I am having problems with my printer (HP5151) so I uninstalled it and tried to reinstall but when it asks for the USB cable to be plugged in hangs - anyone know of a solution?
How about deleting the registry entries - what entries need to be deleted?
HP were no help!

I am having problems with my printer (HP5151) so I uninstalled it and tried to reinstall but when it asks for the USB cable to be plugged in hangs - anyone know of a solution?
How about deleting the registry entries - what entries need to be deleted?
HP were no help!

Did you follow the instructions for installation? On some HPs you need to install the software before plugging in the printer and not use Add New Printer. How did you delete the printer in the first place? How did you try to obtain help from HP? Do you have other USB devices working? What problems prompted you to uninstall it?

Hi,
You could possibly need a printer cable, (not a USB cable), and can get one from a local computer sales/repair store.
Sometimes, a USB cable connection gives problems with some printers, and is is not worth the troubleshooting and time involved to try making it work.
Some HP printers work much, much better with a cable, rather than USB, for example.
Best wishes,
fredg

Hi,
Sometimes, a USB cable connection gives problems with some printers, and is is not worth the troubleshooting and time involved to try making it work.
Some HP printers work much, much better with a cable, rather than USB, for example.
Best wishes,
fredg

And I again must ask where do you get this information? As a point of fact a USB connection is faster and better at bidirectional communications then a parallel connection. That's why most printers these days (HP or otherwise) use USB connections exclusively. I have never heard of HP or any printers working better with parallel rather than USB.

Hi,
You could possibly need a printer cable, (not a USB cable), and can get one from a local computer sales/repair store.
Sometimes, a USB cable connection gives problems with some printers, and is is not worth the troubleshooting and time involved to try making it work.
Some HP printers work much, much better with a cable, rather than USB, for example.
Best wishes,
fredg

And he strikes out again.. Another example of not researching your subject Fred.. If you had, you would have found out that USB is the ONLY way this printer connects.. More bad advice from the master!

As per the HP 5151 manual..

]The printer connects to the computer with a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable. The computer must be running Windows 98 or later to use a USB cable.

Murray

It's too bad that criticisms of other experts are allowed here.
Some really abuse this area; and others simply just don't know.
ScottGem has never heard of this; WOW, I am amazed! Any computer Tech knows cables work better than most USB connections! But, ScottGem is not a computer Tech, merely a "want to be" with nothing else to do but sit at a computer all day and night.
I thought he knew everything, barring none.
I also thought SFS "scandisk" knew better.
You can also get a cable that has a connector, using the USB port on the printer, connecting it to a printer cable. The person asking the question would have found that out, if they had gone to a computer repair/sales store.
Best wishes,
fredg

It's too bad that criticisms of other experts are allowed here.
Some really abuse this area; and others simply just don't know.
ScottGem has never heard of this; WOW, I am amazed! Any computer Tech knows cables work better than most USB connections! But, ScottGem is not a computer Tech, merely a "want to be" with nothing else to do but sit at a computer all day and night.
I thought he knew everything, barring none.
I also thought SFS "scandisk" knew better.
You can also get a cable that has a connector, using the USB port on the printer, connecting it to a printer cable. The person asking the question would have found that out, if they had gone to a computer repair/sales store.
Best wishes,
fredg
Fred,
You still fail to understand this. Criticism of bad answers is an obligation in my opinion. We are responsible for giving the best help we can. When we see a bad answer we should correct it. This goes for anyone who can show an answer is bad.

Second, you make a statement that "Any computer Tech knows cables work better than most USB connections!". Yet when you were asked to provide a reference for that, we see nothing. How about these sites:
http://printscan.about.com/cs/choosingaprinter/qt/USB.htm
http://www.totalphase.com/docs/articles/article05/

Something just occurred to me. You talk about "cables work better than most USB connections". But what do you think a USB connection is? USB is also a cable. Maybe you are confusing USB with wireless? Either way, you are off base here.

Third, you complain about "criticisms of other experts". Yet that doesn't stop you from posting misinformation about me. You claim I'm "not a computer tech", yet I have worked as an IT professional for over 20 years, something I have said on many occasions. Can you say the same? The reason I'm at a computer so often (though hardly all day and night) is because I AM a tech. I have never said I know everything, but it seems pretty clear I know a lot more than you do.

Fourth, yes you can get a cable that allows connecting a parallel printer to a USB port. But not the reverse. You can't connect a USB printer to a parallel port. And that brings up another point, while parallel cables are often referred to as printer cables, they are more correctly referred to as parallel cables or parallel printer cables. A printer cable is any cable that can connect a printer to a computer. Since printers can connect via USB, parallel or (rarely) serial ports, you should identify the type of connection.

You put your foot in your mouth yet again, Fred. Your answer here and your inability to back it up with references (as I did) just shows again what a phony "expert" you are. Just about every time you try going up against me, you wind up on the short end.

Whoa Guys!
We tried removing it both by the installation CD and then in Windows by remove printer.
We don't have any other USB devices to try.
Therefore do you know the way to edit the systems files to remove the printer driver?

HP said that 98 had difficulties supporting USB and we should upgrade to Windows XP (better for the future).

Regards,
Grant

Grant,
First let me apologize for having your question get in the middle of this. However, when I see bad advice and misinformation posted by anyone I am compelled to comment. Espeically when the person consistently gives bad info. I am glad you came back to follow-up so we can try and help you further.

I agree with HP that USB support in Win 98 was spotty. It was better in 98SE and if you can find a copy (try EBay) I would suggest upgrading at least that far. Before upgrading to XP you need to test for compatibility.

If you want to take a chance you can go to Start>run and type Regedit. This will get you into the Registry Editor. You should backup the Registry first this article gives you instructions on how: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;256419.
You can then search for 5151 or HP and look for any references to the printer to remove. Again, be careful that you are removing only the printer references. I would reserve this as a last resort.

I wasn't clear whether the 5151 supports a parallel interface or not. It does mention parallel in the FAQs, so if it does have a parallel port you might try connecting it that way. Also try going into Device Manager and checking what it says about the USB ports. Try another USB cable. See if you can borrow a USB device from a friend to test your ports.

Keep us posted.

Fred,
you make a statement that "Any computer Tech knows cables work better than most USB connections!". Yet when you were asked to provide a reference for that, we see nothing. How about these sites:
http://printscan.about.com/cs/choosingaprinter/qt/USB.htm
http://www.totalphase.com/docs/articles/article05/

Something just occured to me. You talk about "cables work better than most USB connections". But what do you think a USB connection is? USB is also a cable. Maybe you are confusing USB with wireless? Either way, you are off base here.


I'm waiting for an answer to this, Fred. You disparaged my knowledge, while that's allright if I was wrong, I don't think I'm wrong here. Saying "cables work better than most USB connections" is like saying a car is better than most sedans. A sedan IS a car just as a USB connection IS via a cable. Or can you point to any reference that says a USB connection is better than a parallel connection. Either admit you goofed or prove what you said.

I'm waiting for an answer to this, Fred.

Still waiting! Fred's silence often speaks louder then what he actually says. By his silence, one can only conclude that Fred can't back up the statements he made and that he is confused about USB and parallel ports.

Why would anyone trust advice from this person?

It is a sad day at Askmehelpdesk when ScottGem is allowed to run amunck with whatever his deranged mind can think of at the time.
It is not in the best interest of this website for him to continue here.
fredg

Curlyben:

As we have noticed from Fred in the past, you have to know what you are talking about before you can give a reply.. Fred has tried to disprove this time and time again by giving answers to things he obviously knows NOTHING about!

Murray