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Administrator's permission required ?
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Sorry PU, can you expand that please.
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On my work Laptop you need admin rights to be able to add software, maybe that's the case.
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It let me add the printer driver without any apparent problems. That and another couple of icons related to the printer cable driver have appeared on the desktop.
I haven't had any messages other than :
A communication error has occurred.
Click OK and then check the interface cable type, all cable connections and make sure that all devices are on. If the error persists, unplug the printer then plug it in again.
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Try downloading fresh driver's from t'internet. What is the connection is it USB both ends ?
I would remove the software you loaded, install the driver from the web, try to plug and play it thereafter.
Edited by Pugugly on 14/09/2008 at 12:24
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Normally with USB devices you have to install drivers etc first, but you seem to have done this already.
If the printer is detailed in Device Manager, try Uninstalling it and then Rebooting - Windows should Find New Hardware and you can then direct it to the drivers' source using Browse when requested.
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My reading for the post was that the CD came with the cable - don't understand that.
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My reading for the post was that the CD came with the cable - don't understand that.
Because they are unsupported devices, makers have to provide the drivers with the cable.
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Serial to USB cables and drivers are flakey at the best of times and were only invented as a cludge to overcome a transition or provide UNSUPPORTED support for old serial devices.
The answer is to dump the serial printer. It should now be considered unsupported technology. You may not like the answer, but its the technically correct one.
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The answer is to dump the serial printer. It should now be considered unsupported technology.>>
You can still download a driver from the Epson website, which is support, surely?
My work printer is an ancient Colour Stylus 640 or 740.
It only now works in "black and white", but it's in an office, not a playpen, so the lack of colour doesn't matter.
When my spankers new Dell desktop was installed, our IT man downloaded a driver to make the old printer work.
He would have had 'administrator status' so, as has been said earlier, the download route might not work for the OP.
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>>The answer is to dump the serial printer.
I thought that would be the answer when I first saw her new laptop, but I kept quiet until she wanted to print something.
The USB to parallel lead and CD were a fraction of the cost of a new printer, so I thought it was worth a punt. I'm also looking at a pile of five new black and five new colour cartridges - I saw them going cheap! I suppose there's always Freecycle.
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You can still download a driver from the Epson website which is support surely?
No its not - the driver was written for a physical printer port configured in a particular way. Some of that physical configuration is not availble on a USB/parralell converter
You are now at the mercy of THREE device drivers. The printer one, the built on OS support for parralel devices and a cludgy device driver written by the makers of the cable
The cludgy one is not supported. by anyone. MS or the Printer makers. parrallel printers are unsupported devices on machines that dont have a physical serial port. It may work it may not work but you have no comeback or guarantee of a full solution.
Edited by Altea Ego on 14/09/2008 at 13:27
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I knew I shouldn't have tried to reply to a computer question. :)
What does cludgy mean? Sounds like a good word to me.
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If you go into Control panel and then Printers then click on Ports, which port is the printer currently pointing at?
If its the LPT1, change it to USB.
I have only played with one of these devices once (USB to LPT) and that worked first time.
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You can also configure the port by going to Start>Settings>Printers and Faxes>highlight the printer>right click>Properties>Ports tab (a list of the ports will appear; tick USB).
I've also only used one of these Serial-USB cables in the past (on a mate's business system) and it worked OK.
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I was there (about 2.00AM I think). I configured the port, but couldn't find my exact printer model, so I tried a few close ones. In the end I reverted to re-loading the driver from my original printer disc with the USB port option.
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Has the admin disabled the USB hardware on the laptop?
If a USB stick doesn't work on the laptop, it's probably been knobbled as company policy.
In that case it is probably P45 territory to enable it. (and the BIOS settings will be password protected.)
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Mouse and modem use USBs.
I managed to print what she wanted by copying it to a memory stick via USB, and then using (very) old laptop connected to printer to print from memory stick.
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If it's a work laptop, what make is it? When we get laptops we also get a docking station (or port replicator). My current laptop does not have parallel or serial ports but the ports replicator provides these with an additional 4 USB ports, a separate higher powered PSU (to handle USB powered devices), a video and DVI/HDMI port, LAN, Firewire and proper PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports etc.
Can she now ask for a port replicator for home? Then she might get a supported parallel port? My laptop certainly supports it in the BIOS but physically only has it when docked.
Rob
Edited by rtj70 on 14/09/2008 at 23:25
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Docking station? Don't make me laugh.
When this laptop arrived it had XP professional loaded that wouldn't support tabbed browsing. The first few days connected to the electric web thingmy were taken up with downloads. I can't imagine where they got them from.
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Docking station? Don't make me laugh. When this laptop arrived it had XP professional loaded that wouldn't support tabbed browsing. The
Cos windows XP prof standard build (probably xp with sp2 slipstreamed) didnt have IE with tabbed browsing.
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IIRC even XP SP3 has IE6 not IE7 I guess so Vista has more of a differential though IE7 is offered by Windows Update to any SP2 or SP3 XP machine, XP Pro SP3 with IE7 is the best combo currently IMO.
EDIT: IMO added.
Edited by cheddar on 15/09/2008 at 00:13
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If a work laptop is it supported centrally and are there any web based applications (e.g. expenses or timesheets)? If yes do not think you should/can change anyway. Check employment contract etc. It's not your laptop.
