Lexmark Printer - No Driver for 13.10

Asked by Nicholas Coe

I recently began experimenting with Ubuntu 13.10, transitioning from Windows XP. Overall it's much nicer to use except for one major issue: I can't get my Lexmark Pro901 printer to wprint, even after trying both the generic and Lexmark drivers. It's detected, it just won't print. I called Lexmark and they say the most recent version their drivers support is 12.04. What should I do - downgrade to 12.04 (and how do I do that?) or buy a new printer? It's also not exactly easy to figure out which printers are compatible with 13.10 so I'd appreciate any suggestions there too.

Remember I'm brand new to Linux, so any solutions will have to be spelled out in non-technical terms....thanks!

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Expired
For:
Ubuntu Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
michael (yellupcm-gmail) said :
#1

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

Please read this site. 13.10 will be EOL (end of life) in April 2014. Also note that 14.04 will be out next month.

Have you tried the driver for 12.04.

Revision history for this message
michael (yellupcm-gmail) said :
#2

Also check this site. There is a place to tell them the driver does not work.

http://drivers.downloadatoz.com/vendor_lexmark/lexmark-pinnacle-pro901/os_linux.html

Revision history for this message
Nicholas Coe (nckcoe) said :
#3

Thanks - yes, I tried the 12.04 driver and it does not work for 13.10 (confirmed by Lexmark).

So I think based on what I have read that my best bet is to try to install 12.04 LTS over my existing 13.10 since my files are all still in the Windows partition. My plan is to download 12.04 to a bootable DVD and install from there. Does this make sense?

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said :
#4

13.10 is EOL soon
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

I suggest you upgrade to Trusty soon to continue support.

Revision history for this message
Nicholas Coe (nckcoe) said :
#5

I'd wait for 13.10 but not being able to use my printer is a deal-breaker.

I'm a bit surprised that Lexmark hasn't realized that a lot of former Windows XP users will be trying out Linux and need updated drivers - it looks like HP is the printer of choice for Linux, although I've never had much luck with their products.

Revision history for this message
michael (yellupcm-gmail) said :
#6

If 12.04 works with your printer, that would be best solution. Be sure you back up every thing that is important. Putting 12.04 on your computer will remove everything. Ubuntu 12.04 is supported until April 2014.

Revision history for this message
michael (yellupcm-gmail) said :
#7

Very sorry. Ubuntu 12.04 is supported until April 2017.

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) said :
#8

This question was expired because it remained in the 'Open' state without activity for the last 15 days.