Need help with HP1220cxi printer

I have had nothing but trouble with my HP 1220cxi inkjet printer since moving to Windows XP. I have tried it with both a USB connection and a parallel connection. Neither will allow bi-directional communication. The biggest problem is that two programs I use frequently (at least lately) will no longer print using this printer: TurboTax 2002 Premier and Quicken 2003 Premier.

I have already had to replace my HP 6250 cxi scanner because of USB problems. It looks like I'll have to dump what was previously a perfectly fine printer, too.

First, any suggestions for fixes with the current printer? If not, any suggestions on a replacement printer? I want a printer that does fine on BW and color, and a decent job on photos, although since I do not yet have a digital camera, that is the lowest priority.

Thanks for your help!


Scott
"Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget"

Quick thoughts on the subject:

This printer is supported by WinXP ... have you downloaded and installed the latest printer <A HREF="http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/softwareList.jhtml;jsessionid=VEOEKHYFLXC5RQEXGRMEOSQ?reg=&cc=&prodId=hpdeskjet119144&lc=en&softitem=Microsoft Windows XP&sw_lang=en" target="_new">driver</A>?

<A HREF="http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?reg=&cc=&prodId=hpdeskjet119144&lc=en&docName=bpd07296#P66_5593" target="_new">Installing with Add Printer in Microsoft® Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP</A>

As for your USB issues, you might consider installing the latest chipset drivers for your mainboard, and seeing if this clears up any problems in this area.

If you still can't use the printer after installing the drivers, you may have to assume that the issue lies somewhere else besides a known incompatibility between the peripheral and the newer operating system. If that appears to be the case, you would need to post some fairly detailed system specifications to get additional (and better) advice. For example, with a VIA mainboard, you might have the USB legacy support enabled in the BIOS, which can cause problems with USB devices being recognized. If you are trying to connect the printer to a passive or powered USB hub, it won't function correctly, or even be detected. Your parallel port might not be enabled in the BIOS, or the wrong type could be selected, (you need ECP) or bi-directional communication could be disabled, or you could even have an I/O address assigned that is out of range for the printer. It's also possible that you might have caused a software problem by attempting to connect the printer with both ports, instead of sticking to just one.

Other thoughts ... if the operating system is an upgrade over Win9x, instead of a clean installation, this could cause unusual problems. The printer might be correctly identified if a repair is performed of the OS through the Recovery Console, (or a clean install) with the printer attached and turned on. And there could also be more than one printer identified in the Device Manager, although it (or they) may not necessarily be visible, which might cause a conflict ... Windows might not "know" which printer should be default, or which port to use ... in which case, you'd need to edit the Registry (<A HREF="http://www.theeldergeek.com/show_hidden_devices_in_device_manager.htm" target="_new">link</A> ) so that all "ghosted" devices can be made visible from the View menu. Then you can uninstall them, and start over from the beginning. It's also within the realm of possibility that you are having some sort of problem due to a BIOS incompatibility with an APIC controller (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller), and the virtual gateway for IRQ addressing isn't functioning correctly. This often affects USB devices that were not identified during the initial OS installation, which would require changing the controller back to a PIC, and then running a clean installation of the OS, so that each device is assigned an individual IRQ, and sharing is kept to a minimum ... <i>OR</i> performing a BIOS upgrade, which may or may not correct the problem.

Toey

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I had similar problems with my OkiData printer under both XP and win2k.

Use the parallell port and check your BIOS to be sure it's set to ECP mode.

In XP look at your port setup dialogues in hardware manager and be sure "Use IRQ" is enabled.

Now turn off your printer, go to your printer manager in control panel and *delete* the printer. Shut down (power off), turn on the printer, start the system let windows find it again... re-install the XP specific drivers and you should (cross your fingers) be in business.


FWIW... using USB for a printer when there is a printer specific port is something of a waste of USB resources.


--->It ain't better if it don't work<---