also, i used to use the printer on windows 2000. worked great. the command mount -t usbdevfs /proc/bus/usb doesn't seem to work. seems like i should be passing it another path. it looks like this:

root@XYZ:/home/XYZ# mount -t usbdevfs /proc/bus/usb
Usage: mount -V : print version
mount -h : print this help
mount : list mounted filesystems
mount -l : idem, including volume labels
So far the informational part. Next the mounting.
The command is `mount [-t fstype] something somewhere'.
Details found in /etc/fstab may be omitted.
mount -a : mount all stuff from /etc/fstab
mount device : mount device at the known place
mount directory : mount known device here
mount -t type dev dir : ordinary mount command
Note that one does not really mount a device, one mounts
a filesystem (of the given type) found on the device.
One can also mount an already visible directory tree elsewhere:
mount --bind olddir newdir
or move a subtree:
mount --move olddir newdir
A device can be given by name, say /dev/hda1 or /dev/cdrom,
or by label, using -L label or by uuid, using -U uuid .
Other options: [-nfFrsvw] [-o options].
For many more details, say man 8 mount .

Sorry, I had to figure out how to mount it from the command line. Long time since I did it. For the command interface just repeat the filesystem as the mount point.

mount -t usbdevfs /proc/bus/usb /proc/bus/usb

That is almost a tongue twister if you try to say it out loud.

Edit: I went and looked up the actual command because I didn't remember it that way.
mount -t usbdevfs none /proc/bus/usb
Is the command used in the kernel help on usbdevfs support.

Edit #2: Further documentation seems to report the file system type has been changed from "usbdevfs" to "usbfs". Stated reason was to eliminate confusion with the "devfs" system. So both may work for awhile. Appears it starts with 2.4.19 kernel and above.

cat /proc/bus/usb/devices

hmmm ... somethings wrong at this stage. i can run the command and it appears to execute successfully but generates no output. when i run cat /proc/bus/usb/drivers, however, i get the following.

usbdevfs
hub
0- 15: usblp

Are you running a stock kernel or a custom kernel?

If custom, then attempt to switch back to the 2.4.18 stock kernel you installed with. Usually bare.i. Then reattempt the usbdevfs file system.

The empty devices file and also probably no bus directory trees, like 001 and 002 like my listing in my prior post would indicate the drivers are not able to support the USB controllers.

Now we have to determine if it is the chipset, then 2.4.20 kernel may be required. I couldn't tell from your PCI listing what architecture level the machine is. However, if you are running a custom kernel then something in the USB support may be missing. The current kernel would need to have at least some level of USB support built in, because the usbdevfs system is an optional item for a kernel build. You would be better able to determine how new your hardware is. If your current kernel is a stock kernel then the upgrade will probably be required.

I reviewed the specs on the printer. And HP states that it has a standard parallel port interface as well. For the short run, you might want to consider just using that with a printer cable. That would be on the device /dev/lp0.

Good luck, and post back if you need any additional assistance. There are many, many threads on building kernels for Slack. I would suggest that you restrict any searches to the Slack forum. Slack kernel install is different from other distros and it is lilo boot loader based. Also, older threads for Slack 8.0 and prior will use the / directory for the kernel images. WIth 8.1 it was moved to /boot. I would also highly suggest starting with the config file from the 2.4.18 kernel to make sure all the basic are set properly.

yeah, it's a stock "bare.i" 2.4.18 kernel. this install is barely a week old.

i think it's going to have be be a parallel port setup for now -- i'm definitely missing something (i suspect something really basic).

in any event, thanks for all your help. i'll post back to this thread if i'm able to make any discoveries.

cheers,

rob

with a bit of messing about i was able to get the command

cat /proc/bus/usb/devices

to yield the following results:

T: Bus=02 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#= 1 Spd=12 MxCh= 2
B: Alloc= 0/900 us ( 0%), #Int= 0, #Iso= 0
D: Ver= 1.10 Cls=09(hub ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS= 8 #Cfgs= 1
P: Vendor=0000 ProdID=0000 Rev= 0.00
S: Product=USB OHCI Root Hub
S: SerialNumber=d2861000
C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=40 MxPwr= 0mA
I: If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub
E: Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS= 2 Ivl=255ms
T: Bus=01 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#= 1 Spd=12 MxCh= 4
B: Alloc= 0/900 us ( 0%), #Int= 0, #Iso= 0
D: Ver= 1.10 Cls=09(hub ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS= 8 #Cfgs= 1
P: Vendor=0000 ProdID=0000 Rev= 0.00
S: Product=USB OHCI Root Hub
S: SerialNumber=d285f000
C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=40 MxPwr= 0mA
I: If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub
E: Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS= 2 Ivl=255ms
T: Bus=01 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=01 Cnt=01 Dev#= 2 Spd=12 MxCh= 0
D: Ver= 2.00 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS= 8 #Cfgs= 1
P: Vendor=03f0 ProdID=6004 Rev= 1.00
S: Manufacturer=hp
S: Product=deskjet 5550
S: SerialNumber=MY25F1N2J52L
C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=c0 MxPwr= 2mA
I: If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=07(print) Sub=01 Prot=02 Driver=usblp
E: Ad=81(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS= 64 Ivl= 0ms
E: Ad=02(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS= 64 Ivl= 0ms

still can't seem to print, however ... i have got CUPS installed and the html administration utility recognizes the printer. when i go to print a test page it just disappears.

as another update, i have verified that this printer actually works by testing it under an installation of mandrake 9.0.

i should also mention that i have managed to get a better response out of lpstat -t.

scheduler is running
system default destination: DJ5550
device for DJ5550: usb:/dev/usb/lp0
DJ5550 accepting requests since Jan 01 00:00
printer DJ5550 is idle. enabled since Jan 01 00:00

looks good to me ... but the printer is still not printing. i checked the cups admin again a second ago and the list of jobs shows that some have completed successfully, but ...

In going back over the thread, I think I skipped something. To verify that the usb-uhci and usbcore modules was loaded. These modules actually enable the USB host controller itself. As you can see in your prior post from the device listing. Yours would probably use the usb-ohci standard from what it appears in the post. Your post also indicates that the printer is actually being detecting now and the printer module has picked it up so it does not have to be forced.

You have stated that you have installed CUPS. That packages requires two parts. The second part is the espgs package. It provides their ghostscript utitlity to work with the CUPS package. You will need to install it if you haven't. The only driver I could find that looked like it might work for your printer was called HP New Deskjet series in the version that I have installed. And the device URI should be set to USB Printer#1, or usb:/dev/usb/lp0. You could review the CUPS error log file to see if it reported what happened to the test page(s). /var/log/cups/error_log

To watch the CUPS messages while attempting to print something, then try this command from a console prompt. Type the command before trying to print anything.

tail -f /var/log/cups/error_log

Perhaps it will reveal more information on what is happening. To terminate the program just type Ctrl-C.

When you verified under Mandy, I think it would still be CUPS based. Did you notice the version of CUPS in use? And what version you have installed? The driver section is about the largest area of updates between the versions.