HOW TO REPAIR A PRINTER SOFTWARE PROBLEM WITH HARDWARE ?

 

Symptom

The Printer is not printing

Diagnosis

• Check to see if the printer getting power
• If there are no lights or no display on the front of the printer, the printer is not getting electricity or power. Check to make sure the power cord is plugged in both to the wall or power strip and to the back of the printer. Wiggle the power cord where it plugs into the back of the printer to make sure it is not loose. Some models of desk jets have a two part power cord. In this case, check along the length of the power cord to make sure both parts are plugged in together.
• If the printer is still not getting power, plug the power cord into a different outlet on the power strip. If this does not work, try plugging the printer into a different wall outlet.

Check to see if you can print a Windows test page
The windows test page is a basic communication test between your computer and the printer. To print a Windows test page:

• Left mouse-click on the Start button.
• Go to Settings and then select Printers. Inside the printer window, you should see a small printer icon with the name of printer you are trying to print to.
• Place your mouse arrow on the small printer icon and right mouse-click. A small gray window should appear and the last choice in the box is Properties.
• Left mouse-click on Properties. A printer window with several tabs should appear.
• On the General tab, there is a Print Test Page button in the lower right corner. Left mouse-click on the button. You may click on the "Yes" button on your screen, but the real question is: Did anything print from the printer?
• If the answer is no, please call or e-mail the Help Desk at x1112.
• If you can print a Windows test page, try to print from a different program. If the document does not print from that program, the printing problem has to do with that program.

Check to see if there is paper in printer. Is their a paper jam?

• If the printer has paper in the paper tray, the paper may be jammed or not feeding properly. Take the paper out of the paper tray and check to see that the top piece of paper is not crinkled or bent.
• If the printer is a DeskJet, lift open the front cover and look to see if a piece of paper is halfway fed through. If it is, remove paper gently from the top and close.
• If the printer is a LaserJet, open the top of the printer and check for paper underneath the toner cartridge. If there is paper there, gently remove it, and replace the toner cartridge.

Check to see if the computer getting a signal from the printer.

• The computer and the printer must be communicating before the printer will print. When you send a document to print, does a small printer appear on the Windows taskbar (down by the time)? If this printer appears on the taskbar, the computer thinks the printer is receiving communication. At this point, the printer should blink lights (if a DeskJet) or says "printing" or "receiving" on the display (if a laser printer). If the printer is not receiving the communication from the computer, try restarting the computer. After you have logged in, see if you can print now.

Check to see if Printer offline or Paused.

• If the printer is off-line or paused, the print jobs will just stack up in the print queue but nothing prints.
• Left mouse-click on the Start button
• Go to Settings
• Then choose Printers
• The Printer folder should open and display the printers installed on this PC.
• Place your mouse arrow on the printer you are checking and right mouse click. A dialog box should open.
• If the printer is paused or offline you will see a black check mark next to the words "Pause Printing" or "Printer Offline."
• Left mouse-click on the black check mark and see if you can "uncheck" it.
• If the check mark will not go away, try restarting the PC (Start – Shutdown – Restart).
• Then repeat steps 1 through 7 again.
• If the printer is still not printing, please contact the Help Desk at x1112

Check to see if there multiple jobs in the Print queue.

• If the printer is a local printer (i.e., there is a cable running directly from the printer to the computer you are printing from), power off the PC, power off the printer, count to 10, and then turn both the printer and the computer back on again. Sometimes this will allow the printer to start printing again.

Symptom

The printer is printing streaks on the page

Diagnosis

• If the printer is a DeskJet, go to the HP DeskJet Utilities menu in the Program menu. Choose the "Clean the Print Cartridges" option. If this does not work, try replacing the ink cartridge. If the new cartridge does not help the streaking, place the cartridge back inside the original packaging and save it until the other cartridge has been used up. This just tests to see if the ink cartridge is defective.
• If the printer is a LaserJet, try changing the toner cartridge. If the new toner cartridge does not improve the streaking problem, return old cartridge to the printer and place the new toner cartridge back in its original packaging for later use.
• If neither option works, please visit the printer maintenance vendor list to schedule printer service.

The printer in spite of everything is not printing?

• Turn the PC off. If the printer is a local printer, i.e., has a direct cable hookup to the PC, turn the printer off also so both the PC and printer are turned off at the same time. After 30 seconds, turn the PC and the printer back on again. Try to print a Windows test page. If the printer still does not print, please contact the Help Desk x1112.