Z3200 - Replaced FORMATTER, now what

[minE]

My Z3200 would not start up. Three beeps when I turn it on via toggle switch, screen lit up but no read out. Near as I could figure it needed a new formatter, which I got, brand new. Printer was running great. Left for a few days and when I returned it wouldn't wake from sleep.

Nothing would wake it so I shut it off via toggle switch, unplugged it and waited a few minutes. Then, 3 beeps at start up and blank but lit screen. I shut it down via toggle and pulled the formatter and waited 24 hours. Still three beeps and blank, lit screen. What next?

[Mark Lindquist]

If you bought the formatter new from HP they will give you tech support even if your printer is out of warranty.

A note about the formatter.  It must be the formatter card AND the hard drive, and it must be either an A or B depending on which revision your printer is.

Assuming you have this right, you can replace the battery however, if the formatter is new, the battery is probably ok.

General instructions for anyone:
In order to force a reboot, remove all ink cartridges then restart.  The printer should begin initialization then ask for a cartridge.  Reinstall of all the cartridges may (and in most cases will) prompt finishing initialization.

If it was my machine, I would be trying this next step, however, others may also have suggestions.

BTW minE, welcome to the forum.

Mark

[minE]

Thank you, Mark. I didn't get the formatter from HP, unfortunately, I didn't know that about HP. Tho last time I talked to HP tech it was a horrible experience. Its Rev A.

The printer was running great for a few days with the new formatter, w/ hard drive, then flaked out again, unable to wake it from a few days of sleep.
Replace the formatter battery, that had worked before with the old formatter but not this time.
Shut it down, unplugged and pulled the formatter and left it out for 24 hours. Still 3 beeps and no start.
I left the printer in that mode, lit but blank screen for another 24 hours.
Came in this morning, shut it down then restarted and its up and running! For how long is anyone's guess.

I've read a bit about the printmech, would that be something to switch out?

Thanks again, so grateful to you and this forum.

min

[minE]

Also, the firmware on this new hard drive is TR12-RB_11.0.0.3

Should I update it, and if so where do I find it?

[glyph]

I'd look into the possibility of it being a faulty power supply that is causing your formatter to freak out? Have a way of confirming that it is providing the right output? That might explain why it worked for a while with the new part.

[GST]

I am thinking about buying a used Z3200PS which seems to have this exact same defect.
Is this 3-beeps error still common knowledge to caused be either formatter or disk or both?
Could it be the power supply as well?

sorry for resurrecting this old thread ..

regards

[plasakow]

It might be a different combination of issues than those of OP's. With the help of this forum, LPS Computers' excellent free advice and the HP repair manual you'll get it running. It might be a few days and a couple of hundred dollars or weeks of replacing component after component until you've got a working machine and a wallet far lighter.

[neil snape]

The biggest problem with doing self repairs with HP or perhaps other brands is once the parts are replaced the codes that are written into the UNIX BSD are only possible with  a rather stupid old comm port that only HP authorised technicians have.   Replaced parts will run, work, and revive a printer but certain information cannot be updated to the current state; thus less than optimal.
HP have never done anything to correct poor design like rubber coated belts that degrade in the presence of glycol aerosol spray! Duh what is the composition of pigment ink carts?
And this day and age of landfills over filled with stuff, what continue to use spinning hard discs that are not replaceable by simply duplicating the volume?

The good news is the Z3200 is easy enough to patch together and there is some really good information out there to make this possible.

[Ernst Dinkla]

The biggest problem with doing self repairs with HP or perhaps other brands is once the parts are replaced the codes that are written into the UNIX BSD are only possible with  a rather stupid old comm port that only HP authorised technicians have.   Replaced parts will run, work, and revive a printer but certain information cannot be updated to the current state; thus less than optimal.
HP have never done anything to correct poor design like rubber coated belts that degrade in the presence of glycol aerosol spray! Duh what is the composition of pigment ink carts?
And this day and age of landfills over filled with stuff, what continue to use spinning hard discs that are not replaceable by simply duplicating the volume?

The good news is the Z3200 is easy enough to patch together and there is some really good information out there to make this possible.

Hello Neil,

Some issues can be solved:

The Ebay alternative belts (standard types, no parallel grooves on them) have a longer life than the HP OEM type.  Have one still running after 8 years use, no   flaking visible.
Two copies of my 44" Z3200-PS HDD in my archive. One on an SSD, one the original 80 GB HDD. Printer runs on a fresh 160GB HDD.
There was a thread here on that subject

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst Dinkla

https://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." H. L. Mencken

[plasakow]

This has been said before but bears repeating: the Kevlar carriage belts made and sold by LPS Computers are the golden standard.

My only experience with the a cheap belts sold on eBay is that it would not stay on the tensioner wheel. I blamed the lack of grooves for the drifting but perhaps I installed it incorrectly. Replacing even a small part in my two Z3200s can be a major operation that sometimes leads to other problems, so I tend to buy OEM parts (LPS belts excepted) to reduce downtime and, even more, frustrating days of troubleshooting.

[kers]

This has been said before but bears repeating: the Kevlar carriage belts made and sold by LPS Computers are the golden standard.
...

So how long do they last you think?

[plasakow]

I've had one for 4 or 5 years now. Looks brand new.

LPS offers a lifetime warranty. Try getting that from other belt manufacturers!

[Ernst Dinkla]

This has been said before but bears repeating: the Kevlar carriage belts made and sold by LPS Computers are the golden standard.

My only experience with the a cheap belts sold on eBay is that it would not stay on the tensioner wheel. I blamed the lack of grooves for the drifting but perhaps I installed it incorrectly. Replacing even a small part in my two Z3200s can be a major operation that sometimes leads to other problems, so I tend to buy OEM parts (LPS belts excepted) to reduce downtime and, even more, frustrating days of troubleshooting.

They came with other tensioner wheels, not profiled for the grooves the HP belts have. No issues here.

Ernst, op de lei getypt.