HP Deskjet 5740 Printer

[riptide]

I am still having problems printing on my deskjet. It will only print from the internet or outlook express. It will not print from any internal applications, ie. word, excel, etc. It goes through the motions as though it is printing, but nothing happens.

I have tried HP about this and everytime I try and download a check on my sytem it says Active X will not allow it. I have looked under my internet options and lowered my security risk but still it will not allow it.

Surely there must be something I can do to rectify this. Wish I could find my setup disk for the printer.

Any comments appreciated, although in simple terms please as I am not very technical in these matters. I am working from a VA10 laptop through a wireless router.

Thanks. Riptide.

[ACtheTROLL]

can you print a test page from the printer driver?

the whole point of windows is that everything talks the same language (except movies) - so whatever is sent to the printer it goes down the same pipe - so if one thing prints .... they should all print (I know .. not 100% true - but near enough).
will any graphics print? from paint ... or whatever?

when you say goes through the motions ... do you mean printer chucks out paper ...?

[bazwillrun]

do the other apps. that wont print have the printer set as their default printer

[riptide]

The printer works on the test page. When you use word or works, it sounds as though it is printing and the paper comes out, but there is nothing on it.

How do I find out if my HP Printer is set as the default printer for word. When you go into the control panel -printers, the HP is ticked. There is another printer showing as Adobe and one as word with no tick against them. I have only one laptop working off the printer.

[riptide]

By the way I meant to say thank you all for your replies. I await further comments as to what is wrong, although I must say I cannot understand it. I would say that for the past few months, the printer has been in the cupboard and has not been used. I last used it at Christmas and it printed from word with no problems.

[ACtheTROLL]

the microsoft "printer" is installed just in case you don't have a real printer

if the printer sits for ages unused
it's reasonable that the drum will dry out eventually from neglect.
the toner absorbs damp and forms a solid clump
the laser blows
the mirror jams

all would cause a "print" without inking the paper

but it wouldn't print a test page ....
I'm out of ideas
for a non tekky I can't suggest anything.

you could try printing to PDF ... here is an evaluation copy
http://www.fineprint.com/products/pdffactory/i ndex.html

or tick the print to file option (file | print)
and see if the file contains random letters and numbers - it just proves the driver)

[riptide]

Thanks for your reply and help. I must say I cannot understand it. I tried printing photos yesterday and they worked. It just seems that anything on the docs side, i.e. microsoft office or microsoft works does not print. When I say it goes through the motions, it sounds as though it is printing and produces the sheet of paper from the printer but with nothing on it. I can only think it is something to do with microsoft, although I haven't a clue why.

I would help if I could download new drivers from HP but the ActiveX control will not allow this. I shall probably have to go and buy a new printer, but then will it work if it is to do with microsoft.

Never mind, thanks for trying to help, much appreciated.

Riptide.

[ACtheTROLL]

Oh boy .... red face!!
For some reason I was thinking laser printer!!

in the printer settings you should find an option for black and white printing only ... try that

also try putting a pikkie into a word doc .. and see if that prints

as a quick fix download this version of firefox
http://portableapps.com/news/2008-04-17_-_fire fox_portable_2.0.0.14

it's self contained so won't alter anything. You should be able to download everything from the hp site with it.
(my machine is tied down tight ... but I can still download from HP? (download option ... not install - right?)

[riptide]

Okay will give it a go thanks. Tried putting a picture into word, typed some wording underneath it, the picture printed, but not the wording. Very strange. Also I went onto the microsoft website to get some information on printing problems with word and they suggested doing a new template. I tried to print out the information, but it only printed the letters at the side, so perhaps there is a problem with the printer, although I am beginning to wonder if there is something in my laptop system that is preventing wording coming out. Still will carry on a bit longer trying to fathom it out.

When all else fails, then do I get a new printer, or get someone to look at my laptop programs.

Many thanks for your time and patience, I am no expert and any comments are welcome.

