Anyone know why my printer wont work with XP?

atgate

Hi

First off I hope I haven't posted in the wrong forum, the problem started when I went to XP prof so that's why I came here

OK I have a very old Brother HL8 laser printer, it must be 10-15 years old but a really good workhorse.

Always worked fine with HP Laserjet Plus drivers on DOS, UNIX, Win 3.1, 95, 98, 98SE, ME (yes it really is that old).

Now before I upgraded the OS on my PC(Dell Dimension 8100 P4 1.4) I checked out the compatibility charts and the printer was listed as compatible (with the HP drivers) so off I went and upgraded to XP Prof and bye bye printer.

First the Data light would flash and no print would happen. Then it would print a line per page and then blank pages.

I've tried the following:

Reinstalling the drivers (after completely uninstalling the old drivers).

Reinstalling the LPT1 port.

Doing both of th eabove at the same time.

Tried printing via serial cable on Com1 (same problems).

The only drivers I can fond are the ones supplied woth XP, it looks like HP haven't bothered in writing their official one yet.

I relly love this printer and I'd hate to have to scrap it before it dies of naturasl causes, I also really don't want to go back to Win ME coz I hate it and XP is so much more stable.

Anyone got any ideas?

atgate

Xterminator

Yeh, try other drivers for compatability.

Usually there is a generic text one, (ok for non graphic applics) under the manufacturer generic.

Try HpLaserJet III, i've got a brother hlv something going great under that driver.

Try emailing hp tech support. They may have a tweak that you havent thought of!

X

Wook

buy new printer, these days they are extremely cheap and nothing to worry about

SantaHoe

It's a long shot, but make sure the "Print Spooler" service hasn't been turned off (it should be on by default).
/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Services/
It should be 'started' and 'automatic'.
Like I said, it's a long shot, but other than that... it's probably a driver issue, so try the Generic ones like Xterminator suggested.

donaloconnor

Have you tried changing the Parrell port to EPP or ECP (I think)Mode in the Bios Settings? well it think its worth a go, i've tried doing it to printers that havn't worked before and now they do

atgate

Hi Guys

Thanks for the advice.

I've tried the LaserJet III and generic drivers, I've also tried playing with the Bios settings for the port

Next up I'm going to try networking my laptop (on Win98) and try to print via that.

I can't throw it out coz then it would have beaten me!!

atgate

azezil

Try it out on the lappy anyway to make sure its not a hardware issue, i think it may be. If so give it a good clean out, but you might have to replace teh drum. (roller thingy )

Rabies

Originally posted by atgate
OK I have a very old Brother HL8 laser printer, it must be 10-15 years old but a really good workhorse.

Always worked fine with HP Laserjet Plus drivers on DOS, UNIX, Win 3.1, 95, 98, 98SE, ME (yes it really is that old).

i think that might be your problem.......

as wook said, buy a new one, they are very cheap now. it will save a lot of hassle.

you never know, it might last 10-15years

SantaHoe

I reckon the least painfull option if it's still not working for you, would be to install Windows98/95/ME and duel boot it with XP... then just boot into Win9x when you want to print something.
I'd hardly think anyone uses a printer often enough for it to be that big an inconvenience.

Kanne

Hi guys,

I had the same problem ... after sending A LOT of mails to MS, HP and brother I solved the problem by myself:

Someone of these fu...ing MS-guys crashed the HPPCL-drivers of W2000 and above :mad: - but NT is running ! So you have to use the drivers of NT (for details please ask me ).

This problem affects ALL HPPCL-printers, eg HP Laserjet I .. III, several Brothers, Epsons ... list also available !

mailto:Kanne@T-Online.de

Capt'n Midnight

Rabies wrote:

i think that might be your problem.......
as wook said, buy a new one, they are very cheap now. it will save a lot of hassle.
you never know, it might last 10-15years

Not likely - these days they sell printers at or below cost to lock you into buying their consumables which can be chipped to make it more difficult to find alternatives.

RANT HP printer drivers and windows - always a pain if they don't work first time and just too many foibles /RANT

Out of curiousity what other emulations does the HL8 have, you might be able to try one of them..
HP Series II emulation ?