HP laserjet Printer not supported

Is your Laserjet 4L parallel connected?

Please run hp-check and post the output here.

On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 5:19 PM, troypulk <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Question #30559 on HPLIP changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/hplip/+question/30559
>
> Description changed to:
> I have Mandriva 2008.0 powerpack and my printer is HP laserjet 4L
>
> I installed HPLIP 2.8.4 for Linux and set up the HP print manager but
> when it looked for my printer it said that it was not supported?
>
> What can I install so that my printer will work?
>
> Thank you
>
> Troy
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a member of HP
> Linux Imaging and Printing, which is an answer contact for HPLIP.
>

"Is your Laserjet 4L parallel connected?"

Yes

hp-check says:

Saving output in log file: hp-check.log

Initializing. Please wait...

---------------
| SYSTEM INFO |
---------------

Basic system information:
Linux localhost 2.6.22.9-desktop-1mdv #1 SMP Thu Sep 27 04:07:04 CEST 2007 i686 AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2000+ GNU/Linux

Distribution:
mandriva 2008.0

HPOJ running?
No, HPOJ is not running (OK).

Checking Python version...
OK, version 2.5.1 installed

Checking PyQt version...
OK, version 3.17 installed.

Checking SIP version...
OK, Version 4.7 installed

Checking for CUPS...
Status: scheduler is running
Version: 1.3.6
warning: /etc/cups/cupsd.conf file not found or not accessible.

Checking for dbus/python-dbus...
dbus daemon is running.
python-dbus version: 0.82.2

------------------------------------
| COMPILE AND RUNTIME DEPENDENCIES |
------------------------------------

note: To check for compile-time only dependencies, re-run hp-check with the -c parameter (ie, hp-check -c).
note: To check for run-time only dependencies, re-run hp-check with the -r parameter (ie, hp-check -r).

Checking for dependency: cups - Common Unix Printing System...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: cups-ddk - CUPS driver development kit...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: cups-devel- Common Unix Printing System development files...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: dbus - Message bus system...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: gcc - GNU Project C and C++ Compiler...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: GhostScript - PostScript and PDF language interpreter and previewer...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: libcrypto - OpenSSL cryptographic library...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: libjpeg - JPEG library...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: libnetsnmp-devel - SNMP networking library development files...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: libpthread - POSIX threads library...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: libtool - Library building support services...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: libusb - USB library...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: make - GNU make utility to maintain groups of programs...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: PIL - Python Imaging Library (required for commandline scanning with hp-scan)...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: ppdev - Parallel port support kernel module....
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: PyQt - Qt interface for Python...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: python-ctypes - A foreign function library for Python...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: python-dbus - Python bindings for dbus...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: python-devel - Python development files...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: Python 2.3 or greater - Required for fax functionality...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: Python 2.2 or greater - Python programming language...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: Reportlab - PDF library for Python...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: SANE - Scanning library...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: SANE - Scanning library development files...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: scanimage - Shell scanning program...
OK, found.

Checking for dependency: xsane - Graphical scanner frontend for SANE...
OK, found.

----------------------
| HPLIP INSTALLATION |
----------------------

Currently installed HPLIP version...
HPLIP 2.8.4 currently installed in '/usr/share/hplip'.

Current contents of '/etc/hp/hplip.conf' file:
# hplip.conf. Generated from hplip.conf.in by configure.

[hpssd]
# Note: hpssd does not support dynamic ports
# Port 2207 is the IANA assigned port for hpssd
port=2207

[hplip]
version=2.8.4

[dirs]
home=/usr/share/hplip
run=/var/run
ppd=/usr/share/ppd/hpijs/HP
ppdbase=/usr/share/ppd/hpijs
doc=/usr/share/doc/hplip-2.8.4
icon=/usr/share/applications
cupsbackend=/usr/lib/cups/backend
cupsfilter=/usr/lib/cups/filter
drv=/usr/share/cups/drv/hp/

# Following values are determined at configure time and cannot be changed.
[configure]
network-build=no
pp-build=yes
gui-build=yes
scanner-build=no
fax-build=no
cups11-build=no
doc-build=yes
shadow-build=no
foomatic-drv-install=yes
foomatic-ppd-install=no
foomatic-rip-hplip-install=yes
internal-tag=2.8.4.2

-------------------------------
| DISCOVERED PARALLEL DEVICES |
-------------------------------

No devices found.

