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Author Topic: z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!  (Read 10057 times)

angela

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« on: February 14, 2007, 06:43:32 pm »

My z3100, connected by USB.
In the Printer set up utility, it keeps losing it's connection. One minute it will be availbale the next minute it isn't and then in a blink of an eye.... it's connected again. I checked everything and it is connected and nothing is loose.  Also, the front panel of the printer is freezing up on me and won't respond when I push any of the buttons!
I called HP on this yesterday and received no answers. They suggested I try to plug it in using ethernet.
Has anyone experienced this?
Before when it would freeze on me I just restarted the printer in the back and that worked.
Driving me nuts!
Angela
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Geoff Wittig

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2007, 09:39:19 pm »

What else is hooked up to your computer? I had exactly the same problem with my Epson 7600; intermittently the computer would loose track of the connection, so status monitor would fail and I couldn't print. I finally traced it to a conflict between the Epson 7600 and a Hewlett-Packard Laserjet also on a USB connection. Apparently both printers were trying to use some common resource, and I couldn't print on the 7600 until I disconnected the Laserjet and rebooted.

Another possibility is a bad USB cable; I've had this happen too. Try another cable, preferrably a short one plugged directly into the computer rather than to a hub.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2007, 09:40:25 pm by Geoff Wittig »
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ternst

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2007, 01:00:53 pm »

Angela:

Yes, I've been having the same issue with my z3100 for almost two months now. I first used USB, then switched to Ethernet, then back to USB. This normally happens to me while in the middle of a print, and nothing I do will cancel the print other than to shut off the machine - very annoying. Sometimes when this happens the printer resumes printing and would only print with the GLOSS ink - nothing else. The first several times it happened I was away from the printer and all I got was a large sheet of white paper with the gloss ink! I've called HP many times with this and they keep telling me different things but nothing has worked yet - only I'm wasting a lot of ink and paper and time. My suggestion is to keep calling HP support (as I will do) - the more reports they get on this issue the better, although their track record so far has not been too good, and they have offered me nothing in return for all of my wasted materials (when I had something happen with my Canon ipf5000 that cost me a little bit on ink Canon sent me a full set of new inks - $900 worth - for my trouble - that was great customer service).

Tim Ernst in Arkansas
www.Cloudland.net
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angela

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2007, 02:22:11 pm »

How did it work when hooked up to ethernet. You wrote that you went back to USB. Did the ethernet not work/ correct the problem?
Switching over to ethernet is what they recommended.
Angie
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Panascape

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2007, 03:07:38 pm »

Mine is fine, I drive it via ethernet and it goes to sleep if not used for a while but wakes up when its needed. You may want to check, if you have the latest firmware
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Mussi_Spectraflow

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2007, 04:06:52 pm »

Are those of you having issues working from the PC or the Mac. I experienced problems with the Mac and USB connection, switching to ethernet seemed to fix the problems I was having. On the PC I've never noticed any connectivity problems even using USB, so I was curious what OS you were using.
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Julian Mussi
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Tom.D.Arch

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2007, 06:14:10 pm »

During a pre-sales call with a tech at HP, I seem to remember him saying that they have noticed a problem with USB to Mac setups - and he generally suggested that we set it up with ethernet.  If I remember correctly, I asked about a speed advantage with a direct USB 2.0 connection, he replied that they have seen problems with USB connection and that there isn't a speed advantage versus ethernet.

Also, I think that I noticed in the troubleshooting part of the user manual, that there was information about settings that could result in printing stopping part-way through.  It might be a 'time out' setting.  I don't have the PDF handy - could this be part of the issue?
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angela

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« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2007, 07:01:09 pm »

I have a mac... still using USB.
I haven't gone out and bought an ethernet cable.... too cold outside to leave the house if I can help it.
BUT.... what is weird.... I only seem to have the problem in the evening. All day long it is fine.
Maybe it's giving me a hint to stop working and spend time with my family?  

