Printer missing from drop-down menus

I have an HP Compaq 6200 SFF running 64-bit Windows 10 Pro that won't print to either of two HP printers I have tried.

I have tried an HP OfficeJet 3830 and an HP OfficeJet 4650 and get identical results with both.

I can, though, print to a Canon MP470 (so maybe the brand needs to be non HP-to-HP, ha, ha!).

In all cases, I am using a wired (USB) connection between PC and printer(s).

I have tried two different USB cables, and get the same results with both.

The printer shows up in Control Panel -> Printers and Devices.

I have tried removing and rediscovering the device from 'Printers and Devices' via right-click -> Remove. This has not fixed the problem.

I can scan ok (with either HP printer, and to a file on the PC), but in various apps (browsers, word processors, spreadsheets, MS Paint, etc), but in all cases there is no entry for either HP printer in the Print drop-down menu.

I have tried both: i. printing after allowing the printer to install via plug-and-play; and ii. installed HP's printer drivers. In both cases, the printers are missing from the drop down menus.

In 'Printers and Devices', if I right-click on either of the problematic printers and choose Troubleshoot, the result is 'Troubleshooting couldn't identify the problem'.

In 'Printers and Devices', if I right-click on the problematic printer and choose Properties, then Hardware tab, Device Status is, "This device is working properly." There are three entries in the Hardware tab for the 3830:

" HP OfficeJet 3830 series (USB)HP
OfficeJet 3830 series (REST)
HP OfficeJet 3838 Series"

These three lines, above, each has a different icon to the left of the text.

The 'USB' entry has an icon to the left that looks like a printer.

The 'REST' entry icon seems to be a USB connector.

The 'HP OfficeJet 3830 Series' line has an icon to the left that looks like a tower with a question mark in it.

In the Hardware tab, 'Manufacturer' is 'Unknown'.

I welcome any suggestions for further troubleshooting.

Thanks,

I have found that some USB printers don't play well with USB 3.0 ports but do fine on USB 2.0 ports. Latest I had to deal with was a client's older all-in-one that would print only about a third to a half page then lose communication with the computer, switching to a USB 2.0 port worked fine. Or in other words some USB 3.0 things don't always "fall back" to USB 2.0.

Caledon Ken said:

Hi JustSomeGuy. Welcome to the TenForums @JustSomeGuy

Normally HP products like you to install software and when they ask you connect device. Seems like a technicality but worth trying. I would uninstall devices, drivers and software and then retry.

Before doing this I would ensure I had a system image made with your tool or Macrium Reflect (free). Then if something goes wrong you can get back to where you were.


Ken

Thanks for the reply, Ken.

Here's what I did this morning.

1. Removed usb cable
   
2. powered HP 3830 printer down
   
3. deleted printer device and its drivers
   
4. rebooted pc
   
5. inserted CD that came with the printer and ran setup
   
6. printer setup offered to download the HPEasyStart app, which I did
   
7. ran HPEasyStart and followed all of its instructions
   
8. HPEasyStart offers wired or wireless install. I chose wired (USB)
   
9. While between HPEasyStart steps, I got Windows 10 popups in the lower-right of the screen indicating ‘printer install complete’, so I wonder if Windows plug-n-play is interfering with HP’s install.
   
10. I continued with HPEasyStart. It gave me an option of installing ‘Full Software and Drivers’ or ‘Basic Drivers’. I installed Full Software and Drivers
    
11. I get a ‘Device Setup Complete’ Windows popup in the lower-right portion of the screen.
    
12. The HPEasyStart screen says, “Device connection unsuccessful”. The device was not able to connect successfully over the USB cable. Please check the cable connections and then click Retry to try again.”
    
13. There is now an entry for this printer in Devices and Printers. In Devices and Printers → Properties → Hardware, Device Status is: “This device is working properly”. Clicking Properties (in the Hardware tab, as opposed to ‘Properties’ when right-clicking on the printer icon in Devices and Printers), in the Driver tab, Driver Provider is “HP”, Driver Date is “3/4/2017”, and Driver Version is “40.11.1113.1762”. In the Events tab: “Driver Management concluded the process to install driver hpwia_….with the following status: 0x0”
    
14. In MS-Word → Print → pull-down menu, I see an entry for ‘Fax – HP OfficeJet 3830 Series’.
    
15. Still in the ‘Device connection unsuccessful’ screen (see above), I click the Retry button. This results in a Windows popup windows: “device undergoing additional setup“ and “HP device has completed setup”
    
16. I try a second USB cable and click the Retry button in the Device Connection Unsuccessful screen. It fails again with “The device was not able to connect successfully over the USB cable”
    
17. I can print to a Canon printer using either of these cables connected to the PC that I am using to try to connect to the HP 3830.
    