--------------------------
| DISCOVERED USB DEVICES |
--------------------------

No devices found.

---------------------------------
| INSTALLED CUPS PRINTER QUEUES |
---------------------------------

LaserJet_4L
-----------
Type: Printer
Installed in HPLIP?: Yes, using the hp: CUPS backend.
Device URI: hp:/par/LaserJet_4L?device=/dev/parport0
PPD: /etc/cups/ppd/LaserJet_4L.ppd
PPD Description: HP LaserJet 4L Foomatic/hpijs, hpijs 2.8.4
Printer status: printer LaserJet_4L now printing LaserJet_4L-3. enabled since Thu 24 Apr 2008 05:13:08 PM PDT

HP Linux Imaging and Printing System (ver. 2.8.4)
System Tray Status Service ver. 0.1

Copyright (c) 2001-8 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP
This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
This is free software, and you are welcome to distribute it
under certain conditions. See COPYING file for more details.

error: Unsupported model: LaserJet_4L

---------------------
| PYTHON EXTENSIONS |
---------------------

Checking 'cupsext' CUPS extension...
OK, found.

Checking 'pcardext' Photocard extension...
OK, found.

Checking 'hpmudext' I/O extension...
OK, found.

-----------------
| USB I/O SETUP |
-----------------

Checking for permissions of USB attached printers...

-----------
| SUMMARY |
-----------

error: 1 error or warning.

Please refer to the installation instructions at:
http://hplip.sourceforge.net/install/index.html

The laserJet 4L is supported....

Please run:

/usr/lib/cups/backend/hp

and post the output.

Also run:

/usr/lib/cups/backend/hp -h

and post that output as well.

A

Thanks for your help,

/usr/lib/cups/backend/hp
direct hp "Unknown" "HP Printer (HPLIP)"

/usr/lib/cups/backend/hp -h
HP Linux Imaging and Printing System
CUPS Backend 2.8.4
(c) 2003-2008 Copyright Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP

Also, when i try to run HP device manager trying to find the printer connected to a parallel port the manager does not see the printer even when it's on. I tried to use the manual find at /dev/parport0 and it still did not see it.

Do you think that the HP device manager will work better if I switch from parallel to USB with an adaptor?

HPLIP does not support parallel to usb adapters.

It seems that HPLIP is not detecting the printer correctly. if you go to:

http://localhost:631/admin

is the printer detecting using cups?

If it is not perhaps the parallel BIOS settings are incorrect, be sure they are set to ECP.

Thanks.

Aaron

My BIOS was not set to ECP

So now it's set to ECP, the HP device manager sees my printer but it still says that my printer is not supported.

http://localhost:631/admin does not see my printer as well

the following is still the same:

/usr/lib/cups/backend/hp
direct hp "Unknown" "HP Printer (HPLIP)"

/usr/lib/cups/backend/hp -h
HP Linux Imaging and Printing System
CUPS Backend 2.8.4
(c) 2003-2008 Copyright Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP

What next?

Possible to try a different parallel cable?
Is there a printer problem or in error state?
Using any parallel splitters and/or hubs?
Does the printer work on a windows system?

Aaron

Thanks for your help,

The printer works normal on windows, so I doubt that there is a cable problem. Also, I have two separate HD's one with Linux and one with windows but the same mother board, I manually switch the IDE cable for what ever system I want to use, could there be a problem with this system that is causing the printer problem?

I'm not using any splitters or hubs, it's connected strait into the parallel port on the motherboard.

There is no error or printer problems, the only things that come up are that the printer is not supported, both on hp-check and in the device manager.

The printer did work when I had the free Mandriva one, but it never printed anything right it always came out like a secret code. After I installed 2008.0 I was messing with it and it would print garbage but I remember that it was not using CUPS it was one of the other options in the device manager, but it only worked for a little while and then stopped working because I was trying other things to get CUPS and HPLIP to work. Then I installed Mandriva 2008.1 and now nothing works.

Is there a way to reset the printer other than unplugging it? Or putting it back to a default state?

Also, could you tell me how to make the ppdev - Parallel port support kernel module start at every boot, right now I have to start it manually after every boot.

Even after I changed the BIOS parallel setting to ECP the printer still worked normal on windows.

