canopyman Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi there, New poster and any help appreciated. Recently upgraded PC to a new one (without a parallel port). Purchased an Express Card Parallel Port adapter to allow connection to my HP DesignJet 430. I've loaded up the latest HP430 Vista 32 bit driver and set the computer to plot via the XPS (Express) Port. Everything appears to be recognised OK, however, when I come to plot, the printing 'bar' moves across and then disappears and then nothing! No flashing download light on the plotter and ther is not even a plot to print in the printer manager. The plotter is on-line with paper in place. I've had this plotter for 6+ years but can't get it to work now. The data just seems to get lost between the PC and the plotter! Pls help. Thanks Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 I've been down this road myself (new computer with no parallel port). My first response was to purchase a USB-to-parallel "pigtail". That worked for a while then for some unknown reason I started to have a few wierd errors in the plots. My next approach was to do as you did and install a PCI based parallel port card. Unlike your experience however my card was recognized and I got a plot out of a HP Designjet 500 on the first try. However, as time progressed, in some instances, I would experience the same problem as you. I'd send a plot that just never arrived at the plotter. I think it went to the ozone. So, in the end, I switched back to the USB/parallel cable, updated the driver and all seems well at the moment. I don't know why parallel ports were dropped (on some motherboards). But there are plenty of printers and plotters out there that still require them. I also can't explain why the add-on cards tend to go flaky. Makes one want to pull their hair out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 It took a while but I was able to reproduce the exact outcome, or lack thereof. It took deselecting the LPT1 port, in printer properties, and setting it to something different (ex. - LPT2). Then I tried a plot. AutoCAD reported the job was sucessfully plotted but the plotter hadn't even received the data let alone spit anything out. Then I went back and reset the port to LPT1 and tried to plot. It worked. So, check your printer properties, the Ports tab, and see what it says. Also turn on bidirectional support. If that doesn't work, then I'd try swapping out drivers. If you're using the latest, I'd go back a version or two and see what happens. maybe when the driver was updated something got left out of the equation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopyman Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi ReMark, I've checked the port output. Basically, I have to select the XPS port which is the output port. I've spoken to a couple of computer guys this afternoon who say that these type of adapters can be a bit brittle. They are a bit of a compromise. I'll check the bidirectional printing is ON, but otherwise I am fast running out of ideas and options other than to purchase an "old" computer or a "new" USB plotter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopyman Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 Hi ReMark, Turns out that "Enable Bidrectional Printing" is greyed out and not accesible, not even in Administrator mode. Still stuck :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Before purchasing an old computer or a new USB plotter you could try a USB-to-parallel cable. You'll definitely have to make sure the port setting is correct as it should be listed under USB001 and not LPT1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopyman Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 Hi ReMark, I actually did this as the cheaper option to start with but I got just as little response (on every USB connection). I was speaking to a customer today who has a modern PC (no parallel ports), but has an old parallel port plotter. He didn't have this problem as such when he upgraded, but he happened to connect his plotter to 3 office PCs via a printer network box. He has suggested this is a plausible solution, even though I am only connecting 1 computer to 1 plotter. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Seems like overkill to me. A printer network box versus a USB-to-parallel cable. USB001 is given the description Virtual printer port for USB. What version driver are you using? Do you have an earlier version you could substitute? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopyman Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 I am using version 4.69 of June 2008 (Vista 32 bit). I've tried other (earlier) versions with no luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Device Manager reports there is nothing wrong with the add-in card for the parallel port? Did you try uninstalling the card (after removing driver) and reinstalling it in another slot? Man, I'm running out of ideas quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopyman Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 The PC Express parallel adapter is recognised fine by the laptop and appears at the XPS port (to which I assign the HP430). However a strange problem I do have is that although the driver is installed, as soon as I insert the XPS to parallel adapter (connected to the DJ430), the laptop reports that it has "Found DesignJet430 etc." and that I need to install a driver - even though it is present. I point it in the direction of where the driver is located, but it says "No driver present"....even though it is actually there. Give me