On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 15:26:54 -0800, Rudy wrote:
=>Have Windows 2000 and 2.0 intel processor, and HP
=>officejet 7130xi. print function worked fine until
=>yesterday anything printed sent from CP that was black
=>characters, would no longer print black. It prints
=>alternate lines odd faded purple and blue. I have put new
=>ink cartridges in and a self test print out by the printer
=>is fine. How can I fix.
The test print from the printer shows that the printer
hardware is OK, so you may have poor cable connections, or
else a messed up driver. First, turn off the computer, and
pull the printer cable out an reinsert it a few times at
each end - this will scrape off any oxidation on the
contacts (oxidation interferes with the signals.) Some
people recommend a contact cleaner, but I've never tried
that, so I can't vouch for it.
If that doesn't work, try a new printer cable.
And if that doesn't work, try uninstalling then
reinstalling the driver. NB: Uninstall is _not_ the same as
deleting the printer. You must use the printer's own
uninstall utility (found in the printer folder) if it has
one, or Windows' Uninstall Programs utility. Then you
should check the registry with regedit, and eliminate all
references to the printer in questions - a by no means easy
task. It _may_ work to just uninstall and reinstall, since
that _should_ mean that the bad files are overwritten with
good copies, so you should try that first. But if it
doesn't work, regedit will be necessary. Warning: Regedit
improperly used can cause serious damage to your
installation, so read up on it first.
And if that doesn't work, you probably have a printer port
problem. You don't say what kind of port you are using (USB
or parallel) - not that it makes any real difference, since
a bollixed port is unfixable by the user.
HTH&GL
