Using legacy parallel printer under W7 on PC with only USB ports Thread poster: Tony M
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Tony M
France
Local time: 10:02
Member
French to English
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SITE LOCALIZER
Due to a hardware failure, I have had to buy a Compaq laptop running under Windows 7, and it only has USB ports.
But my printer is an old faithful HP PSC500, which only has a parallel port. I have been running this for years under XP from an office machine that does have a parallel port, but since that machine failed, I have just bought a USB > parallel adaptor cable.
When I connected everything up, the laptop sees the printer alright (so the cable bit is working OK!) a... See more Due to a hardware failure, I have had to buy a Compaq laptop running under Windows 7, and it only has USB ports.
But my printer is an old faithful HP PSC500, which only has a parallel port. I have been running this for years under XP from an office machine that does have a parallel port, but since that machine failed, I have just bought a USB > parallel adaptor cable.
When I connected everything up, the laptop sees the printer alright (so the cable bit is working OK!) and correctly identifies it, but says that a driver is needed. But when I go onto both the Microsoft Update and HP support websites, they say there is no driver available for this printer; is there ANYTHING I can do to make my trusty printer work with this new computer?
If I go back to XP, as I fully intend to do in due course, but running on a PC with only USB ports, am I still going to have the same problem? Or is the lack of driver just a problem with W7?
Can anyone tell me how I can find out if my new W7 PC (Compaq Presario CQ62 Notebook) is going to allow me to replace W7 with XP, as I've heard that some of the latest computers will not be backwards-compatible? It might be wisest to find this out before I re-format the hard drive...  ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jerzy Czopik 
Germany
Local time: 10:02
Member (2003)
Polish to German
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| Buy a printer sevrer | Feb 18, 2011 |
Be sure you get one with an LPT port.
Then you will have no problems at all - driver should be also available for W7. If not, use the Vista driver. And if all not good, use driver for a similar HP printer.
| | | | Natalie
Poland
Local time: 10:02
Member (2002)
English to Russian
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Moderator of this forum SITE LOCALIZER | Tony M
France
Local time: 10:02
Member
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | Still no luck... | Feb 18, 2011 |
I've managed to follow the instructions in the link provided by Natalie, but sadly, I still can't get it to work; I have managed to install the correct driver manually, but when I connect the USB port up, it doesn't 'see' the right driver — I suspect this is because it is identified over USB as a Hewelett-Packard, while the Windows Update site describes the driver as HP (i.e. there are 2 different lists for HP and Hewlett-Packard!)
But as I've no idea where to locate the driver fi... See more I've managed to follow the instructions in the link provided by Natalie, but sadly, I still can't get it to work; I have managed to install the correct driver manually, but when I connect the USB port up, it doesn't 'see' the right driver — I suspect this is because it is identified over USB as a Hewelett-Packard, while the Windows Update site describes the driver as HP (i.e. there are 2 different lists for HP and Hewlett-Packard!)
But as I've no idea where to locate the driver file, I can't go in and simply rename it, which would seem to be the obvious solution!
Jerzy, apart from the fact that I was looking for an urgent solution, I don't even know what a 'printer server' is, so I've no idea if I can afford one, or what to do with it when I've got it.
I was previously using all my computers on a network, with the office machine acting as a server for the rest; but now I have one PC on XP and the other on W7, so I can no longer work in the same way. ▲ Collapse
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Are your PCs networked? If so, I would connect, set up and share your printer under your XP OS and then try and see if Windows 7 finds the printer over the network. In the Control Panel, select Printers, right-click in the Printers window > Add New Printer > Network Printer and see if your printer is found over the network, it should be. It's always worked for me so far.
Good luck
| | | | Wolf Kux
Brazil
Local time: 05:02
Member (2006)
German to Portuguese
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| Try to buy ... | Feb 18, 2011 |
... another printer.
Today they may be very cheap at all, or try to buy an all-in-one printer (printer, fax, copier, etc.)
[Editada em 2011-02-18 18:27 GMT]
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 10:02
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| Tony M
France
Local time: 10:02
Member
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | Don't want a new printer | Feb 18, 2011 |
I am very reluctant to be forced into buying a new printer just because Miscrosoft can't get their act together; in fact, I'd rather keep my printer and ditch Windows!
