LaserJet4 Printer driver problem in XP
 

Sheeeesh, trying to get a Laser Jet 4 Plus driver for this XP Pro has been a total failure. I'm now signed up to receive world news with HP, the latest recipe for a Christams cake and how to rid myself of anal bitey things...but no F:mad:ing driver. Round and round...then back to home again. Oh, look, I've got 29 drives unpacking. One for the world's old industry standard laser? No. nor any other laser, just an obscure list of devices that I wouls only try to install if I was planning the take-over of an Eastern European country. Let me off this mad world. I've been installing that printer for what...15 years? This one runs like a Rolls Royce. Totally fantastic...but not on the new OS No Sireeee.


Thank's for the PM


Strangely, it lists the very popular (- well, to us oldies,) as you say. HP on the left, model Laser Jet 4 Plus on the right. Next step or so it asks me to put the disc in. Nothing. Then the HP site is designed to make one give up computing. A circular ride back to square one. I gave up after 7 thousand goes.:ugh: I went back to the earlier XP and it still goes fine.

However...has anyone had multiple sheets flying out of their lasers when using Firefox? Thought nothing of it, until my son reported the same issue.

The Add-aware seemed to spend quite a time on the first run, but unlike the good old mark one version, it seemed to be like pulling teeth to tell if it had actually done something positive with the results. As I said, on the first screen, it clearly said nothing had been found. Next tab and there were two items. Even then, there wasn't a clear method of firing a final killing blow to them. Oddly unsatisfying software to drive.

I suspect you're clicking on "have disk", where you should simply click on "next".

The reason XP "strangely, lists the very popular" is because it lists all the printers of major manufacturers that were available when XP was released. It would be even more strange if it managed to list those that were yet to be released...

And printing from Firefox has always been a bag of nails. You my be seeing any of several known bugs. One thing that may help is to check whether it has defined silly page margins for your printer. If you get exactly 5 pages, then that's a bug.

Yep the 5 pages sounds right. I'll pass that on, thanks.

Tending to run two threads here, but...


By Strangely, I meant that although it lists it in the normal way, it just doesn't do anything with the highlighted printer.

I'll try again now while I'm having me tea and toast:} But bear in mind, no stress, just an attempt to catch up with modern OSs.

In the mean time, I'm using HP 4000 series which seems to go, and since I now know about the bug, one of my reasons for the continued search for the correct driver, has been dispensed with. But, it would be nice to have everything just so.

Tried it again, and no, it goes through right to the end, showing the correct printer, then Finish causes a pause, and then it asks for the XP disc. Put that in and it still can't find it. Mind you, this is probably a floored copy, I'm having thoughts about looking at Vista, having been given a genuine copy of that with a computer that will have another OS on it. A chance to give the dreaded Vista a try. In a way it's a shame, cos I finally got the precise boot method that I wanted working.

Still just playing, but really not wanting to be beaten. Only reply if interested.

Well, it seems there is a complete forum on making this old printer go with Vista and late XP...and most of the answers take you to -- guess what? a program that downloads and installs before it mentions a word about money.

Driver detective, and Down load smarti-pants, they all want your money, then just tell you about all the bits of your computer that aren't up to date with their drivers. Nothing but nothing lets me install the listed printer.

Although I know that getting a decent OS is what it's all about, this experimental/learning copy could be at fault. Certainly, when I'm told to put the Windows disc back in, that's when it all grinds to a halt. But, as discussed, before, with XP home, it just loaded without resorting to the disc...and worked. Which is a good job, because the only soft was on the HP machine when it arrived.

Installing this Pro version has trebled the speed of the machine, well, a vast loading improvement etc coincided with it. Can't be just the Barracuda drive...can it? I've now got so many odds on it, that it's not because its simply unburdened.

The word Vista pops up from time to time, it really does look like a hybrid OS.

Juat out of interest, in a command window what does it report when you type "ver"?

5.1.2600

Gosh, that takes me back a bit. :uhoh:

That's XP.