Printer Problem
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Thread: Printer Problem

  1. #1
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    Unhappy Printer Problem

    HI Docs. I am having a problem with my HP printer not recognizing a generic ink cartridge and I can't resolve it. I am running Windows XP Home on a PC with 1GB memory, 80GB hard drive, 1.6GHz Pentium 4 processor and an HP Deskjet D4160 printer. I have had this problem before but usually a reboot and removal and replacement of the printer cords solves it. I am getting a message that there is something with the color cartridge. I have been using generic HP ink cartridges for some time and very seldom does it leave me stuck. Anybody have any tips for resolving this problem? I know "you're not supposed to use anything but the HP ink cartridges..." Steve
    Steve

  2. #2
    photolady's Avatar
    photolady is offline Lifetime Friend of Site Staff
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    Could be the ink cartridge itself is defective. Is this a new one?

    And this isn't an XP problem but your printer problem so I moved your post to the Digital Imaging forum.

  3. #3
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    Photolady, it is possible that the cartridge is defective but I tried several of the same kind to no avail. I didn't think the digital imaging forum was for ordinary printer problems; I did look for a hardware area!
    Steve

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    Did you try cleaning the contact points in the printer's ink carriage? Unplug the printer first, then clean off the contacts with some alcohol

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    Midknyte Did you try cleaning the contact points in the printer's ink carriage? Unplug the printer first, then clean off the contacts with some alcohol

    I never did before--they certainly look clean. I'll give it a try. Thanks.
    Steve

  6. #6
    photolady's Avatar
    photolady is offline Lifetime Friend of Site Staff
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    As for where this belongs, it's where it should be. The digital imaging forum covers these problems:
    Technical Support and Discussion of Printers, Scanners, Digital Cameras, etc.
    Just so you know in the future.

  7. #7
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    Steve: I had this same problem with my Canon printer--it is one of those printers that uses individual cartridges. I did all the things that was suggested here and none of them worked.

    This is what would happen each time I tried to print a text document. The document would print, but while printing the document, the window that comes up that shows how much ink was left in each cartridge, would always show me that my cartridge for the black ink was low--it showed the same amount that that was showing before I had replaced the cartridge. I could not understand why my printer was showing it was low on ink and still printing documents. So when I got an email from the company where I bought the ink cartridges, asking me to review that product, I went to the web site and posted this complaint in my review. Evidently they have someone from that company reading the reviews because the company sent me an email later and told me what the problem was. It seems that the Canon cartridges have a chip in the bottom of each cartridge and when the ink gets low, the chip sends a message that the ink is low. The generic cartridges do not have a chip in the bottom, so the printer can not get a message from the chip weather the ink is low or full. Regardless of the message, as long as the cartridge is full of ink, it would still print. I have found that to be true. My only problem is that I now won't have anyway of being notified when that cartridge gets low--I will have to rely on seeing text printed out too light--just like in the old days. I don't know about the cartridges in your printer, but maybe they are the same way--may be they have chips in the bottom of the original cartridges but not in the generic brands. With technology the way it is now, I would not be surprised if this was true of most new printers today.

    Does your printer still print, even though it seems that your printer is not recognizing the cartridge? If so, I suspect that is the same problem I had.
    Sheila

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