Are all printer drivers installed?

[dannyss]

I've got an HP Officetjet 4215xi i'm trying to connect to a MBP C2D. The printer setup app see a USB connection but doesn't show the printer. As I add a driver, under HP, the 4215 are not listed. Apple and HP document that the 4215's driver are included in Tiger, so why isn't showing up.
I've also tryed DLing the HP software package and installing, no go.
Are additional printer drivers only found on the install disks and if so how to install a specific driver?

Thanks.

 

[skunk]

If you can't get the driver from the HP site to work, you could always try GutenPrint 5.0, which may do it. You'd have to check their list of supported printers. You must also check that the drivers are Intel compatible: PPC compatible ones will not work on an Intel Mac.

 

[dannyss]

The software bundle from HP i tried was Uninersal. As a side note, I tried connectiong it to a Thinkpad running WinXP SP2. It detected the USB device but could not detect what it was.
I also suspect the printer is the problem.

But, the original question remains; are all documented drivers installed or are some just on the install disc?

 

[skunk]

But, the original question remains; are all documented drivers installed or are some just on the install disc?

Most printers which were out when the disk was finalised will be on there, but it's always a good idea to d/l the latest drivers from the manufacturer's site.

 

[pianoman]

i'm not sure why you're having an issue but you could try installing the software that came with your printer. not only will it guarantee that the drivers will be installed, but it'll also give you increased functionality with the printer.

i had an issue similar to this one when i went from Panther to Tiger and i sent HP an e-mail asking them what to do. they replied with a list of files to delete (manually) as well as deleting the software bundle. after re-installing the software from their website, everything worked fine. perhaps you should send an e-mail or call to see if, perhaps, your problem can be attributed to troublesome preference or similar files.

 

[dannyss]

Skunk,
Thanks.

Pianoman,
I did dl the software bundle from HP's site. Everything installed ok. I can see the printer driver files in the library.But, when I try to add the printer either through the OSX app or through HP setup assistant, no printer show as connected to the USB port or the HP assistant doesn't show any printer as connected. The USB port works, I plugged an USB drive to each port. When I connect the printer, the port shows as used, but with no known device.

 

[pianoman]

what happens when you delete all HP-related files and start from scratch? when i did this, i had to delete everything that was related to the HP (including some files that don't have HP in the name) which is why i suggested e-mailing or calling them.

it sucks to have to manually delete these files (i had about 20, so it wasn't too bad) but it worked for me.

if you're having problems installing the same device on a ThinkPad, then perhaps a replacement is necessary - or you might simply need a new USB cable.

 

[dannyss]

I tried a different USB cable, no different on the Mac or the Thinkpad. I also had problems when I re-installed the printer on another WinXP machine.

 

[pianoman]

sounds like the printer's the problem. try for a replacement from wherever you bought it.