Waiting for printer to become available macOS Monterey.

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16 points

Waiting for printer to become available macOS Monterey.

I have a Late 2015 4k 21.5 Inch iMac which has been upgraded to it's last supported OS (Monterey 12.7.5) and I have an HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 2515 with USB cable connection. After upgrading from Catalina to Monterey (Big Sur was skipped because we waited so long to update this Mac that Monterey was already available). The printer connected, showed up in Printers & Scanners and the scanning function worked perfectly but the printing function did not. Whenever I tried printing from any application possible, it would just be stuck on "Connecting to Device" and "Waiting for printer to become available". I asked for support from HP Community first which told me to reset the printing system, uninstall and reinstall latest drivers, etc. then I asked Apple Support which told me to create another user and reconnect both sides of the printer cables which did not work. He then told me to boot in Safe Mode and then try printing, which actually worked and it printed just fine from every application. However after doing a fresh reinstallation of macOS Monterey 12.7.5 and trying printing in normal boot, the issue still did not go away. Is there some way I can print in normal boot like in Safe Mode?

iMac 21.5″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Jul 20, 2024 7:55 AM

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Answer 1

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Shangs71 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 22, 2024 5:29 AM in response to Shangs71

A solution has been found for Normal Mode. Before connecting your printer and turning it on, open Terminal and type kextstat. Locate this extension:- com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub and execute the following command:- sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub and press Enter. Then connect your printer, turn it on and try to print from any application because this fixed the "Waiting for printer to become available" issue. Note for future:- Whenever you boot up your Mac, do the above command in terminal once before anything and only then connect your printer. From then until you shut down/reboot your Mac again, your printer should keep working even if you reconnect it as many times you want.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,688 points

Jul 21, 2024 10:25 AM in response to Shangs71

It if works in Safe Mode but not in a normal boot you have some 3rd party software that is interfering with the printing system.

Please download and run Etrecheck.

Copy the report

and use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.

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Answer 3

Shangs71 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 23, 2024 7:57 AM in response to Shangs71

Note:- If you do not wanna disable this kext manually everytime you start your Mac, follow these steps:-

Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and on the left look for "Full Disk Access" and checkmark Terminal.
Open Finder, click on "Go" at the menu bar > Go to Folder > /usr/local/ and press enter. If you do not see "bin" folder then create it.
Open Terminal, create a new script by pasting this command:- sudo nano /usr/local/bin/unload_AppleUSBMergeNub.sh
Add these lines in the script window that opens:- #!/bin/bash kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub
Make the script executable by pasting this command:- sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/unload_AppleUSBMergeNub.sh
Create a LaunchDaemon plist file by pasting this command:- sudo nano /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.example.unloadAppleUSBMergeNub.plist
Add this code in the window that opens:- <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"><plist version="1.0"><dict><key>Label</key><string>com.example.unloadAppleUSBMergeNub</string><key>ProgramArguments</key><array><string>/usr/local/bin/unload_AppleUSBMergeNub.sh</string></array><key>RunAtLoad</key><true/></dict></plist>
Change the ownership of the plist file to root by pasting this command:- sudo chown root:wheel /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.example.unloadAppleUSBMergeNub.plist
Finally, load the LaunchDaemon:- sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.example.unloadAppleUSBMergeNub.plist and reboot your Mac.

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

215,688 points

Jul 20, 2024 2:55 PM in response to Shangs71

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

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Answer 5

Shangs71 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 20, 2024 11:19 PM in response to Old Toad

Another one is below: (Looking for some expert opinions, please)

Reset NVRAM and SMC

Resetting the NVRAM and SMC can sometimes resolve hardware-related issues:

1.Reset NVRAM:

- Shut down your iMac.
- Turn it on and immediately press and hold Option + Command + P + R for about 20 seconds.

2.Reset SMC:

- Shut down your iMac.
- Unplug the power cord and wait 15 seconds.
- Plug the power cord back in and wait 5 seconds.
- Turn on your iMac.

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Answer 6

Shangs71 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 20, 2024 11:17 PM in response to Old Toad

Came across this via ChatGPT: Can someone please advise if this works?

Disable Unnecessary Kernel Extensions (Kexts)

Kernel extensions (kexts) can sometimes interfere with hardware devices:

Open Terminal.
List all loaded kexts with the command:

kextstat

3.Identify any third-party kexts related to printing or HP.

4.Remove or disable these kexts (this may require technical knowledge or assistance from Apple Support).

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Jul 21, 2024 9:18 AM in response to Shangs71

That kextstat could be dozens of pages.

Reset the printing system on your Mac to solve a problem

If you’ve tried all possible solutions and you still can’t print to your printer, reset the printing system. This process deletes all printers from your list of printers, deletes information about all completed print jobs, and deletes all printer presets.

Important: First, try other troubleshooting techniques in Solve printing problems on Mac.

On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Printers & Scanners .
Press and hold the Control key as you click in the list at the left, then choose “Reset printing system” from the menu that appears.
After you reset the printing system, the list of printers in Printers & Scanners preferences is empty.
Re-add any printers.

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Answer 8

Shangs71 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 20, 2024 9:40 PM in response to Old Toad

Thanks for your response. Appreciate it.

Above steps have already been done by me, yet it does not work in normal mode, works only in safe mofe.

Is there a way to diagnose or find out, which of the kernels impact the HP drivers and printing, please: "Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)"

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Answer 9

Shangs71 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 21, 2024 10:18 AM in response to BDAqua

Done that, nothing has worked EXCEPT booting in Safe Mode and then Printing (which has WORKED). I am talking about kextstats because exactly 133 of them are being loaded in Safe Mode while 177 of them in normal mode. I want to figure out which kext(s) impact printing.

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Answer 10

Shangs71 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 21, 2024 10:25 AM in response to BDAqua

These kexts are not being loaded in Safe Mode but they are being loaded in Normal Mode. One or more of them interrupt the Printing process. To remind once again, scanning happens and printer shows in System Preferences > Printers and Scanners in ready state and also in System Information > Printers or System Information > USB. However, printing does not happen in Normal Mode but happens in Safe Mode. I have done all the steps mentioned on this page and from HP Support, yet my problem is unresolved. Is there a way to analyze these kexts?

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Answer 11

Old Toad

Level 10

215,688 points

Jul 21, 2024 9:02 AM in response to Shangs71

A Safe Mode boot is one of the first fixes applied to many problems. It's recommended by Apple in it's document: How to use safe mode on your Mac .

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