HP Remote Printer Install

Here's a technique that works on some HP printers/All-In-Ones. I don't know if it will work for yours, but it's worth a try. Btw, what model(s) of HP AIOs are they?

Use remote control software to control the computer that needs the HP software installed — RDP, LogMeIn, TeamViewer, whatever you use. Download the HP AIO software and unpack it on the remote machine — it is probably in a RAR or ZIP archive. Do not run the self-extracting EXE — manually unpack it. Then find the .INF file for the all-in-one. Go through the Add a printer wizard on the remote machine and install it as a local printer on LPT1, even though it's a USB device. Do not select it from the list, but click Have Disk, then navigate to the .INF file. This should avoid the requirement of having to connect the USB cable. But, as always, I'll give you the YMMV caveat.

Do your users need the scanning feature of the AIOs or just printing? The above addresses just printing. Regards, Joe

It's the HP1536dnf printer and users need print, scan, and fax. In this case it's the desktop fax that always fails and needs repair. The only way to get it working is to drive to the site, disconnect the USB, reinstall the full software. There are hundreds of posts about this printer.

Then I suggest that you RDP (or LogMeIn, TeamViewer, etc.) into the remote PC with the user sitting at it. Go through the installation process and have the user disconnect/connect the USB cable as needed during the process. Connecting/disconnecting a USB cable is not a difficult task and this is surely better and more cost-effective than taking all day to travel to a remote site to do it. Hard to imagine end-users or management objecting to this approach. Regards, Joe

Unfortunately these offices are often vacant. People are in and out all day.
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Schedule a time when someone can be sitting by the device. Or replace all of them with network-connected devices. Then USB will not be an issue. I can't think of any other solution.

So unless you can unplug the USB you can neither install or uninstall the software. I did try the .ini install as well as deleting devices from dive manager but complete installation fails. So it's off for another 2-3 hour trip to a printer....
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Every time I have to do this, I say this is the HP printer for us....

Sorry, this is the LAST HP printer we'll buy.

> this is the LAST HP printer we'll buy

Or at least the last USB one.

I agree with rindi. I *NEVER* hook up a business printer with USB. Bad practice all around.

Yes, as I said earlier, "Or replace all of them with network-connected devices." All of my AIO/MFC/MFP devices, and those I recommend to clients, are network-connected. Regards, Joe

Thanks for the ideas,
These are single PCs with a USB printer so I'll look at networking them but my recollection is scanning & faxing was not as straight forward and I'd have to a add a desktop switch.

The utility of the Printer should be able to access everything via the LAN, from printing, to scanning and faxing.

I have an HP8600 and an 8500 before that. Both were / are on my network. Scanning works from either computer, printing (all functions) work from either computer, neither computer needs to be on, and it is all painless.

The printer needs a phone line for faxing and that has nothing to do with the computers.

There is no need for a desktop "switch"

I only have one network port for the PC, so I would have to add a desk top switch.

Yes, you need a small switch if you are right out of ports. Switches are inexpensive and the benefits vastly outweigh any cost.

Doesn't the router that provides you with the internet connection have multiple ports?

I've requested that this question be closed as follows:

Accepted answer: 168 points for rindi's comment #a40516748
Assisted answer: 166 points for rindi's comment #a40517219
Assisted answer: 166 points for Joe Winograd's comment #a40516710

for the following reason:

This question has been classified as abandoned and is closed as part of the Cleanup Program. See the recommendation for more details.

I switched them over to network printing.

Hi llhuff,

You graded rindi's solution as a B (Good). But his solution is exactly what your closing comment says you did:

I switched them over to network printing.

So perhaps you're not familiar with EE's grading system. I recommend that you read this article:
http://support.experts-exchange.com/customer/portal/articles/481419

A B grade is the exception. As the article says, an A grade "should be the default grade awarded unless the answer is deficient." Also note the comment that an "asker should explain why a B grade was awarded." The point is, if an answer is deficient (such as lacking some information to resolve the problem), it's helpful for the Experts to know how/why it is deficient, and to give them a chance to improve the answer. This is a critical feature of the EE community.

In terms of this particular case, I don't think that rindi's answer is deficient in any way and, thus, deserves an A grade, but, of course, that's your call. However, if you choose to leave it a B, then it's your obligation to explain why you awarded a non-A grade. Thanks, Joe

Well I was looking for a USB fix.
How do I change it?

Since you were looking for a USB fix, you could argue that rindi's solution was "deficient", since it proposed a network solution, not USB. That would satisfy your obligation to explain why you awarded a non-A grade. That said, if you want to re-open the question in order to raise the  grade to an A, simply click the Request Attention link underneath the initial question and an EE Admin will re-open it so that you may close it differently. Regards, Joe

Printing via USB to a printer that is already built for network printing just makes no sense. First, via the network, you can print to the same printer from networked devices easily, you don't have to do that via a PC that acts as a "print-server" which has to run at all times, configuration is much easier, and you can also place the printer wherever you want, as long as there is a network cable there. So even if you originally asked for a "USB" fix, I assume that was because you were ignorant of the fact that those printers actually included networking and that it made far more sense to use that. So in my point of view you got a better solution than what you asked for.