Skip to main content

Configuring a Wireless HP Photosmart C4380

It's been over a year since I wrote this, and lot of people continue to find this page from Google, which leads me to believe that people are still having problems with their HP Photosmart C4380s. For the record, over a year later the workaround I detailed here is still working for me. If you have something to add that might help others, please feel free to add to the comments. The original post follows below.




So, we bought a wireless printer. After some initial back and forth, we settled on a wireless HP Photosmart C4380. I thought we did a fair bit of research before purchasing the product, but apparently not enough, as there were many issues and surprises that we discovered only after we setup the device.

I'm posting this to relate the significant difficulties we encountered setting up the printer and post workarounds I've implemented for the benefits of others who might be considering this product or who may have already purchased it and are looking for support.

The printer configuration was not easy. It took me over a dozen hours spanning multiple days to resolve all of the issues, and I was really forced to draw upon all of my IT experience to get everything working as expected.

Of course, operating system setup and configuration plays a role when installing any device, so let me preface everything by reporting that the system I was configuring to use the printer is a fully-patched, high memory and CPU Windows XP desktop that's connected to a Linksys WRT150N wireless router.

I've condensed the problems I encountered into three core issues and workarounds:

1. The HP Setup software (installed on my desktop) could not find the printer wirelessly.

Workaround:

* Add the printer as a wired printer, installing all required drivers and services (minimum HP software).
* Determine the printer's MAC address.
* Add the printer's MAC address to the router's MAC address filter list. You may need to turn on MAC address filtering.
* Install a new device using the HP setup software.
* Now the software will find the wireless printer.
* Add the printer as a wireless printer (remove the wired printer).
* If you initially had MAC address filtering disabled, you can disable filtering again.

The wireless printer should now be working and you should be able to print. However, post-install, you will encounter other issues:

2. After getting the printer setup, the computer runs sluggishly, and the CPU eventually locks at 100%.

Workaround:

* Remove or disable all HP software (if you installed any) other than the requisite drivers.
* Change the Startup Type of the "HP Network Devices Support" service from Automatic to Manual.

3. The printer goes offline and will not come back online.

Workaround:

* Change the Startup Type of the "HP CUE DeviceDiscovery" service to Disabled.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Printer Troubleshooting - Tips to Restore Laser Printer Performance

Like all laser printers, the Kyocera laser printer also has its set of performance woes that could be resolved by simple troubleshooting. When the printer has been in operation for a long time, troubles usually commence with the rubber rollers or from the sensitive components that are already aging. However if trouble emanates from the toner cartridge, a Kyocera compatible cartridge replacement can resolve the issue and allow trouble free printing to proceed once again. Defective Rollers. The function of the rubber rollers is to seamlessly move paper from one printer component to the next; failure often results in paper jams. The Kyocera laser printer employs several of these rubber rollers in its operations. This begins with the pick-up rollers from the paper tray to the OPC Drum (Organic Photo Receptive); to the fuser assembly rollers and down to the exit rollers that is responsible for the exit of paper from the printer. Since paper is abrasive, continuous contact will result in t
1 comment
Read more

Samsung Printer Error Codes & Troubleshooting

Here are some of the common error codes along with tips on troubleshooting: Scanning error: This error message is essentially a hardware error. Due to poor quality of cables large data needed by a scanner cannot transmitted. You can replace USB cable and try. Paper jam: This happens when the paper has got stuck in your Printer. You need to check the sensor located beside exit rollers. Maybe it is in incorrect position, or is damaged. If nothing works, try replacing it with a new sensor. Square prints: Sometimes you may experience that your Printer is printing out squares instead of regular text. It can happen if you are using Firefox or printing content from sites which do not recognize the font used in the text. To fix this problem you will need to reinstall all relevant drivers. If this doesn’t help then visit the printers and faxes folder, select your printer and choose the properties. Choose the Advanced option in the dialog box and select the print processor. Choose a
Post a Comment
Read more

Ink System Failure Error 0xc18a, 0xc19… – HP Printers

Hp Ink System Failure : Ink System has failed. Unable to print. Refer to Printer documentation. Error: “0xc18a…” Products that may encounter this problem: (A survey based on Fixya.com database) HP Photosmarts: C6180, C6288, C3210, C3310, C5180, C7280, C6188, D7460, C8250, C7180, C5183, C6288, C7268, C6150, C7360, C7160,c309a, C6380 . (Ink System Failure) As you can see, only Photosmarts encounter this problem, however that does not mean that other HP printers types wont be affected.Ink System Failure Error Message Displayed on a Photosmart Screen Common Error Codes: 0xc19axxxx, 0xc18a0001, 0xc18a030a, 0xc19a003f, 0xc18a0201, 0xc19a0003, 0x05d1281, oxc18a0307, 0xc18a101, 0xc052281, 0xc05d0281, 0xc18a0306, 0xc19ac3ff, 0xc18a0101, 0xc19a0031, 0xc18a0007, 0xc18a506 Troubleshooting: When you have one these error messages on your printer screen there are two things that you need to consider to enlighten yourself on what to do when you are in this kind of situation. Whorush: 3
Post a Comment
Read more