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USB Port not recognising printer

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9 replies

by pew

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I have an older computer 100mhz with Win 98 installed. Have added a 2 port USB1 card andf the system has recognised them okay. I have purchased an HP 656c printer and plugged into USB port, but it is not recognised, shows an error in device manager as unknown device. Is this a problem with the system BIOS. if so I cannot access the setup as I dont know the password. Is there any way to get past the password into setup to enable the USB ports in the BIOS?

9 replies

by still_learning

If you do not have the setup password, a way around it is to remove the CMOS battery for about 20 minutes and then reinstall and boot. Of course you lose all your settings, so this may not be the best course of action unless you have no other choice. When you say that the system recognized them okay, do you mean during boot or did Windows? My guess is that the drivers for the add on USB ports is either not installed or incorrectly installed. I would take a look at this since Windows is showing an error in Device Manager. Hope this helps.

by smarkow

Most USB printers will not be automatically recognised by windows. You should be able to go to hp's website (www.hp.com) and download a printer driver and install it. THat should fix you right up.

by seeker2000

This may happen also if you have something connected to a serial port, with my wireless usb keyboard connected I have to use the second com port or there is a conflict. You can still use the first if you want to adjust the setting, or go with the flow and use the second. Com ports 1+3 use IRQ 4 and Com ports 2+4 use IRQ3.
If you remove the cmos battery as suggested, make sure the cpu is not plugged in as you want all power drained from the board to erase the settings(password). Also to protectyourself. With the second hand holding the steel part of the case to ground your self and protect the components from electro static discharge saving you the cost of a new motherboard to go with the other new parts while removing and reinstalling the battery.

by planetgti

I have had similar problems with my HP printer (D145). To resolve my problems i did the following

1) Remove all signs of the printer drivers AND software that you have installed on your machine. Attempt to try and remove them through the programs own uninstaller, failing that through Contorl Panel.

2) Remove the printer from Control Panel/System

3) Disconnect your printer from your computer physically

4) Reboot your machine...ensure that you did step 3 before rebooting.

5)Completly reinstall all HP software and drivers BEFORE reconnecting your printer

6) Once all software and drivers are installed connect and turn on your printer. Windows should then have all the necessary information to install your printer andnot create a conflict.

This solution worked for me, and hopefully will for you!

7) If all else fails go back to parallel.....most HP printers can be connected by parallel, and if they dont have a parallel port you can normally buy one from HP.

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