Printer Hell!

I've just bought a reconditioned iMac to replace my old Power PC G5 & have got nearly everything up and running, except my HP Laserjet 2200DN printer. Apple suppplys the printer driver and automatically installs it. However when I try to add the printer via Preferences > Print & Scan > Add Printer, Add button is grayed out. Therefore I can't locate the printer driver even though it has been correctly installed. I've messed around with HP Direct Protocol & Line Daemon functions in this same window, entering my IP address, just to see if the printer driver could be located - it could. However, I get a pop-up window which says 'Unable to verify the printer on your network' but it gives me the option of going ahead anyway. I was able to create a print queue, able to give a print command, the printer window opens, but the printer is 'busy', but of course it hasn't been given the command to print anything. Apple lists this particular printer as HP Laserjet 2200, minus the DN, so I don't know if that suffix is significant enough to make the printer incompatible... some ideas to fix this problem would be hugely appreciated.

 

Thanks for your potentially helpful guidance. My printer is connected directly to the computer > I can locate the wireless and the Ethernet IP numbers > but the configuration page I forced from the printer doesn't list its IP number. I'm sorry, but I don't understand how to give Airport a higher configuration than Ethernet in the Network prefs as Airport doesn't show up there. It is active, but that's all I know about it. I see the cogwheel but if Airport is not listed in the pane then how can it be prioritised? I look forward very much to your response.
Regards - Alex

 

Benwiggy - Thanx for the response. Yes, I use wi-fi for internet & the printer is connected directly into the back of the iMac - but not with an Ethernet cable; I'm not sure what you call it, but it's a telphone jack type of connector. I was able to force a configuration sheet from the printer but the IP address reads 0.0.0.0. Any ideas?
Alex

 

Hi Bigwiggy - The little dot next to the word Ethernet is green. However, typing 0.0.0.0 directly into my web browser results in an "Unable to Connect" message. You're right about the cable being Ethernet - I looked at it under a magnifying glass and and saw on Wikipedia the same cable, which has 'Cat 5' embossed on the external part of it, same as mine However, I wonder if the printer control panel is a red herring as I've never raised it on this printer, which is, I should add, perhaps 8 years old, maybe even older! But it is an astonishingly reliable and productive workhorse and I've very reluctant to lose it. Any thoughts about Airport not being visible in the Network pane? In the Network window I see the IP Adress 192.168.1.69, Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0, Router: 192.168.1.254, DNS Server: same as router but grayed out.
Here's hoping....
Alex

 

Hi Benwiggy - I thought WI-Fi & Airport were two seperate entities! Anyway, I went to Telnet, but you must understand the language on the site is a bit incomprehensible to me... it's not at all obvious how one proceeds, or even where to begin. The only thing I've successfully done is rest the position of Airport/Wi-Fi, so now it leads off. You refer to the printer's own menu - but where & how does one get that menu? I presume you're not referring to the Add Printer pane? One question - in that pane which are we working with, HP Jetdirect Socket, Line Printer Demon, or Internet Printing Protocol?
Look forward to your thoughts
Alex

 

Thanks for that. I'm sorry to be such an ignoramus, but how to find and activate the printer's little display and buttons?