There could be come problem with this printer for use on a Linux system that cannot be fixed, so what LaserJet printer would you recommend for at home use, just incase this one never works?

Thanks again Troy

I just did a hp-check and this showed up and is new, I haven't seen this before, does this help?

QSettings: failed to open file '/etc/qt_plugins_3.3rc'
error: Unsupported model: LaserJet_4L

Lets run:

/usr/lib/cups/backend/hp

again and post the output. it should be reporting information about the printer if hp-setup is saying unsupported printer model..

A

This is all that comes up

/usr/lib/cups/backend/hp
direct hp "Unknown" "HP Printer (HPLIP)

The printer was on and the parallel port support kernel module was loaded

A side note,

I made sure that the HP Laserjet 4L was not installed and then I tried to use the lexmark 1100 printer I have and I realized that the KDE Control center will not load any drivers for either the lexmark or the HP printers.

So now I'm thinking that there is something wrong with the control center.

Update

I did something different,

I have been trying to install this printer through the KDE control center after installing the HPLIP driver manually, but the printer still doesn’t work, I have also left a bug report at KDE.

So this time I used the Mandriva control center and went to Hardware to manage the printer.

It saw the printer and loaded the appropriate driver. But now there is another problem, I can print now but it only prints a single line of text and its gibberish, it does printer what I’ve typed.

No matter which driver I use it only prints single lines of gibberish.

Any advice?

I'm thinking of starting over with a bigger HDD and doing a fresh install, right now my HDD is only 20 Gig

Update:

Hello,

I'm getting very frustrated with this.

I got my new HHD and did a new fresh install of 2008.1 loaded all the updates and then went straight to the MCC under ward ware and set up every thing for my printer, but the printer still does not work.

so then I went to the KDE control center and tried the postscript driver and all the drivers there that would load and none of those would work either, not even the HP drivers, the printer would work and print a page using open office but it would not print what I typed, I typed my name and tried to print that but what came out was dependent on the driver I used, but never just my name.

I really need an expert here at my desk

Maybe I’ll try a different printer?

This could be a hardware issue. Is it possible to try the printer on a windows system?

Thanks.

A

The printer works just fine on windows

That's what's so messed up, this is not ward stuff

The fact that it's so easy and that it still does not work is amazing

This stuff is pretty straight forward, MCC basically does every thing for you so the fact that it still does not work is confusing.

hp-setup or toolbox says that the printer is not supported, but I can still print from it using open office after setting it up thru MCC except that it prints gibberish, when I go to the CUPS web site (http://localhost:631) I can print a test page but it’s still gibberish, the uri was hp:/ and I used the driver that CUPS recommended, so all this is making me think that it’s a driver issue, I even made sure that the parallel port setting in the BIOS was set to ECP Auto, maybe I’ll change this around and see what happens.

In MCC the only drivers that are available for this printer are CUPS and Ghostscript, but when I go to the KDE Control Center I have more options for drivers including HP Laserjet 4L Foomatic+ljet4 which is the recommended driver, but none of these drivers work, they all produce gibberish

How do you set cupsd.conf to debug mode? I'll try this next.

I'll keep trying thou, by the time it works I should be an expert

Thanks for your help

UPDATE:

please click on this link to see the latest info

[url]http://forum.mandriva.com/viewtopic.php?t=87394[/url]

Thank you to every body that helped me,

Every thing is fixed and I can print a normal page

I did 5 things,

I made sure that the IRQ was set right

I got a newer and shorter printer cable

but the 3 things that really mattered,

I installed hplip 2.8.5, CUPS 1.3.7 and Python 2.5.2

You see, before I only had hplip 2.8.2 and CUPS 1.3.6 and Python was not installed at all, I figured that after I did a fresh install of 2008.1 and then set up the printer through MCC that every thing needed would be installed, but when I tried to install hplip 2.8.5 the first time it had a make error so I asked about this question at this forum and they told me to run cd hplip-2.8.5 and then make and see what the error would be and it said that I was missing cups/cups.h which told me that since cups 1.3.6 was installed by the install program it for some reason does not see it.

Then someone else here told me to run python ./check.py -tc and that said that CUPS and Python were not installed so I installed CUPS 1.3.7 and Python 2.5.2 myself and then reinstalled hplip 2.8.5

After this I printed a test page at http://localhost:631 and it printed normally.

Thanks again for your help