hp printer

I have a HP 2000c printer, individual cartridges & printheads. AMD 1.4ghz Athlon, 512mb 2100DDR, 2 40gb WD hard drives, WinXP HomeED A couple of days ago the software stated, Cyan ink needed replaced, I did so. After I replaced ink, the software stated Cyan printhead needed replaced, I did. Then the same messages repeated again for both. I thought the Cyan cartridge may have been bad, so I purchased another and replaced it. Still the same messages. I replaced all other ink cartridges at this point, still the same messages. I removed the ink cartridges and printheads, cleaned seats for both. While cleaning I found a problem with a broken part. I took apart the printer and repaired the broken part. After reinstalling cartridges & printheads the printer still has the same messages. (I have tried reinstalling the drivers and changing Bios settings for the Parallel connection(this printer uses bi-directional communications)). Windows XP loads drivers, none have or will be released from HP for this model. I installed the printer with win98 drivers on my daughters win98 system. The printer software only recognized the black cartridge installed and stated the black printhead needed replaced. A friend of mine suggested reprogramming the printer but I'm not sure how, any ideas. I checked Hp's site for Reprogramming or Flash information but found nothing. I would like to get this printer running again as I have about $321 dollars of new printheads & ink cartridges installed in it. Don't really want to invest in paying for repair at this point! Thanks.

i have to assume you ran the head cleaning/test utility for HP under the printer's Properties. (In the BIOS, change that print port to "EPP+ECP" to get beter performance). Quit buying cartridges--it happens, but is rare that a new cartridge is the culprit. Are you sure that all traces of the HP driver/program were gone when reinstalling? Have you tried a different printer cable--possible the wrong sigs are being relayed. Check the cable and port for bent/broken/loose pins. Would be interested in knowing exactly what/where that broken part was on the printer.

bistro,
Very hard to explain everything. The print cartridges sat for about 2 months opened from the sealed package (all colors). Now, on my MB the printer will only work in the normal mode to recieve bi-directional communication (EPP+ECP not an option for the HP utilities, head cleaning etc...). I did try to run head cleaning utilities to no avail. The broken part was a plastic post that held a spring on a hook at the top. This spring along with other movable parts pushes a white plunger into the ink cartridge forcing ink to the individual printhead. I super glued the plastic post back into place, yes its holding (and not my fingers)! Also, yes I installed the printer on my daughters computer using her HP parallel cable (same number cable).