My Windows 7 Won’t Recognize My Old HP4L LaserPrinter

[AZ Scribe51]

My Windows 7 Won’t Recognize My Old HP4L LaserPrinter

I recently acquired a lightly used Dell Optiplex 360 computer loaded with Windows 7 and the Microsoft Office Suite.
Everything works fine except that the Windows 7 operating system won’t recognize my HP4L laser printer which I’ve been using for more than ten years and would like to keep.
Now here’s the unusual twist: A techie friend who helped me move from an XP machine to Windows 7 determined that Windows 7 did not list the HP4L among its list of available drivers, likely because it was too old.
The techie friend had me order a new set of printer cables which he installed, then did some tinkering with the software and voila, the older printer began printing.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there because if it had, I wouldn’t be posting here.
A couple days after it began working, I suddenly found that I couldn’t print any more. Not anything.
When that occurred, Windows 7 put this message on my monitor screen:

One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned and Windows does not recognize it. The location of the device is shown in bold type.

USB root hub (2 ports)​

Unknown device​

Unused port​

Recommendation: Try reconnecting the device. If Windows still does not recognize it, replace the device.

This message obviously was not very helpful. Bottom line was that Windows 7 shut down my printer even though it was working fine until Windows 7 discovered it.
I contacted my techie friend and informed him. He said there was nothing more he could do. He was stymied.
Leave it to my wife, who doesn’t have a technical bone in her body to temporarily solve the problem. She noted that Windows 7 doesn’t immediately shut down the printer, but apparently does only when it discovers it. Sometimes that can be more than an hour or two. So, she suggested that I keep the power switch to my printer shut off until only the moment when I need to print something, which is only a couple times a day. So, for the last several weeks I’ve kept the power to the printer shut off until I need to print something. Then I switch it on only for the brief minute or two required to print a couple of pages, then quickly shut it off.
While this approach serves as a temporary solution, I would like to find a more permanent solution since I will have some heavy printing jobs upcoming next month. There’s obviously nothing wrong with my printer or the connection. It’s just a quirk in the system that shuts my printer down when it doesn’t need to.
Can anyone offer a solution?



Thanks,


Rob in Arizona

 

[Hacb]

looking at the error, I'd say tere is something going on with the conection between the computer and the printer, do you have any other USB ports you can try, because it could be the actual port as opposed to the cable, which it appears you have addressed previously, if another port works, consider updating your USB driver.

 

[AZ Scribe51]

Thanks very much. Will try what you suggest.

Best from Rob in Arizona