networked printer

alliancep.s.ialliancep.s.i
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
i have set up my printer and have been able to print to it from my mac. randomly it stopped working and i havent been able to get it to work properly since. i keep trying to print test pages with one word and it will start printing many many pages of code. I have my PC networked to it, easy as hell but the mac...noo. i deleted the printer then readed it but it keeps printing the same pages of code. the printer is an hp psc 2170 series btw.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    jccbinjccbin Posts: 476member
    Your Mac is probably sending PostScript to the HP, which may not support it, may not support it in binary form, or may just not print right since it is an HP (grin).



    Are you using the printer as a network printer or as a shared usb printer? If as a shared USB, try hooking it up directly to the Mac to test if it will work at all that way. (See what we're doing here? We're eliminating the possible problem areas one by one, so that you can isolate whether it is a problem with the printer, the network, or one or both of the computers.)



    Does it print when directly connected to the Mac? Did you have to install any software for the Mac? SHould you have?



    HTH
  • Reply 2 of 8
    alliancep.s.ialliancep.s.i Posts: 133member
    i gotcha. im going to do all that now and retry. it is sending post script the only thing i dont get is it DID work.



    ok



    took the printer and hooked it up to the mac, it worked immediately w/o installing anything. the printer when networked is connected to the base/home pc using USB. I am going try and install anything from the cd that came with the printer because it doesnt show this model in the printer setup printer options.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    jccbinjccbin Posts: 476member
    Ok,



    When you install the stuff on the PC, get out the fold-out how-to sheet that came with the printer. Follow it EXACTLY: The HP software can be very dogdy if you connect the printer too early. Connect it only when the directions say so.



    Also, you might try UNinstalling the HP software first, then reinstalling it. That sometimes fixes things.



    If you had an old HP printer on the PC, make sure you uninstall it's drivers if you are not going to use the old printer.



    Sometimes it is quite hard to get the Mac to properly work with a PC-shared printer in any case. It is possible, but it is not consistent always.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    alliancep.s.ialliancep.s.i Posts: 133member
    well ive been sitting here for about an hour trying to connect to it. i can find the printer under "add printers" when i try and print the only thing is that the printer model isnt listed. when i click "generic" i get a bunch of postscript code and it starts to print a million pages. there is an "other" option that brings me to a finder window i guess to search for the printer? i have a hewlett packard folder in apps but i dont know what kind of file i am looking for? any more help would be greatly appreciated.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    jccbinjccbin Posts: 476member
    Are you sitting at the Mac or the PC?



    Are you trying to connect to the printer shared from the PC to the Mac yet?



    If you are in OS X Tiger, Go to the Printer setup prefpane, click on the + to start the print browser/printer setup. Click on the "More Printers..." button.



    When the dialog comes down, choose "Windows Printing" and make sure the workgroup is the correct name.



    If that doesn't work, try holding down the option key when you click on the "More Printers...." button, and seeing if the WIndows via SAMBA or LPD/LPR options work, or perhaps any HP options.



    Beyond this, make sure that the printer is being shared, and see if there are any specialized settings in the sharing setup that you can use.



    let me know what happens.

    JC
  • Reply 6 of 8
    alliancep.s.ialliancep.s.i Posts: 133member
    jc,

    Ive done all that many many times. The printer is shared - it works with my networked windows pc. The only problem I can see on the mac that would be preventing it from working correctly is that its Printer Model is set to "generic" and not the exact model (which doesnt show up under HP). The printer is an HP PSC 2700 series.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    alliancep.s.ialliancep.s.i Posts: 133member
    ive been trying to setup to another networked printer i have an (hp deskjet 3320) i installed the drivers off hp.com and i cant get it to network either. what shit.



    anyone know what a driver file would be so i can search and use that possibly as the printer model?
  • Reply 8 of 8
    bc2plankerbc2planker Posts: 1member
    im in the exact same position as you. win xp on the PC that the HP2175 is connected via USB too... networked with a macBook. I can see the printer when i add it in mac world, but only as a genaric post-script printer... which equals mass ammounts of garbeled printing. When i connect direct to the Mac with USB, it works perfectly.



    any ideas tips would be appreciated. thnx.
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