HP PHotosmart 2710 - disastrous installation

I have a small wireless network at home which functions well.  I bought an HP 2710 which I thought might eventually serve as a printer for all four computers on the wireless network but I was mainly installing it for my laptop.  I should note that, each time I have attempted installation, the printer has been detected on the wirelss network.

The first time I installed it:
1. I could scan from the printer to my laptop but I could not print from the laptop to the printer; no printer icon was created during the installation.  There was an HP 2710 scanner icon in "scanners and cameras".
2. In the HP director in the systray there were at least eight icons referring to various bits of software that had been installed.  I only mention this since this is the only time, with the exception of once, that these icons have subsequently appeared.

I then realised that I had not turned off the firewall and virus software during installation.  I uninstalled the software and reinstalled with the virus software and firewall off.  It made no difference but now there were only two icons in the HYP director in the systray.

I may have contacted HP about then; first in the US where the support seems a lot better than in Australia.  They gave me ideas on more completely uninstalling the software.  I used two lots of .bat files several times to completely install the software.  Having cleared the software completely from the computer, or so I thought, I reinstalled a couple of times.  it did not make any difference.  I could still scan from the printer to the laptop but not print from the laptop to the printer.

Then I thought of installing the printer via the USB and then changing the port to TCP/IP.  That worked well.
1.  I could now printer from the laptop to the printer.  But I could not scan from the printer to the laptop.
2.  There wer eight icons or more back in the HP director in the systray.

But I was dissatisfied only being able to print with it.  I rang HP again and got their Indian support.  Both people I spoke to talked about permissions; both assured me it would be OK once I ran a particular piece of software.  I ran the software which reset about 3000 permissions; what the hell they are I do not know.  Despite the assurances from India it did not make any difference.

I then spoke to HP in Australia; at last!  Well, I say at last since one feels one has more control over the situation talking to somebody in one's own country.  Of course you don't have any more control.  I spoke to Matthew who thought I needed a new version of the software so he sent me a version which is so new it has still not appeared on the HP website.  It did not make any difference.  

I spoke to another person in Australia.  i wanted to speak to Matthew but, in the two weeks since I had spoken to him, he had left the company.  The new person wondered whether I had left the firewall on on the wireless router.  Well, of course I had left it on.  Surely this would be the solution.

So I uninstalled the program for the eight time, corrected the permissions, turned off the virus and fireall software on the laptop, turned off the firewall software on the wireless router and reinstalled with a feeling of quiet confidence.  It did not make any difference.  

1.  I could still not print; there was no printer icon created for the HP 2710 during the installation process.
2.  I could scan from the printer to the laptop.

All this has gone on over about six weeks; a long time I admit but I do not have all my time available to devote to installing and uninstalling the printer.  I do have to work as well.  HP assistance in the US, India and Australia have been almost useless.  

Of course on the way I have had difficulties with a SVCHOST.EXE error and a data protection error; these little things that HP software seems to throw up.  

Any ideas on how I get the HP 2710 working as it was intended on m wireless network?  If HP do not know how to get their printer going, who does?

Leon