For one thing, society is quite wasteful enough as it is, and here I have the best printer (all-in-one) that I've ever owned, which is still working perfectly well and gives excellent results that are suitable for my requirements. What's more, it has a feature that few if any modern scanner/printers have: the top is c... See more I am very reluctant to be forced into buying a new printer just because Miscrosoft can't get their act together; in fact, I'd rather keep my printer and ditch Windows!
For one thing, society is quite wasteful enough as it is, and here I have the best printer (all-in-one) that I've ever owned, which is still working perfectly well and gives excellent results that are suitable for my requirements. What's more, it has a feature that few if any modern scanner/printers have: the top is completely flat, which is essential when copying large books, maps, etc. So many current scanners seem to have silly bits with buttons on that stick up for no apparent reason and prevent you from getting proper, flat access to the platen.
So thanks for the suggestion, but I intend to find another solution! ▲ Collapse
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Barry Appleby
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:02
Russian to English
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| Think twice about ditching Windows! | Feb 19, 2011 |
I have used a computer for my translation work since 1983 and
have kept pace with the rapid developments that have taken place. Today's machines are vastly more powerful and versatile than the first even IBM MS-DOS computer that I bought then, when I was living in Sweden. Unfortunately, the advent of Windows-based operating system has resulted in an ever-increasing complexity that even experienced users like myself find hard to cope with. I herefore tried to ditch Windows, as Tony propose... See more I have used a computer for my translation work since 1983 and
have kept pace with the rapid developments that have taken place. Today's machines are vastly more powerful and versatile than the first even IBM MS-DOS computer that I bought then, when I was living in Sweden. Unfortunately, the advent of Windows-based operating system has resulted in an ever-increasing complexity that even experienced users like myself find hard to cope with. I herefore tried to ditch Windows, as Tony proposes to do, and tried to go over to Linux. This operation system comes in a bewildering number of what are called "distributions", some of which resemble Windows. However, they do not provide an "out-of-the-box" operating system that you can just install and start to use. It demands a certain level of knowledge to install applications and a good deal of search for the necessary drivers to run them, if they are available. Since all the software is free and not commercial, there is no guarantee that you will be able to run your favourite software. In the end, I realised that it would take me far too long to get Ubuntu working with Word, Firefox and a video player that could handle downloaded BBC programs, and so I reluctantly went out and bought a legit copy of Windows XP Home. I'd rather spend my time working and earning money that becoming an expert on Linux. Dedicated Linux users are people who are prepared to invest the time required, while I don't.
I would suggest that the root of Tony's problem lies with Windows 7, which does not seem to
be abe to see the printer. Here is a linnk to an HP page that may help.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01796879&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us〈=en&product=58710
I see no reason why his laptop should not work with XP instead of Windows 7, and a competent
computer shop should be able to tell you or there may be ifnormation on the Compaq site or in a Compaq users forum.
The following link contains information on connecting a parrallel HP printer to a USB-only computer.
http://www.printerhacks.com/how-to-connect-a-parallel-hp-printer-to-a-usb-only-computer/
Best regards
Barry Appleby ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Hire an IT professional? | Feb 19, 2011 |
Hi, Marinus,
I think you are right about not buying a new printer. How about hiring an IT professional to do the job?
It should not take them too much time to do the job.
Daniel
| | | | Ahmet Murati
Germany
Local time: 10:02
English to Albanian
+ ...
| related to this issue | May 8, 2011 |
I have a hp laptop using Windows 7 Ultimate edition. Once I needed to print out something at my family home. The printer is hp laserJet 1000 but it connects to computer only using USB.
I went to HP website to look for driver for this operating system but they didn't make drivers for this operating system. Then I did a little workaround with a custom Driver collector I saved the driver from Windows XP in one self installer package and then I run that into my windows 7 and driver was ... See more I have a hp laptop using Windows 7 Ultimate edition. Once I needed to print out something at my family home. The printer is hp laserJet 1000 but it connects to computer only using USB.
I went to HP website to look for driver for this operating system but they didn't make drivers for this operating system. Then I did a little workaround with a custom Driver collector I saved the driver from Windows XP in one self installer package and then I run that into my windows 7 and driver was installed. After a restart I could print using this printer and no support from HP.
Maybe you can fix this issue like this too. ▲ Collapse
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