Angie
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francofit

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2007, 07:32:57 pm »

Quote
I have a mac... still using USB.
I haven't gone out and bought an ethernet cable....[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
As mentioned in Michael's review [a href=\"http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/HP-Z3100-review.shtml] here[/url]   it is reported to be an OS problem:
Quote
Mac users should note that there is a bug in the Mac's current OS that causes Z series printers that are connected via USB to occasionally hang. This is known by Apple and apparently will be fixed in the next OS update. This problem is not seen with Ethernet connected printers.

I'm afraid you have to go out for an ethernet cable or wait for the next OS update... (well, I don't know about Apple OS's updates, may be there is already one, may be you should check about it)
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Franco

ternst

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2007, 09:50:12 am »

I've been offline for a while so just now getting back to answer your question. I am on a Mac and on my machine the USB has been working a lot better than Ethernet - the Ethernet connection simply did not work 50% of the time, and would stop in the middle of a print job, then resume printing with gloss-only ink and there was no way to cancel the print without unplugging it (I tried different cables). With my USB setup it works fine most of the time but will still stop every now and then - normally near the beginning of a print. And since I know about the gloss-only deal now I simply unplug the printer (turn it off at the switch) and let it recycle, then cut off the leading edge of the paper and start all over again. I have the latest firmware from back in mid-December...

Tim Ernst in Arkansas
www.Cloudland.net
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Tom.D.Arch

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2007, 10:13:25 am »

Quote
I have a mac... still using USB.
I haven't gone out and bought an ethernet cable.... too cold outside to leave the house if I can help it.
BUT.... what is weird.... I only seem to have the problem in the evening. All day long it is fine.
Maybe it's giving me a hint to stop working and spend time with my family?  

Angie
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=101137\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Do you turn your computer off at night and then turn it back on in the morning?  Alternatively, the long break at night may let the computer go into deep sleep, and the printer will go to sleep.  Either of these may "reset" the connection either in the computer or in the printer.  

Of course, the printer SHOULD "just work."
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Charlie B

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2007, 12:24:54 pm »

Quote
My z3100, connected by USB.
In the Printer set up utility, it keeps losing it's connection. One minute it will be availbale the next minute it isn't and then in a blink of an eye.... it's connected again. I checked everything and it is connected and nothing is loose.  Also, the front panel of the printer is freezing up on me and won't respond when I push any of the buttons!
I called HP on this yesterday and received no answers. They suggested I try to plug it in using ethernet.
Has anyone experienced this?
Before when it would freeze on me I just restarted the printer in the back and that worked.
Driving me nuts!
Angela
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=100961\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Set up my new Z3100 Wednesday using a Mac 10.4.8 with USB and couldn't print more than the first inch of a print without stalling. HP support had me uninstall my HP driver and reinstall. Helped only a little. Saw Geoff's comment about a conflict with an Epson printer. Pulled the usb cable to my Epson 7600, restarted computer. Worked fine after that. Then, Thur it started stalling occasionally. I uninstalled the Epson driver, restarted and it's stalled only one time since. I am using a long usb cable, though, and if problem continues, will reconfigure my setup to use HP's supplied cable
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dkeyes

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #12 on: February 17, 2007, 01:42:10 am »

I'm using 50' of ethernet cable and I've only noticed occasional minor "stalls" of 1sec or so. I have yet to print a file bigger than 100mg though. I am using latest firmware on z3100 44" and Mac OSX 10.4.8 out of Photoshop CS2. I was told by the vendor I bought the printer from that ethernet was faster than the printer could process the info, so it shouldn't be a bottleneck.

- Doug
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mcbroomf

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #13 on: February 17, 2007, 08:56:30 pm »

I had problems with 3-4 second pauses (maybe longer) during print that I fixed while the service rep was checking out my printer.  We switched the communication mode to "Print directly to Printer".....under the Advanced tab in the print settings.  The only problem using this mode is that the data streams continuously from PS to the printer so PS cannot be used for the whole duration of the print.

I plan to set up a network when I have time.
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EvoM

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z3100- keeps going off line- no connection!
« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2007, 10:13:01 pm »

My Z3100 is also on a Mac Ethernet set up via a router and although we've only been printing a week, all is good (touch wood!). I haven't updated the firmware as yet as my dealer has had problems updating their machine.Makes me wonder if I should anyway!

Evo

ps. we leave the printer on all the time and it wakes when needed just fine.
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