Ubuntu 9.04 LaserJet 3100 Set-Up

judoka · 07-18-2009, 05:08 PM

I'm having major problems setting-up my H.P. Laserjet 3100 on Ubuntu 9.04. I downloaded all the drivers for the printer and got a book Ubuntu Hacks and did: admin, printing, new printer, it finds it finds the drivers, but when i test it, it says printing... then doc printed, but nothing actually prints. Can someone give me some advice on this problem?

stress_junkie · 07-18-2009, 06:38 PM

http://www.openprinting.org/show_pri...-LaserJet_3100

Doesn't work.

http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web...rjet_3100.html

End of life but fully supported in HPLIP v3.6.9b which can be downloaded from

http://sourceforge.net/projects/hpli...b.run/download

judoka · 07-18-2009, 07:01 PM

i downloaded the file from http://sourceforge.net/projects/hpli...b.run/download, to my desctop but when i tried to run it this is what happened--desktop:~$ sudo dpkg -i hplip-3.9.6b.run
[sudo] password for yuri:
dpkg: error processing hplip-3.9.6b.run (--install):
cannot access archive: No such file or directory
Errors were encountered while processing:
hplip-3.9.6b.run

What should I do?

stress_junkie · 07-18-2009, 07:21 PM

It sounds like you opened a terminal window to execute the sudo dkpg command. That part is good. However you don't need to use dpkg. Just run the hplip-3.9.6b.run binary. It is an executable.

Let's say it is in your desktop. That means that it resides in $HOME/Desktop, probably. You are running Gnome and I am running KDE so I am not sure about your $HOME subdirectories.

Anyway, open the terminal window, change your current working directory to the desktop directory, give the execute permission to the binary, and then execute the binary. Here are the commands on my system.

Code:

cd $HOME/Desktop
chmod a+x hplip-3.9.6b.run
sudo ./hplip-3.9.6b.run

I believe that the last time I ran HPLIP installation it complained because I had used sudo. Weird. I continued with the installation and it worked great. So don't worry if it complains that you are running the installation program as root. It's okay. It will work.

judoka · 07-18-2009, 08:52 PM

I followed the above steps and it begins intallation, but in the middle of installation Device Discovery window comes-up and asks me to choose one of the three connection types: USB, Network/Ethernet/Wireless network, or Wireless/ 802.11. Unfortinately I have my printer connected to the back of my computer with a wire that came with it. So it's not a USB or wireless, but for some reason it doesn't have an option for a regular printer to computer connection. Do you have an idea on how I can get around this?

judoka · 07-18-2009, 09:07 PM

I went through the set-up process again, when it prompted me unplug and re-plug my printer, I did so, then it asked me to set printer up: yes or no , I pressed yes and it went to an HP devise manager window with a note that no devices are found. I also wrote some problems I had before please read my post right above this one. What might be the problem?

stress_junkie · 07-18-2009, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judoka

So it's not a USB or wireless, but for some reason it doesn't have an option for a regular printer to computer connection.

Are you saying that the cable is an old fashioned serial port cable? Or is it a parallel port cable? Which port on the computer does it plug into?

When you plugged the printer cable into the computer did you also turn the on the printer's power? It won't work if the printer isn't turned on.

judoka · 07-19-2009, 12:33 AM

Yes, it's an old fashioned serial port cable; it's a pretty old printer, and my computer isn't exactly top of the line either; however, I did have the power turned on when I unpluged it and pluged it back in. Can this printer be still be set-up?

wabbalee · 07-19-2009, 09:14 PM

according to the info I read here i learned that your printer should be supported without any further downloads as the version of HPLIP included in your distro is the correct one.

Quote:

but when i test it, it says printing... then doc printed, but nothing actually prints. Can someone give me some advice on this problem?

perhaps a silly question, but how are your toner levels?

wabbalee · 07-19-2009, 09:22 PM

also, I don't think your printer has a serial (9 pins) connection but a parallel (25 pins) one. My experience with parallel printers and linux hasn't been all that good, usb seems better supported. are your parallel port settings correct in BIOS? say ECP or EPP mode?

I was searching the inernet for info on the connection type and found various forum threads on people looking for conversion cables from whatever connection type this printer has to usb. none seemed very helpful and succesful.

judoka · 07-20-2009, 09:19 AM

When toner level is low my printer gives me a warning sign, so unfortunately that is not the problem. I have a 25 pin connection so that could be the problem. The real bummer is that I can't even find any drivers for this printer so I can use it while running windows. Since i pretty much gave-up on the idea of setting it upon Ubuntu, I was wondering if you know where I could get windows xp or 98 drivers for it. Another alternative is the universal printer set-up for Ubuntu. Any ideas?

wabbalee · 07-20-2009, 11:42 AM

well one idea is to never give up if you think the hardware could work on your os. assuming there are no technical problems with your printer.

I think that if your printer makes all the right sounds when you give it a job you must have a driver in place. whether it is the right one or something wrong with that driver we don't know. there could also be a hardware problem that prevents toner from reaching the paper.

if you think your printer may work under windows or want to try it on windows to see if the problem exists there too with original drivers, that is another idea. For drivers I would first check the manufacturers website. HP is pretty good for it. and make certain you choose the correct type of printer when prompted as there are about 3 different versions from what I could quickly see.

let us know how you go.