HP Laserjet 4mp won't print with Snow Leopard

The Asante bridge definitely will not work with Snow Leopard.

So, Martha (or James or George), did you try the parallel to USB cable? Did it work? I'm in the same boat with 10.6.2 and my trusty HP 4M+. I've read the suggestions for the cable or the HP JetDirect 300x server. I'd really like to hear back from someone who's actually tried one of these and had success (or not).

Anyone? Thanks.

Joe

I tried a USB parallel adapter with my 5MP. It was recognized immediately by Snow Leopard, and I could print to it no problem.

However, after sitting idle, the printer shows up as "idle" and I have to unplug/replug to get it back.

You might try the USBTB backend to see if that helps with the idle printer problem. It is supposed to improve the communication between your computer and your printer.

Thanks to all who posted helpful info in this thread. Using that info (and a couple of helpful hints from elsewhere), I was able to configure my ancient, but trusty LaserJet 4M+ to work with my MacBook Pro under OS 10.6.2.
My printer already had a JetDirect card installed. So it was simply a matter of changing the printer's IP address (using its control panel buttons) and then telling the computer about that address. I used HP Jet Direct - Socket for the connection via IP.
Thanks again, everyone.
Joe

I also have a 5mp, and have used the Asantetalk box to access the computer via ethernet and even connected wirelessly to the printer. To be honest, since this printer is networked to six other computers in my classroom, if I have to reconfigure for the whole setup, I'm going back to 10.5.X. I really don't have hours to fool around to get back what I had before. In 18 years of having Macs, I've never gone back to an old operating system. Can anyone give me hope on this?

To all who have had problems, here's what worked for me...

I've used an HP JetDirect EX Plus for years to hook the 4MP to my network. There is no built-in network support. I use a Netgear wireless router to attach devices to my network (using DHCP). The cabling is: ethernet from the Netgear router to the JetDirect, parallel cable from the JetDirect to the 4MP.

Set up the printer using the "HP Jetdirect - Socket" protocol and specify the Snow Leopard supplied driver (HP LaserJet 4MP v2013.103)

In the past I have had issues with DHCP detecting the JetDirect. Apparently this is not the case now. If you encounter this problem, the MAC address is on a sticker on the bottom of the JetDirect. You can use this to assign and reserve a static ip address in your router config (in the Netgear router it is in the "LAN IP Setup" tab).

Hope this helps somebody.

LizCC wrote:
I also have a 5mp, and have used the Asantetalk box to access the computer via ethernet and even connected wirelessly to the printer. To be honest, since this printer is networked to six other computers in my classroom, if I have to reconfigure for the whole setup, I'm going back to 10.5.X. I really don't have hours to fool around to get back what I had before. In 18 years of having Macs, I've never gone back to an old operating system. Can anyone give me hope on this?

There is a very simple solution to your problem. Go to eBay and search for the HP JetDirect 300x. It is a Print Server box that will connect your HP 5MP to your Ethernet network, for real. The AsanteTalk Bridge you are using is a fake network box. It doesn't give the printer an IP address, it only allows it to appear on AppleTalk networks, which are no longer supported (File Sharing over AppleTalk was discontinued with the release of Tiger). I have an HP 6MP and ditched my AsanteTalk for the JetDirect 300x. I got mine on eBay for $16. There are plenty of them for sale. It will replace your AsanteTalk and the printer connects to it using a standard parallel cable instead of the AppleTalk cable.

You can go to HP's website and download the manuals for operation. All you have to do is reset the JetDirect, plug it in to your network, print the configuration page, and add the printer to all your Macs using the IP address option, under HP JetDirect-Socket. It really is that simple.

There are major benefits to the JetDirect 300x. 1) Your printer will have an IP address and be compatible with any future OS update. 2) It is super-fast compared to the AsanteTalk. The AsanteTalk only supported 10BaseT Ethernet, and I assume your current network is 100BaseT or faster. The moment you hit return to print, your printer will start responding, no more 10 second delay over the much slower 10BaseT network to AppleTalk conversion.

Hmm. I just upgraded to Snow Leopard and have an HP 4MP too, connected over an Asante Bridge. Worked fine with Tiger, but Snow Leopard no longer supports AppleTalk. I was told this could be made to work by setting it up as an IP printer (first one has to get an IP address for the printer though and I'm not sure how that's done). Any thoughts? It's a trusty old printer.

If you absolutely insist on keeping your AppleTalk setup that you've been using for the past 18 years, then reverting back to 10.5 or even 9.x might be a good idea for you. Personally I'd be hesitant to depend on that for classroom use when it's not that hard to bring it up to date.

Most of the Asante appletalk printer routers could also be set up to permit LPR printing. It's something you set up on the Asante, not the printer.

I do not know about Asante printer routers, but the Asantetalk bridge merely acts as a go-between from Localtalk Appletalk to Ethernet Appletalk and cannot be reconfigured.

If you get an answer, I need. it. My house was burglarized in December - lost PC and HP 7310. Did not lose my favorite laser printer - the HP 4MP. In researching switch to iMac, I was told that it would work with a cable to USB converter. I got the iMac in January and ordered the parallel to USB and no luck. Then learned that Macs never talked to Parallel printers so got a serial cable to USB converter. Still no luck. The 4MP has been the most reliable piece of computer equipment I have owned and I am determined to continue using it - I print brochures and need camera ready copy and it works best. Let me know what to do.

My calls to Applecare resulted in defeat - very nice people, but because I am using two non-Apple products (the cable and the printer), they said they could not help. Can you?

Well, I tried the USB-to-serial adapter but couldn't get it to work even with the drivers and a new kext file. It was such a trial that I decided to buy a new printer that has built-in networking/USB and is of more recent vintage. I love the 4MP but I've had it a long time and it's no longer supported. Your beset bet, I think, at this point, would be to buy an external HP JetDirect print server as suggested above. You can find them on e-bay for a reasonable price.

Did you try the USBTB backend with the USB cable?
http://buymelunch.org/printing/usbtb/