Can anyone help me out here ? I have an HP Deskjet 656c USB printer that refuses to install after I reinstalled my OS (win98 - don;t laugh, it's the best one I have a licence for).

It's always been a bitch (the printer, goes without saying for the OS ), but this time I'm completely stumped.

This is what I've tried so far:

Installing from the CD that came with the printer. It faffs about for 15 minutes, then won't let me go any further, saying it can't detect the printer;

Reinstalling the USB drivers;

Rebooting more times than I care to count;

Pulling the USB lead out & putting it in again in the hope than windows would "find new hardware";

Switching the printer on/off, for the same reason;

Dowloading the drivers/installers from HPs site: they failed to do anything except fall over immediately

using the "add printer" doodad in COntrol Panel - there's no option to select a USB port so that's no good;

various permutations of all the above ...

& using the "add new hardware" doodad in Control Panel - letting windows "search for new hardware" doesn't find it, using the "select from a list" option gives me an option for the printer, but when I select it says the file hpzuci02.dll file can;t be found - does anyone have this file ? and can they tell me where it should be ?


Any other suggestions welcome, preferably ones that would lead to getting this f**ker installed, rather than replacing it or slagging it with thermite

Thanks in advance

Jon...might be a dumb question: Did you check the Hardware Manager to see if there is any " ! ' or " ? " .

{quote]using the "add printer" doodad in COntrol Panel - there's no option to select a USB port so that's no good;[quote]

If you can install it using LPT1, then you can go to the printer properties and change the port to USB.

Have you installed the latest chipset driver for your motherboard?

I had a friend who had a similar problem with a computer he had worked on by a local computer store. They fixed the problem he took it in for, but failed to reinstall the chipset drivers.

Once they were installed everything was groovy.

these may be over simplistic but,
first: have you tried something else on that usb port?(making sure the port is good)
when you did the search for new hardware,was the printer plugged in(power and usb cable) and on?
ill post more as i think of em....

Hrrmmmm...... have you tried it with a parrallel cable?

Check in the hardware manager and see if the printer shows up under the USB devices... if it does, try clicking on the Update Driver button and loading the driver that way

Also check out this link

http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/cposupport...d09106#P12_769

Thanks for the input guys - there's some useful stuff for me to try.

Unfortunately, I have bigger fish to try now ... I just tried to install the printer on my Mum's rig, thinking if it worked on that, I could copy files across and/or compare settings... it was working fine - as soon as I plugged it in, windows found it & started installing, but failed at 25% when everything locked up. I had to use the reset button, but it appears I've trashed her HD. And we're not talking about just the the OS - I've just tried it in mine as a slave, and can't boot up with it installed, so it looks like it's completely undef*ckable, and all her files are gone .... and she has never backup up _anything_, despite me telling her to for years.

Hopefully, I can blind her with science & make out that it was nothing to do with me, but still .... F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK !!!!

**** me freddy

thats a new one on me... ive never seen a printer **** up a harddrive .... even doing a hard reboot....... her hard drive may have been on the edge and ready to go anyway

Taz - there are no !'s or ?'s in the Hardware Manager; + I've tried installing it as LPT1, but there is no USB option in the port drop down in printer properties.

Foehammer - yep, the chipset drivers are up to date, I reinstalled them just to make sure, but still no joy.

Rafiki - I tried installing another USB device - an HP camera & everything was fine; + the cables were plugged in when I did the search(es).

Scape' - the printer doesn't have a parallel port - I wish it did !
The printer doesn't show up under USB devices; + I followed the link & tried what it suggested, but again no joy.

I've also just tried all the permutations of the USB settings in the BIOS, no luck there either.

I'm completely stumped, I can't think of anything else to try. What freaks me out that I did have it working before I reinstalled win98, AFAIK there's no reason why it shouldn't work. I think I'm going to have to give up on this - my mum has an older HP printer that uses the same carts, so I'll do all my printing on that until I use up all my cartridges, then buy something else ... not an HP though - I will never, ever buy another HP product again.


OF course, the above kind of assumes I can ressurect my mum's rig - I think I'm going to have to get a new HD for that, I can't see any other alternative there.

I thought hard resets like that were relatively safe, I certainly do it all the time on my rig (including just pulling the plug out of the wall), it's kind of a requirement when you run Win98

I told her (omitting any mention of my printer) that it just wouldn't boot up, and the HD had probably been killed by a mains spike, caused by her leaving the thing plugged in all the time
I'm freaked out by that episode too - I suppose it's possible the HD chose that moment to die & that's why the printer install failed (rather than the installer killing it), but still, when I fit a new HD i'm not going to try installing it again !

