HP laserjet printer 5MP stopped printing today. The printer folder comes on and flashes and when brought up states that a printer time out error occurred.The solution is to increase the time but this has not helped. Does anyone know how to correct this problem so that the printer will resume printing?

phillysteakandcheese

When troubleshooting a printer, one of the first things I do is isolate if the problem is with the computer and the software, or with the actual printer hardware itself.

The HPLJ 5M should have a DATA or activity light next the display and control panel buttons. When you send the print job from your computer, the light should flash - indicating the data is being received by the printer and is being processed.

If you can't confirm that the printer is receiving the data, you need to look at the actual hardware.

If the printer is directly connected to the computer - check the cables and make sure they plugged in properly. Then check the printer driver setup and ensure the port your printing to (LPT1 for example) is set properly. You can also delete the printer and allow the Operating System to re-detect it and set it up again. On the printer's control panel, you can also do a complete factory reset that may clear any internal memory problems the printer might be having.

If the printer is a network printer (connected via the JetDirect card), you'll want to make sure the printer's network connection is still okay (lights on the network card flashing) and that the print server that is running it is still working properly. You'd probably want to call in someone of this is the case.