Failure of HP All-In-One

[jkinyon]

Hello, my HP 2175 has a repeated clicking sound during start-up. It gets stuck at that point and has become unusable. Is there anything I can do to remedy the situation and salvage my printer?

 

[PhilFrisbie]

The most common problem with HP inkjet printers is a clear plastic tape with fine black lines on it. The printer looks at this tape and it tells it exactly where to print. But after some time the tape gets dirt and ink on it, and if the printer cannot read it properly it shouts down.

To clean the tape you must open up the printer enough to gain access to the tape. It will not be hard to find; it runs right behind the ink cartridge carriage. You must carefully clean both sides with cotton swabs dipped in ordinary household rubbing alcohol.

Over the last 12 years I have repaired several HP printer this way. One was a fax retrieved from a business garbage dumpster with a label "not repairable", but I had it fixed in less than an hour and used that fax for several years.

 

[jkinyon]

Sorry it took so long to reply. I tried cleaning the tape behind the print cartridges, but it didn't seem to fix the problem. I still can't get the printer to initialize and start running. Thanks for your advise.

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

I see these printers all the time at my local goodwill. Usually, they are missing ink. I have purchased a handfull of them to give away to friends, and at an average of 6 bucks, its hard to go wrong.

However, you also want to check to make sure the clicking isn't mechanical. Maybe something is stuck like a torn paper from a paperjam.

 

[jkinyon]

I don't think that's the problem. It was printing fine until I left it without power for a week while I was on vacation. Before that, it would have the clicking sound and I would restart it. After several tries, it would initialize and work just fine. This time I couldn't get past the clicking. I've cleaned every thing I can reach and my cartridges are low, but should work. My Best Buy guy says it's time for a new one after 6 years. I'm open to any other ideas before I buy another printer.