Riptide

[ACtheTROLL]

by the time the words get to the printer ... it's effectively just a "picture" of the page ... word talks to the driver to map out the dots so screen and paper match.
in word the link to the printer is important (in the old days lasers used bigger dots than these days and ppl still used dot matrix - so measurements varied)
which is why the microsoft printer gets installed (if you have a printer it's there in case you uninstall the real one).

is there a chance you could borrow another machine to see if (obviously a lappy is best !) you can talk to your printer from that?

[riptide]

Yes I had thought of that one, will try and use a friend of mine's printer to see if it works.

Thanks for your time and help.

Riptide

[ACtheTROLL]

do it both ways ... does yours work on their's

[riptide]

Okay thanks.

Riptide

[riptide]

Well I tried my laptop word programme on my friends printer today and it worked. However, there was a problem with the installation wizard and the found new hardware wizard would not clear and the installation guide kept on appearing saying:
"An error occurred during the installation of the device. The system cannot find the file specified".

This was not true as the printer was installed on my laptop and it worked.

No matter what I did the found new hardware and installation wizard would not clear from my sytem and kept popping up all the time.

I have now found my installation disc for my own printer, so I took the printer off and reinstalled it. It still does not work with word and I have the same problem with the installation wizard and error message. It does appear that it is my printer that is at fault, but the found new hardware wizard is going to be a problem no matter what printer I install.

Luckily I do not do a lot of printing and probably can hold on till I get a new computer later in the year, probably an Apple Mac once I have saved up the pennies. I shall have to go and print at my friends for the time being I think.

Oh well we now know it is my printer but this installation wizard problem is a mystery to me. Any ideas.

Thanks

Riptide.

[ACtheTROLL]

Just re read ... have we established XP or Vista?

Your problem was also with the detection prog ... below are the links to just download the drivers .... it's worth a go ... remove the old first

I think the FNH is just a by-product of the printer being plugged in ... should go when you bin the printer





All
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCat egory?product=357202&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=e n&cc=us&I1.y=3&I1.x=5
XP
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc =en&cc=us&lang=en&docname=bpd09187
Vista
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareLis t?os=2093&lc=en&cc=us&lang=en&dlc=en&product=3 57202

[riptide]

Thanks you are an angel, I will give it a go. After this, if I am still having problems, think I will call in a computer guy who has helped me in the past, as I am getting a bit fed up with it all now.

Am off to get a new printer today so will try the new one and see what happens.

Once again, many thanks for your time and help

Riptide

[riptide]

Just to update you further, I took my old printer off and it would not clear from the system. I then went into file - server properties and tried to remove it from there and it said it was currently in use, which it was not. It seems to me that my present computer has somehow corrupted something on the computer, you just cannot get rid of it, I deleted my friend's driver this way and it worked. By the way I am on Windows XP.

Think it is time I called in the computer man, there is something most weeird going on here. This is probably why I keep on getting messages about not installing properly.

Any ideas how I can get rid of this printer. I am lost for words, obviously sitting in the cupboard for so long has caused problems.

Thanks.

Riptide.

[ACtheTROLL]

You kan never win them all ... sometimes talking through a 2 minute problem just doesn't get there ... there are quite a number of things it could be ... easy and quick to check (if you know where to go next) ... but like this you will probably end up throwing the thing through the window.

It depends how old your system is, how long you have been using it ... I rebuild mine about every 12-18 months ... sometimes more often ... fault finding is fun .... if you have the time ...(and the interest)

I'm tempted to say back up your goodies ... and rebuild the machine ...

[riptide]

Thanks for all your comments and advice, have finally sorted out the printer problem. Did a system restore going back one month before reconnected the problem printer.

Have taken all printers and drivers off now and it has worked. Will hopefully install my new printer tomorrow.

Anyway, seems like problem solved. Hopefully this will be the last you hear of me.

Thanks and regards

Riptide