without a receipt so now I have to write to HP and hope they
will take it back.
Dave
|