HELP! Printer problem

[barry.hynd]

Hi Folks,

I've recently bought a Brother multifunction printer. I had some problems initially and a computer guy I know said that it could be a problem with my sis chipset. I then put on a four port usb 2 card with a via chipset but still having problems installing the software and getting my computer to recognise the printer.

I operate XP so i thought it would be plug and play. When I plug the usb 2 cable into the port I dont get the mormal positive two beeps. I get two that sound rather negative as if it doesnt like it.

Am at my wits ens and dont wanna lose the 250 quid i paid for this. I hope somebody can help!!!!

 

[RockLinks]

Its not a problem with the usb itself is it?

 

[Webstuff]

Barry, does it not come with an installation disk? If not, look at the companies website for installation drivers and manual. "Plug and Play" doesn't mean you can simply plug in any piece of hardware and have it work, it simply means windows is capable of recognising, and (generally speaking) not having a nervous breakdown whenever you extend its functionality. Its very unlikely it could load device specific drivers for a brand new printer.

Try their website, its likely to have everything you need, along with an installation manual. I'd be very surprised if it was a USB problem (sorry)

 

[barry.hynd]

It has an install disk with it. When I put this in I only get to the point where it asks me to connect the printer and then nothing happens. I've tried to different cables and both seem to be doing the same. I've never come accross anything like this before.

 

[RockLinks]

Have you tried connecting somethign else via usb, i had a client with a similar problem and we found out it was a faulty usb.

 

[barry.hynd]

Hi Rocklinks,

I have an epson printer that also connects via usb and it all goes fine. When I insert the cable I get the normal two ascending beeps. But when i put in the other printer using either of the two usb cables I have I get the two beeps but they both sound the same. It's as if the computer is trying to tell me something!

 

[RockLinks]

Hmmm i dont know what else it could be and to be honest i dont know to much about these things myself. Have you considered that it may be the printer itself?

 

[VeryMark]

If you are running Windows, it may help if you first shut down every other non-essential program before you try to install the printer - press CTRL/ALT/DEL to bring up the list of processes that are running in the background and then close ('End Process') everything except Explorer and Systray.

 

[printerbase]

We recently had a problem with an Oki and a HP DeskJet printer, the customer had an existing HP DeskJet and bought an Oki to use on the same computer both using USB.

The Oki just would not install, in the end the customer uninstalled the HP from the system rebooted and installed the Oki which then worked fine.

According to Oki support this was a regular problem as the HP's install some sort of USB port monitoring/printer status program which can conflict with another printer trying to use USB.

So try uninstalling the Epson from the computer and then try installing the Brother.

Is the Brother USB only or does it have a parallel interface ?

Peter

 

[barry.hynd]

Hi Peter,

It's USB only. OK i've tried doing what both suggested ie ending all the processes and uninstalling the epson and i'm no further forward :-(

Something tells me that the noise it makes when I insert the usb into the machine is the key to this. Normally when you attach usb you get two ascending little beeps. When you put the usb in for the brother it has two of the same beeps. I've tried the cable on the epson and it works fine.

I've even tried brother themselves and they are worse than useless. I'm really hacking myself off with this!!!!

 

[kyber]

Sometimes installing plug & play devices can drive you positively mad.

One of the most irritating things is those devices that you must not plug in before running the installation routine. If you do it the wrong way around you are for ever screwed.

(I assume you have already tried running msconfig and turned off most of the drivers. If not, give that a go first.)

I think you need to confirm absolutely that the printer and cable works fine. You need to find another friendly XP computer and try to install on that. If it works there and not on your computer then obviously something is wrong with your computer (software, firmware or USB).

If you have other USB devices working then the next best candidate is core software and firmware. Make sure your systems drivers are up-to-date especially for the primary chipset - if there have been compatibility problems reported there is a good change the manufacturer has done an update. Somewhat oddly, I have found that graphics drivers can cause problems with other devices. Make sure these are up-to-date as well.

If you still have problems, it is worth installed a second version of XP on your PC and trying to install the printer again on a bare bones OS. If that works then you know the problem lies with the configuration of Windows XP. You face a hard choice then about an extended period of configuration changes to find what is causing problems in the primary installation OR slowly rebuilding your system from scratch.

If the test XP environment does not work, then frankly you are most probably flogging a dead horse. If it were just a printer I would suggest trying a network printer server approach that supports USB devices but there is almost no chance of that working with a multi-function device. Any other PCs in the house that could host it for you? (Still would probably not work well on the multi-fuction side.)

Personally, I expect to rebuild Windows every six months to get a stable system with the most up-to-date versions of everything I need. I am now on Windows XP Pro SP2. I have established approaches that work for me that greatly speed up the rebuild time including the re-installation of the wide range of software I use.

Sorry I have no magic wand.

Good luck.

Stuart