Computer/printer problem, please help !!

Ok, I know this is an old computer but it has been upgraded not long ago and I use it for very basic stuff like reading discs only. It comes on and seems to work just fine but the problem I'm having with it is: I can't get it to work with my printer to print.

Computer: HP Pavilion (has been upgraded with intel chip) Operating System: Windows 98 Printer: Lexmark Z600

I installed the driver several times so that's not the problem. When I try to print, I always get a message that printer is not connected to the correct port...or something like that. The printer's literature says it must be connected via a USB cable. It is connected just fine and I have two USB ports on the back of my computer. I tried them both. When I go into my Device Manager to see to which port the printer is set to print, I can only find ports COM1 and LPT1. I do not see the USB port option listed there so I can't choose it and that's where my problem is - I think. Why isn't the computer seeing my two USB ports ? What can I do to fix this problem ? I hate to throw away this thing as it is working just fine otherwise and I use it very little. Thank you so much for any help.

Reply to
moonlite
Loading thread data ...

i have seen this before...did you have the printer plugged into your usb port when you installed driver...if so that is more than likely the problem...remove drivers, unplug usb cable..then re-install drivers and then plug in usb cable

Reply to
JR

Hi...

One more thought.... is USB support enabled in bios?

Take care.

Ken

Reply to
Ken Weitzel

When you look in to the device manager, do you see the USB ports. If not, check to see if your version of Win98 requires USB drivers.

If your computer is very old, and you installed a USB board, and you are using Win98 second addition, it is possible that the BIOS or mother board cannot see the USB ports. During the installation, Win98 second addition installs the USB drivers by default if the USB ports are present, and the mother board can see them.

--
JANA
_____
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
JANA

moonlite ha escrito:

Besides the good advice given by other posters, you can try with another USB cable if nothing else works. Also, it would be a very good idea to try the printer in another computer.

Remember that any USB device should have it=B4s drivers installed

*before* connecting it to the PC. Otherwise, the instalation can fail.
Reply to
lsmartino

--
--------------------------------------------------------------
        Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
Reply to
JR North

Windows 98 NEVER supported USB 2.0 and without special patches does not support at all USB. IMHO if you must run Windows 98, upgrade to the second edition (Windows 98/SE) or Windows ME.

Officialy the first version of Windows that supported USB 2 was Windows XP at the SP/2 (service pack 2) level. There were third party drivers for their USB ports for Windows 2000, and XP, but it would be an exaguration to say they worked.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm@mendelson.com  N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667  Fax ONLY: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838 
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Geoffrey S. Mendelson

Besides that, most USB 2.0 devices work fine when plugged into USB 1.0 ports. They can be a tad slow, but they work.

Reply to
lsmartino

On 20 Jan 2007 15:08:40 -0800, "moonlite" put finger to keyboard and composed:

There is a utility on your Win98 CD called "usbview.exe". IIRC, usbview will see any USB hardware even if the drivers are not loaded.

- Franc Zabkar

--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
Reply to
Franc Zabkar

if you are using plain 98 then find se and update...you want se

then install this bundled updater...

formatting link

there is a usb update for plain 98...but you want se

you have to see the usb ports in the device manager

oh yes, your whole problem might just be that the motherboard chipset drivers are not installed...from intel or via or sis etc....

Reply to
jonpi

--
--------------------------------------------------------------
        Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
Reply to
JR North

You can also try the compatibility wizard with WinXP.

Reply to
Homer J Simpson

Windows 98 doesn't necessarily support USB, You will need Windows 98 SE at the least, then the next problem will be USB 1.0 Vs USB 2.0 compatibility and correct drivers.

Reply to
MarkL

I have a Compaq that came with Win95 that had USB support. OSR2 IIRC. It was only available from OEM. Anyway the original version of Win 98 supported USB.

USB

the

Reply to
Captain Midnight

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.