HP F4180 ALL in ONE printer problems

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Level 1

6 points

HP F4180 ALL in ONE printer problems

This may not be the right place to find an answer but I am going to try anyway! I have posted to the HP FORUM but nobody there answers questions very often. My HP Deskjet F4180 All in One printer/scanner has been giving trouble. It will print fine from my computer/Internet, etc. But the scanner and copy functions are not working. The scanner pgm starts but the printer does not do any scanning and the scan page just hangs and never seems to initialize. As for copying, it will start up when COPY button is pressed, draw in a page of paper and go halfway, then it stops and just blinks. SO........ I have gone through various instructions from the HP website but all to no avail. Now I just uninstalled the drivers/software and then reinstalled it all again. It has made no difference and I still have the same problem. Should I just give up on this printer now? Does this sound like a hardware problem which is probably not worth the money to fix it?

PowerBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Jun 11, 2011 10:01 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,808 points

Jun 11, 2011 11:01 PM in response to lutra

How is connected, USB, wi-fi etc...? Please paint a picture for us of the connections and the exact steps you took to install it.

Roger

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Answer 2

Paul_31

Level 6

14,166 points

Jun 11, 2011 11:08 PM in response to lutra

Have a look at this thread from a few days ago: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3103397?answerId=15356378022#15356378022

The poster had similar problems and although we didn't figure out what was causing the problems using a third party scanning program at least enabled the scanning function - which was cheaper than buying a new printer.

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Answer 3

lutra Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 12, 2011 11:43 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Hello -- It is connected to my I-Mac via USB. I am running OS 10.5.8 presently. I have had this printer since I bought the I-mac a few years ago. And up to now all has run well. Recently, I began to experience some blinking lights -- CANCEL button, RESUME button and CARTRIDGE buttons -- along with a big E in the copy field area. I changed the print cartridges as one was low. AND it ceased to copy or scan, although it will print from Internet and computer. Since the printer is no longer under warranty, I went to the HP site and found a page to go through all scenarios of blinking lights. Tried all solutions for that and nothing changed. I then went through all solutions suggested for Scanner problems........ finally ending up doing a reset of the printer, uninstalling the HP and reinstalling it (downloaded from HP site). That has made no change either -- scanner/copier is doing nothing. I am just curious now if it is a hardware problem and the scanner/copier is kaputt!

I REALLY DO APPRECIATE your input!

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,808 points

Jun 12, 2011 11:55 AM in response to lutra

OK thanks for the information. I suspect it is a hardware problem however let's try doing a complete re-install. First I would recommend unistalling any software you downloaded from HP's web sit. You may need to contact HP to see if they have an uninstall routine. Then in System Preferences - Print & Fax highlight the printer on the left then click the - symbol below. Then disconnect the printer cable from the printer and turn the printer off.

Next I would recommend Repair Disk Permissions in Disk Utility. Then do a SMC reset and restart in Safe Mode to clear some caches. Then connect the printer to the computer via USB and turn it on. Leopard should detect it as a new printer. Then test it. If Leopard doesn't detect it as a new printer post back and you can try to install it in the Print & Fax preference.

SMC RESET

Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and all peripherals.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Attach the computers power cable.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.

PRAM RESET

Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

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Answer 5

lutra Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 12, 2011 12:26 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Will give it a try and report back at a later time.......TYVM!

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Answer 6

lutra Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 12, 2011 12:28 PM in response to rkaufmann87

And by the way, the HP FOLDER in Applications that comes with the software/drivers includes an HP UNINSTALLER......

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Answer 7

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,808 points

Jun 12, 2011 1:07 PM in response to lutra

lutra wrote:

And by the way, the HP FOLDER in Applications that comes with the software/drivers includes an HP UNINSTALLER......

Well at least that part should be easy!😉

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Answer 8

lutra Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 12, 2011 1:23 PM in response to rkaufmann87

I see the instructions here for a PRAM reset ------- which are not mentioned in your advice. You only advised doing the SMC reset........ ???

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Answer 9

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,808 points

Jun 12, 2011 1:26 PM in response to lutra

I keep a document on my computer with the instructions to the SMC and PRAM resets to easily copy and paste into threads.When I pasted it into your thread I didn't edit out the PRAM reset. In your case I don't think a PRAM reset would help but you're welcome to do one if you wish.

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