# Printer Issues



## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

Everything was working fine until 2 days ago. Now it says that the printer is 'offline'. What does that mean and how do I get it back?

Printer is HP 1200 series and computer is a toshiba with windows 8


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Could be a number of issues:


Is your printer connected? Maybe the cable is loose?
Is your printer powered up?
Have you chosen the correct printer? Perhaps you selected an old printer you know longer use by mistake.

A thing to try is a restart - this can cure a variety of ills.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

Printer is connected, double checked the cable connections.
Printer is powered up
Only have the one printer. Only one I've had for years.

I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling the printer. No luck. I was wondering if maybe the cable went bad. Can that happen? Can you buy a new printer cable without the printer?


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

MichaelZ said:


> Could be a number of issues:
> 
> 
> Is your printer connected? Maybe the cable is loose?
> ...


 4. Go to the printer in the control panel, right click and hit trouble shoot.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

po boy said:


> 4. Go to the printer in the control panel, right click and hit trouble shoot.



It says there are no problems. The printer shows up on the 'list' (a list of one) of printers available, but it says it's offline. How did that happen and what does it mean?


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Turn the printer off for at least two full minutes, while its off pull the paper out, fan it and put it back in. Make sure the ink cartridge is seated properly and that it has ink in in.
Then, after at least 2 full minutes (longer is fine), turn it back on again and try it.

IF your computer found the printer its not a cable or connection issue.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

It's been turned off overnight. I always turn the printer off when not using it. I'll double check the paper and ink stuff.


This started a couple days ago when I was printing some stuff out. Between one job and the next, it went 'offline'


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

mnn2501 said:


> Turn the printer off for at least two full minutes, while its off pull the paper out, fan it and put it back in. Make sure the ink cartridge is seated properly and that it has ink in in.
> Then, after at least 2 full minutes (longer is fine), turn it back on again and try it.
> 
> IF your computer found the printer its not a cable or connection issue.



Well, that didn't help. Sigh..........................


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Check to see if the computer was all of a sudden switched over to "see" the printer wirelessly. Many new printers can be used Wifi. If the computer is "looking" for the printer using WiFi maybe one of the reasons it says "printer is off line"


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

arabian knight said:


> Check to see if the computer was all of a sudden switched over to "see" the printer wirelessly. Many new printers can be used Wifi. If the computer is "looking" for the printer using WiFi maybe one of the reasons it says "printer is off line"



How do I look for that?


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

You asked if printer cables can go bad. Yes they can and do. One of the regular calls from my customers was from the old centronics connectors or printer cable partly failing (usually due to pushing and pulling, but sometimes out of the blue). The printers would print garbage or do printhead dances because of the incorrect command codes.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

I found something about ports. This thing connects via usb. Do I need to check on that somehow?


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Uunplug the USB cable from the printer... Check your menu on the printer and make sure it is not "paused"

Remove the printer from your control panel on your computer if it is still there.

Let the computer detect the printer and reconnect to it..


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

thermopkt said:


> Well, that didn't help. Sigh..........................


Were all the jobs cleared first? (do you know how to check this?)


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

simi-steading said:


> Uunplug the USB cable from the printer... Check your menu on the printer and make sure it is not "paused"
> 
> Remove the printer from your control panel on your computer if it is still there.
> 
> Let the computer detect the printer and reconnect to it..


Yeah, delete it and re-add it.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

mnn2501 said:


> Were all the jobs cleared first? (do you know how to check this?)


Yeah, they were, I figured that out by accident when looking for info on troubleshooting.

I've already deleted the printer and reinstalled it. Is that what you all are talking about? It didn't find it by itself, I did it manually. I 'spose that's not a good sign.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Delete the printer from the computer.. 

Then unplug the USB cable to the printer... double check the computer to make sure the printer is removed. Then plug the printer back in.

If the computer doesn't detect it and install it, then try another cable.

You should not have to manually add a printer.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

thermopkt said:


> Yeah, they were, I figured that out by accident when looking for info on troubleshooting.
> 
> I've already deleted the printer and reinstalled it. Is that what you all are talking about? It didn't find it by itself, I did it manually. I 'spose that's not a good sign.


 Being you have a H-P Printer. When you have uninstalled it.
You then MUST install via the directions set out by H-P
Which means ( UNLESS THIS HAS CHANCED ) You Do NOT have the USB cable plugged in UNTIL the CD installation tells you plug it in.
That is VERY Important on ALL H-P Printers using a USB Connection. 
Now that IS Unless this has changed in the last year or so.
So Uninstall also means Unplugging USB Cable and not plugging it back in until the installation CD tells you to do so.
* This is a Big Deal with H-P Printers.*


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

If the HP software has been installed on the computer, then all the drivers are there... It just needs to detect the printer to load them... It sounds to me like the cable might be bad..


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

Thanks guys. I'll try the deleting/reinstalling thing one more time. If that doesn't do it, I guess I'll try a new cable. Not sure when I'll next get to town though.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

I finally thought to borrow a printer cable from a friend, but things didn't change. It's an all in one, so just 'cause, I copied something with it and that still works, but not as a printer. I did notice that it no longer says printer is offline, it sends the document to the queue, but the printer just sits there.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Here is something else to try: Do a restore. See http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/3443387/how-use-system-restore-in-windows-8/ 

This simply restores to a previous point in time. I did this to fix a printer issue a month or so back on my inlaw's computer.


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## defenestrate (Aug 23, 2005)

Assuming that you aren't losing any settings you'd like, MixhaelZ's suggestion may work. I assume everything has been restarted. 

One thing you can try is to plug that USB cable into a different port on the computer, if you haven't already. The little transceivers do fail from time to time, or have software/hardware conflicts and act squirrely. Trying another cable would also be a good idea.

If those things don't help, I may be able to help tou with model-specific test codes. I don't do too much with Windows 8 but there may be some common registry issues that can cause the printer to be undetected (have had to fix issues like this for every previous version in Microsoft's NT line starting with 3.51 so I wouldn't rule it out now).


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Windows can have spooler issues so that print jobs never make it to a printer. I gave up on HP printers after the 500 series. The printer drivers were too invasive, the cost of supplies too high, and there are better printers out there.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Windows can have spooler issues so that print jobs never make it to a printer. I gave up on HP printers after the 500 series. The printer drivers were too invasive, the cost of supplies too high, and there are better printers out there.


Same here.. I've had 4 different HPs.. Wife talked me into a Canon MG6250 I think it is... LOVE it.. ink is cheaper, they don't expire, and the drivers are a lot better and smaller.. Much better picture printing quality too..


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

Yeah, I've been thinking new printer, but everyone wants money for one.  This one was given to us. Any good recommendations for all in ones? I really need the copier, almost more than the printer.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Most newer printers have copying ability and many also have scanners so you can scan a document and email it (the equivalent of a fax). A few still demand a fax sent from a fax machine, but less and less. You can get a printer that prints, copies, and scans for around $70 and it will even have an ink cartridge. And many are now wireless so they can be placed in a more convenient location.

The one we have is no longer made but you can still pick it up at Amazon for only $30 - see http://www.amazon.com/Hewlett-Packa...id=1372518876&sr=8-2&keywords=hp+3052+printer
Ours copies fast and is wireless. EDIT: Just noticed that shipping on printer stated above is $31.50 (Ouch!). Still, at $62 it is a good deal.


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