I work for a large IT company and current standard build is XP Professional (32-bit) with IE6. We have some web apps we need to use that still need updating. So a new laptop (I got one a few weeks back) is not running the latest software.
I am happy however it is not Vista or XP/IE7! Quite nice having over 3Gb RAM and a 2GHz dual Core Intel CPU.
If I did upgrade to IE7 I could but if the apps I need to use (mobile phone reimbursement, timesheet, holidays, resource request, change management, etc.) did not work... I have a problem. Most if not all do work (tried it once) but there is an IT policy.
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>>didnt have IE with tabbed browsing.>>
See:
tinyurl.com/5mjulw
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>>didnt have IE with tabbed browsing.>>
My point above was that XP SP3 has IE6 not IE7 so Vista has more of a differential though IE7 is offered by Windows Update to any SP2 or SP3 XP machine.
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>>My point above..>>
My point, equally, was confirmation of the fact that SP3 (surprisingly) only offers IE6.
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the fact that SP3 (surprisingly) only offers IE6.>>
Perhaps not surprisingly, XP is still in great demand particularly in the corporate world, IE7 gives MS an added reason to present Vista as a premium product.
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XP is still in great demand particularly in the corporate world,>>
That's true. In fact the younger offspring, an IT network support specialist, is scathing about Vista....:-)
Not surprising in this case, especially with the problems many have, for instance, with Vista for networking and flash cards use.
Edited by Stuartli on 15/09/2008 at 14:17
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In my neck of the "IT support specialist world" vista is now reckoned to be stable, and most companies are now starting to employ small scale test deployments. There is now nothing "scathing" about Vista.
I personaly have installed several dozen "vistas" and once patched to SP1 levels they are stable resilient and just as fast as XP (albeit requiring more hardware horsepower)
Vista is now as good as XP, and very much more secure.
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"It hasn't got a dedicated printer socket"
Try buying a new printer with a parallel interface ;-) The new laptop/PC printer interface is either USB or wireless. The laptop has the ability to print. Your printer does not have the ability to serve.
Can she not get a printer from work being a home/mobile worker. Or is the employer a skin flint.
Edited by rtj70 on 15/09/2008 at 01:58
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SWMBO's Dell 5150 ( USB only) is connected to an ancient Epson 400 via a Belkin USB -Parallel converter, this works fine about 90% of the time and prints pages of gibberish characters the other 10% :-/
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I can't see her getting a printer from work, the laptop's more a perk than a necessity.
I suppose it'll learn me for buying the cheapest. I'll have to fork out another tenner for something that works.
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I've just been looking at one of the following questions: Printer Advice please.
There's my answer. Canon MP210. Thirty seven quid on Amazon, with free delivery and fifteen quid cashback. Why am I faffing about with cables and drivers?
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I've just had a close look at what's included, and there doesn't appear to be a connection lead. D'yer think a cheap one will do? ;>)
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"D'yer think a cheap one will do?"
USB is digital so yes a cheap USB cable will do - it either works or doesn't.
There's quite a few of us on here who have been thinking why you've been trying to get an old printer working. Apart from the time the cost of a cheap printer is about the same as the cable - and the cheapest is probably better than your old one ;-)
If you don't need the scanner functionality, then for a little more there are some brilliant Canon printers out there. I am still very please with my old Canon Pixma iP5000 which does lots, e.g.
- print on printable disks
- two paper feeds (useful tray underneath)
- duplex (i.e. double sided) printing
- cheap to run
- print from a camera/phone directly using PICTBridge.
- absolutely stunning quality on photos - not that I print many
Replacement models cost a lot less than I paid too.
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I should have added Canon printers are renowned for being cheaper to run. Cartridges on mine are clear plastic so you know if there's ink or not. And mine has separate cartridges for:
- Black for text (bigger cartridge and cheaper ink)
- Photo Black
- Cyan
- Magenta
- Yellow
The printer you refer to uses a single cartridge for colour so when one colour runs out you replace it completely. And if I remember right (I got one for the mother in law ages ago in Tesco) it is not transparent.
I personally would pay the extra for a Canon Pixma iP4500 (or better). About £60 on Amazon. Unless you need the scanner.
EDIT: And the ink cartridges and print head are combined on the MP610 (like HP does) so not as cheap as the cartridges used elsewhere on Canon printers. Print head is separate. And mine is still going strong. Maybe this is why it's cheap. Like HP they will make the money back on the ink/print-head cartridges.
EDIT2: Sorry but had to say the cartridges it comes with are lower capacity ones too... so how much printing do you expect to do? The more expensive iP4500 could be cheaper to run.
Edited by rtj70 on 15/09/2008 at 18:35
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>>D'yer think a cheap one will do? ;>)
Was meant to be ironic! Hence the smiley. I'm still smiling.
We do very little printing at home. If she's got much to print off she does it at work on much faster printers.
Thanks everyone for your input.
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My advise was given in case others needed it ;-) It will be useful when someone does a forum search in the future too. Oh hang on too few search first ;-)
Cannot comment on how long the cartridges in the MP610 last (mother in law prints very little) but my iP5000 lasts forever on a set. Far better than the HP printer I had before. In fact I got rid of that because a high capacity tri-colour cartridge was way too expensive.
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