Trouble installing HP printer

  • Thread starter Thread starter sherwindu
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sherwindu

I am trying to help a friend connect his HP All-In-One Printer (PSC
1210) to his 4 year old DELL running Windows ME. Trying to use the HP
install software runs into a dead end when the USB connector is plugged
in. An error is generated that the connection cannot be made, and the
install halts. I am told by HP support that
this is because their printer has a USB 2.0 port, while the DELL
supports USB 1.0.
They told me to go to DELL (or maybe they said HELL) to get the USB IBM
driver
for 2.0. I tried downloading it from DELL, and it wasn't there. DELL
support told
me there was no such driver (it had the same name as the 1.0, ending in
"AB", instead of "AA") for this model DELL. They recommended I buy a
PCI slot USB 2.0 board and just plug in the printer. They said the
printer would then be recognized, and their download would then
complete. It sound simple, but I have to
buy this board for something like $30 to $50. I wonder if this is just
their way of
getting rid of me, and if this will work, or is there even a software
driver somewheres
which will do the job? I thought USB 2.0 will connect to USB 1.0,
although the
resultant speed will be limited by the USB 1.0. If so, why is the HP
printer complaining about plugging it into a USB 1.0 port on the
computer?

Sherwin D.
 
sherwindu said:
I am trying to help a friend connect his HP All-In-One Printer (PSC
1210) to his 4 year old DELL running Windows ME. Trying to use the HP
install software runs into a dead end when the USB connector is plugged
in. An error is generated that the connection cannot be made, and the
install halts. I am told by HP support that
this is because their printer has a USB 2.0 port, while the DELL
supports USB 1.0.
Click to expand...

That's hogwash...USB v2 is backwards compatible with v1. Dell support
doesn't want to admit their hardware could be causing the problem with
the Dell computer and their customized Windows ME installation.

Windows ME is known to be problematic because it lacks a lot of general
hardware support. ME was not released as a retail upgrade for this
reason. And Dell is also known for restricting the use of non-Dell
hardware by using proprietary components and software. That makes the
use of Dell hardware and Windows ME a very incompatible setup.

I've often recommended to people to simply upgrade to 2000/XP (if the
hardware can support it) or to install Windows 98se which has a lot
wider support than ME. Dumping the lousy Dell Windows installation
usually fixes a lot of problems.

You said your computer is 4 years old...I'm guessing it's something like
a Pentium 3 500 or faster? If so, then go out and get a copy of XP as it
will run good enough on that hardware. If it's slower, like a Pentium 2,
then just install Windows 98.
 
sherwindu said:
I am trying to help a friend connect his HP All-In-One Printer (PSC
1210) to his 4 year old DELL running Windows ME. Trying to use the HP
install software runs into a dead end when the USB connector is plugged
in. An error is generated that the connection cannot be made, and the
install halts.
Click to expand...

[snip]

I have a friend who had the same problem. He took back the HP
all-in-one and tried an Epson model. The same problem occurred. After
spending a lot of time with him trying to get it to work, I told him it
had to be a problem with Windows ME, which was the worst version
Microsoft ever released.

My friend bought the Windows XP Home Edition upgrade and installed it.
When he tried once again to install the Epson all-in-one, the
installation went flawlessly.

royc
 
Everything Bill and royc say about ME is true, but installing HP drivers
also had a habit of doing this sort of thing with Win98 as well, but
perseverance always paid off. There never seemed to be a pattern to it,
sometimes the driver or update worked fine, other times it got stuck at the
'plug in USB cable' part. I tried a hundred different ways with 98 to get
it to work every time, cleaning registries, removing all HP files, plugging
in at a different time and sometimes it just worked perhaps the third time
of doing the exact same thing. XP no problem.
 
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