Is your Win98 Second Edition?

Quote: Originally posted by godfoot Is your Win98 Second Edition?

yup

Hmm, so much for the easy answer.
I really wish I could help you but I am having a similar problem with a USB 2.0 5 port PCI card that I tried everything I knew and a few suggestions so far to no avail and my 2 USB 1.1 ports don't work now either cuz my mouse is no longer being detected so I had to switch back to my old mouse and I can't use my CD burner either.

jon...sorry about all your woes. Everything that has been suggested and tried is usually what works. Besides you possibly having a bad usb cable, I really don't know what to tell you to do or suggest.

I'm shocked what happend to your mother's harddrive.

- Check your PM regarding your request. I did something that you might be ok with.

Quote: Originally posted by Fantazmic2 jon...sorry about all your woes. Everything that has been suggested and tried is usually what works. Besides you possibly having a bad usb cable, I really don't know what to tell you to do or suggest. I'm shocked what happend to your mother's harddrive. - Check your PM regarding your request. I did something that you might be ok with.

Thanks Taz, I think I'll try a new USB cable, it seems unlikely, bt I might as well now I've exhausted all the other possibilities.


I have a theory about the HD: I suspect it was just coincidence that it died at that point (but I'm still extremely wary about trying it again now I've just installed a new HD), and i think I;ve found the reason.

When I cracked open the case to get the dead HD out, something seemed wrong (other than the indifferent component, the wiring & lack of mods), I just couldn't put my finger on it until today - it was the lack of dust. I mean, _nothing_

Airflow had always been a worry of mine with that rig - just a 60mm fan on the heatsink & the 80 in the PSU seemed inadequate (even for a Duron), but I was unable to convice my mum of the need to spend a few extra quid & put up with the extra noise.

It was ok, but 6 months ago the psu died & I replaced it with an old (HP, I think) unit I had kicking about. That had a 120mm fan in it, so I thought that would probably improve matters, but I didn't check which way the fan was oriented ... it turns out it was sucking in
I measured the temps today, at idle, the temps were cpu = 42 C, "system" = 37 C, and the temp of the HD carrier (not the HD itself, which my probe would't read), a whopping 60 C even more !

So, It was my fault after all - I cooked the b*****d ! With those temps, I'm amazed it lasted that long.

Still, you live & learn. Two 120mm fans are now on the way.

"but I didn't check which way the fan was oriented ... it turns out it was sucking in "

Now I'm starting to worry that your turning into one of my NoObs!

I think changing your name might have been a good thing after all.

Still sorry to hear it...at least you found what the problem was.

Keep us posted as to your printer issues...still stumped on that?

Quote: Originally posted by Fantazmic2 I'm starting to worry that your turning into one of my NoObs! I think changing your name might have been a good thing after all.

Quote: Keep us posted as to your printer issues...still stumped on that?

Actually, I've found a solution
Any document I need printing, I just email it to my mum's account, disconnect, walk in to the next room, boot up her machine, download the email, open the doc & print it there. This has the advantage of requiring no extra expense or skills.

I'm thinking a couple of weeks of that will p me off enough that I face my networkophobia, & get a NIC for my rig & a few metres of cable.

At the moment I just can'f face it, I've had to reinstall both my rig & mum's within a week & I'm all softworn out, besides, I want to get on with some mods, not get bogged down with boring, day to day stuff !

Well, I finally fixed it

The cause of the problem was so assinine & the solution so implausible that I'm not surprised anyone here failed to suggest it - but still, thanks very much to everyone that tried to help me out.

After 10 days or more of headscratching (I would have been pulling my hair out, but what I have left is only and eighth of an inch long anyway), I managed to install the printer on my mum’s newly rebuilt rig – this time without making the HD explode.

Finding & copying the hpzuci02.dll file across didnÂ’t help, so I went outside to smerk a rollie & do some stretches & chi gong breathing excercises, & meditate on what was the same in my mumÂ’s o/s _and _ in my o/s before I reinstalled, but was absent from my o/s now. The difference I thought of was that my mumÂ’s rig already had a parallel port based HP printer installed, and that prior to my reinstall, IÂ’d also had a similar one installed before it caught fire & had to be replaced with the current USB one.

So, I installed her printer drivers on my rig, rebooted, and what do know, Windoze “found” my “new” printer & let me install it & use it without problems. Piece of p155 when you know how.

If it wasnÂ’t for the fact IÂ’m so pleased I finally got the bugger working, IÂ’d be writing a strongly worded letter to HP asking why in the name of **** their USB printers require you to have already owned & installed one of their parallel port based printers Â… and some of you know just how strong my language can be !