IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I have a Dell Photo All in One printer 926 which now will not print at all.  The error message is Alignment Problem. The advice is to check the tapes on cartridges, check trouble shooting in manual which provides same advice - have done both to no avail. The printer spits out pages and pages of alignments in blue and black, and is using all my cartridge ink in the process.  I don’t have access to any other printer, and now have a backlog of docs for printing.

It may be one of the cartridges is defective. Try replacing the cartridges to see if the problem clears. If it does, then you should contact Dell for a refund on the defective cartridges.

If the problem persists then the printer has is defective. Again you’ll have to contact Dell for repairs. Unfortunately, unless it’s under warranty, you’ll probably find the repair is going to be far more expensive than a replacement printer.

So do some troubleshooting but be prepared to buy a new printer.

We are a seniors club with 6 networked computers. All XP. Now have new computer with ability to change from XP to Vista via Bios. The computer networked with other computers and printers without problems but when we switch to Vista the HP printer prints in mirror image.  Does this mean we need a driver for the printer or is there some other setting?

It certainly does sound like a problem with the printer driver. HP generally haven’t been updating drivers for printers that are supported in Vista so you might have trouble finding a new driver for that model.

The best bet is to try experimenting with other HP printer drivers. A number are compatible with each other and you may find one of the compatible versions will not have this problem. A search on HP’s support website will give you a list of which printers will match.

I have been using discounted ink cartridges for a while without problems, but suddenly my computer is telling me to install a genuine cartridge only, and won’t finish the ink cartridge installation with the cheaper version. Can I get around this in any way?  My printer is an Epson CX5900.  I have Windows XP.

An important revenue stream for printer vendors is the sale of replacement cartridges. Like razor blade manufacturers, they make more money from the replacement consumables; the ink cartridge or blades, than the original razor or printer.

To make sure you buy their cartridges, Epson have introduced what their marketing people call the “Epson Intellidge™”. While it may ensure quality control (and good margins), it also locks you into using their products.

It sounds like the discount cartridges have changed design or supplier and they are no longer compatible with the printer. We’d suggest taking the cartridges back to the supplier for a refund and to discuss what other alternatives to the Epson branded cartridges are available.

When I install the Hewlett Packard F380 all in one printer on my daughters PC, it fails to fully load properly, its a Vista Home edition sytem, I have used the vista software CD supplied with the printer, all loads OK, but when you turn off the PC and turn it on the next time it does’nt recognise the printer!!!

You then have to put the CD back in again, load the last bit again and then it works?????? trouble is, you have to do this every time! (it is connected via a top quality gold USB cable by the way)

This problem of devices not loading at startup is quite common in Vista. It’s usually a driver problem.

The first thing is to download the latest F380 drivers from HP.

Then, disconnect the printer and uninstall all the F380 printer software. Restart the computer when you are finished.

When the computer has restarted, open the downloaded file and run it. Connect the printer when you are asked to do so.

This should clear the problem, however we have had reports of Vista having problems with multifunction printers, specifically with the scanning functions. If this is case, you need to contact HP.

I have been given a Canon MPC600F/400 printer/copier/fax and cant connect it to my computer which operates on Ubuntu. I am unable to get the disk to read as it is for Windows OS. When I try to install the printer driver is not listed and don’t know how to proceed.

I only require the copier not fax.

The printer driver and instructions are available at the Canon website. Unfortunately it appears only printing is officially supported by Canon.

There is a scanner utility for Canon PIXMA multifunction units, but it does require a level of competence in using the Linux terminal functions.

It may be better to consider a different scanner. A full list of Ubuntu compatible scanners and how to scan in Ubuntu is available on the Ubuntu wiki.

I have just purchased a secondhand Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 944 but it is not compatible with my Windows 98 can I download from Dell to make it compatible?

Unfortunately not, according to the Dell website, this model printer is not compatible with Windows 98. This particular model uses its own specialist driver that will only work on Windows 2000, XP and Vista.

IBM have a very good site explaining which Dell printer models can be used by other operating systems like Linux, Macs, Windows 98 and the like. The AIO 944 is not one of them.

For this reason, and the difficulty in getting replacement cartridges, we tend to steer people away from Dell printers. The prices are good, but you lose a lot of flexibility.