USB printer suddenly stopped printing

[lnkaye]

I am using an Epson POS thermal receipt printer via a USB port and it suddenly stopped printing on my Windows 7 computer. I changed the cable to another USB port, plus a different cable. Still would not print. I have a second identical unit and I can't print to that one either. I have another make of printer that I can print to with no problem using the same port. I downloaded and installed the manufacturer's latest software as an .exe file and it installed fine, but cannot get a test page to print. To further troubleshoot, another computer on my peer to peer network installed the software and shared this printer with me (USB on that computer) on the network and I can print to it from my computer. This is totally weird. I've never seen this type of behavior. Any idea what's wrong and what the fix might be? Both receipt printers work from the other computer. When my computer starts up, it tries to install windows driver for the printer, which is a normal behavior, so it indicates the USB port is good.

I've done Malwarebytes test, sfc /scannow, checked in the printing queue and deleted the stuck test docs, etc. I've posted on a few other sites, but I'm coming up with no help.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hello and welcome lnkaye now first up I am assuming you have updated the driver for that machine? as I don't really know what you mean by a .exe file - one usually just goes to the manufacturers site and updates the driver from it's support tab.

So just out of interest a) how old is this printer b) have you tried it with another machine? c) what is the exact model number etc - we need the model to search for the driver.

Edit I meant to ask are the USB ports workig with other devices ie external hard drives or sticks?? if not then maybe you need to update the USB driver for the machine.

 

[lnkaye]

The printer is an Epson TMIV about 5 years old. As I said I have 2 of these. They are workhorses in the point of sale niche. The software is a package that is installed directly from Epson via a "setup.exe" rather than selecting your printer in Windows. Neither printer works on my machine. But, I can print to either printer through peer to peer printer sharing. The other computer is using the same printer driver and is also a windows 7 computer. It's not a wrong driver issue.

 

[lnkaye]

The other printer I use is a Xerox and that one is a USB printer and it prints from any of the same USB ports which I checked while troubleshooting.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hello Inkaye mate I found this for the printer but it is from an Australian site https://download.epson-biz.com/modules/pos/index.php?page=soft&scat=31 the top listed device you need to click on and you will gte this https://download.epson-biz.com/modules/pos/index.php?page=single_soft&cid=4833&scat=31&pcat=3
and the driver is at the bottom - worth a try at least and if no good then just Google the printer from your end and it might give you an American based site to get the same but I think it should work.

Now it might be worth while updating the USB drivers for your desktop too. If you get links for different USB drivers let us know and I can put you onto something to find exact what USB stuff (and other components) you have on that motherboard and machine.

Edit I meant to say if the driver link from me does work but the driver does not do anything then you can just uninstall it - what you have should be listed in Control Panel > Programs and Features anyway.

 

[lnkaye]

That is the set of printer drivers I've already installed after the printer stopped printing (ver. 4.56). As far as the USB is concerned, if all my other peripherals work from all of the 6 USB ports (tested), why would we suspect a USB port as the problem? I've switched all these around to see if it's a bad port. I actually have 2 printers connected via USB and one works fine. I can also print to a LAN connected printer. Where do I get updated USB drivers besides through control panel -->system -->hardware/devices --> usb -->update driver?

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Well it was just a suggestion really re the USB drivers but if you say other stuff is working out of them then maybe not the drivers. But if you want to get drivers I always use the manufacturers support site because the Windows feature is well for want of a better term like having legs on a soccer ball. So for the drivers you need to download them from the Lenovo site, and why I would like to know what model it is.

I suppose the printer is likely to be faulty too.

 

[lnkaye]

How can both printers be faulty? They work on the other networked computer.

 

[jumanji]

Have you tried completely uninstalling the Printer, reboot and install it afresh?

 

[lnkaye]

Yes, I've done this twice! So frustrating.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yes I know it can be very frustrating but I personally work through all the possibilities when I have a problem like this. As I mentioned before I am just suggesting things to eliminate them.

Now it seems like the machine does not like that printer for some reason - what is becoming even harder to track down. Now simple as it may seem what do the cable contacts in that printer socket look like bent? worn/ or plain missing?

 

[lnkaye]

There's nothing physically wrong with the printers. They work on the other computer. So they would not have a problem with bent or missing or worn. Besides, they don't do that in the middle of the day all of a sudden. This printer just stopped working in the middle of a business workday. It was printing receipts and then it stopped printing.