strength! AAaaarrrrghhhh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCAD Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I have the exact same plotter that you do and I have it hooked up to my computer (roughly two years old) with a USB connection and it works just fine. If you want, I can check my setup at home and tell you exactly how I have it configured on my system (which is running with WinXP SP3). One question I have is if you've upgraded the RAM in the plotter? You can find the additional RAM cards for real cheap on the capitalist slaughterhouse known as eBay for $10-15, rather than paying $150 for a new one. It makes a world of difference when plotting large files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopyman Posted September 25, 2008 Author Share Posted September 25, 2008 Yes, RAM is upgraded from 4MB to 8MB which is plenty enough for my relatively simple drawings. I think this is more a Vista problem and I suspect running XP would resolve everything. I have to say, I am not overkeen on Vista in anycase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I'm getting confused (nothing new there). Are we talking about a laptop or a desktop computer (re: 8MB RAM)? Nevermind. I guess we were talking about the plotter. 8MB RAM? I thought the choices were 16 and 32? What's the age of the plotter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCAD Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I have experienced the exact same problems with my plotter as you are with yours. I remember this causing me quite the headache too, so I would suspect that it has more to do with the properties/setup of the plotter than it does with the version of Window$ that you're running. It's been a couple of years since I've had to mess with this so I'll do my best to remember what I did. 1. I didn't know that an 8MB RAM card was even an option for this plotter. I know it has an integrated 4MB RAM card, but I would suggest getting the 32MB card (total 36MB). The sticker on the front of my plotter shows C6231A (16MB) abd C6232A (32MB) as the available models of RAM cards. Trust me, for the $10-15 it costs to get a used card it's well worth it. 2. Click on Start>Settings>Printers & Faxes then right click on the HP DesignJet 430 icon and select Properties. On the General tab, click on Printing Preferences at the bottom. Click on the Advanced tab and make sure the Process document option is set to "In printer." Click OK. 3. Back on the Properties window, click on the Ports tab. Hook up your plotter with the parallel to USB adapter and turn on the plotter. Look to see which USB port recognizes the plotter and then switch over to the General tab and click on Print Test Page. If that doesn't work (i.e. no activity from the plotter) then go back to the Ports tab and try another port. Keep trying to print a test page and swith ports until you find the port that works. The fact that this plotter is ancient and no longer supported by HP doesn't help at all either. If I were busier (i.e. more money in the bank and more jobs lined up) I would consider getting a newer plotter that is USB ready from the start. HP's site has a decent one for around $2,500 that I'd like to get. Anywho, this is all I can think of at the moment. I don't think any of the other options will cause the printer to work or not. Let us know how you make out on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 SuperCAD: You're advising to "print directly to the printer" is that correct? Be aware that by doing this you've basically halted the ability to continue working within AutoCAD until the last of the file has been sent over to the printer. No big deal if you've got the time to spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCAD Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 No, the "Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster" and "Start printing immediately" options can still be selected. The "In Printer" option I was referring to tells the printer to process the document in the printer itself rather than use up the resources on the computer. With more memory, the larger the file that can be processed in the printer without any problems (hence the reason why I say the RAM should be maxed out with the largest card). So the computer spools the plot, then the spooled plot gets sent to the plotter and store in the plotter's memory, then the plotter reads from its own memory rather than reading it from the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I'm looking at the properties for my DesignJet 500 and I see two out of the three options you mention. The one that does not appear is "Process Document". Therefore I also don't have access to the "In Printer" option either. I am looking at the Advanced tab. Guess it was dropped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCAD Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Yea, the 500 works slightly better/easier than the 430. We use the 500 at work but I don't mess with the settings so I don't know what options are available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopyman Posted September 25, 2008 Author Share Posted September 25, 2008 It works! Not truly sure how I did it, but it involved assigning the plotter to USB005 (even though I only have 4 USB connections!)? I think I tried plugging in the plotter after the laptop was turned on and then assigning the plotter to a USB port....but I am sure I have done that over the last 3 - 4 days in anycase. I now don't want to turn the laptop off just in case I lose the settings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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