18. I exit HPEasyStart.
    
19. I wonder if the ‘fax’ menu item is actually the printer, so I try to print to the ‘Fax - HP 3830’ pull-down menu choice from MS Word, and I get a popup, “The printer is not installed”
    
20. I download and run the HP app, ‘Troubleshooting HP printer software installation’, which suggests, “Solution 1: Restart the computer and reinstall the HP software’. So, I powered down the printer, unplugged the usb cable, and restarted the pc.
    
21. After PC restart, the Troubleshooting app automatically ran and provided a link for HP Printer Install Wizard, which downloaded hppiw.exe, which I ran.
    
22. I followed the Wizard instructions, and it gave a screen, “The following printers were detected and are connected to your computer” and an empty list. Maybe the Wizard doesn’t know about the 3830? So, I clicked on ‘My printer is not listed”, which takes me to a screen that suggests that I (re-)connect the USB cable or make sure that the printer is on the PC’s network before proceeding.
    
23. I configure the 3830 for wireless and it got an IP address from my router.
    
24. Back in the printer Wizard, I clicked on the ‘My printer is not listed’ button and checked the ‘My printer is already configured for use on the same network as my computer’ and clicked Next. The Wizard found and listed the’HP OfficeJet 3830 Series’. I selected it and clicked Next. The Wizard tried to discover and reported ‘The selected device is not currently supported by this Wizard.’ I exited the Wizard.
    
25. If I do [WindowsKey] Q and type Printer and click ‘Printers and Scanners’, the list includes these two items:

• • HP OfficeJet 3830 Series App available for this device’
    
  • HPA2882A (HP OfficeJet 3830 Series) Driver is unavailable

1. If I take either of these two USB cables and attach them to a Windows 8.1 PC, I can print to the 3830.
   
   So, it is as though the 3830 driver is not installed correctly or there is a USB problem.
   

Berton said:

I have found that some USB printers don't play well with USB 3.0 ports but do fine on USB 2.0 ports. Latest I had to deal with was a client's older all-in-one that would print only about a third to a half page then lose communication with the computer, switching to a USB 2.0 port worked fine. Or in other words some USB 3.0 things don't always "fall back" to USB 2.0.

Berton, thank you for the reply.

This Compaq 6200 SFF has only USB 2.0 ports, per:

HP Compaq 6200 Pro Small Form Factor PC - Specifications | HP® Customer Support


Even though my PC runs Windows 10, it is a refurb, and apparently originally had Win7 installed (there is still a Windows 7 sticker on it).

Hi Caledon Ken -

Thanks for the reply.

After reading your post I uninstalled all HP printer software, deleted anything related to the 3830 in 'Devices and Printers' (the fax), rebooted the PC, downloaded the full file that you referenced, and ran it.

The install gets stuck at 'Connect the USB cable', although I see that there is an HP 3830 printer icon in Devices and Printers as well as a 'Fax 3830 icon'.

I don't see a Ports tab.

In Devices and Printers I right-click on the 'HP OfficeJet 3830 series', click Properties (there is no 'Printer Properties' menu item. Also, there is no 'Set as default printer' menu item. The Properties pop-up had a Hardware tab which has these sub-tabs : General, Driver, Details, Events.

If I click on Driver (in the printer's Properties), by the way, I get a pop-up, "HP OfficeJet 3830 Series No driver files are required or have been loaded for this device."

I have not set a default printer.

Yep, the bottom Properties item is for the icon itself.

Caledon Ken said:

Strange. When you right click on a printer in the context menu there are two properties, one midway down labelled "Printer Properties" right under Printer Preferences and one at bottom "Properties". The ports tab should be within "Printer Properties". So the printer isn't installed and it is not accepting the USB connection. Very strange.

Have a look at this article.

https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c02266743

Lots of ideas, you will see if any solutions. It is as though Plug and Play is not work. Have you run sfc /scannow

If you go Start, Setting, Devices, Printers and scanners, right hand window is where you set or you let microsoft set default printer?

Ken

Caledon Ken, thanks for the post.

I read through the HP link that you provided. I've already done most of the troubleshooting suggested in that article, although I had not tried disabling startup items.

I followed the suggestion in the article you cited about looking at Device Manager. I don't see any yellow exclamation marks in Device Manager.

The HP article suggests expanding the 'Printer' item in Device Manager, although I don't have one. I have a 'Print Queues' item, though. If I expand the Print Queues item I see no entry for the printer even though the printer is shown in Control Panel -> Devices and Printers.

I had been looking for the 'Default printer' option in Control Panel -> Devices and Printers, but after seeing your post I looked in Settings.

In Settings, at the Devices screen there is an entry 'HP OfficeJet 3830 Series' under 'Printers & Scanners', and below that 'Let Windows manage my default printer' is checked. I don't see an option in this window for setting the 3830 to be the default printer, though. I looked online just now, and all of the tutorial examples I've looked at set the default printer in the Control Panel screen, for example: how to set a default printer in windows 10 - YouTube .



I have not run sfc. I'll do that tonight.