Atticus

Hi Sylviekid

Thanks for the response (and the rest of you guys) - dont know about USB 2 but I have two ports(?) one at the front of the computer (which I plug in the internet modem) and one at the back which I use to plug in the printer and tried again (unsuccessfully today) - Im assuming you dont mean that!! sorry for sounding stupid but Im just use computers for internet access and typing thats as far as my knowledge goes!!

Thanks for taking the time to help though - i really appreciate it - seeing as I emailed HP this morning and they are yet to respond!! having said that it has been more than 5 years since I bought the printer (and computer)!

regards

atticus

saraliz

Is your modem a USB modem? If so, does it work ok? If yes to both of these, have you tried plugging your printer into the USB port the modem usually uses?

Flying Banana

HP Printers are notoriously tetchy when it comes to installation but sounds a bit more like a Windows Problem.

Been a while since I played with 98, but, if you go to 'Control Panel' 'System' and 'Device Manager' is there any listing relating to USB at all, even without printer installed Windows should have a USB Root Hub and/or Controller of some description installed.

I'm assuming it will be there if your USB modem is working but better to be safe than sorry. If it is missing or a problem then I'd try reinstalling Windows over the top and see if it fixes itself.

Failing that, uninstall all the HP software and printer drivers, reboot with nothing in any USB port, reinstall HP software drivers and plug the printer into the USB port the modem was working on.

Also a very good site for USB problems is: http://www.usbman.com/

If you're really stuck the guy who runs the site will do 1 on 1 support for a donation of US$15.

Hope you get it sorted

Atticus

Hi Flying Banana

I did that check (after following instructions on the HP website) and a root USB and a Host is there - but there is no usb (stand alone) in the win.ini bit - only LPT1 - but Im off to buy a parallel cable (wish I hadnt thrown it out!!).

Will try connecting it to the front usb port (one I use for internet access) - was just concerned in case I couldnt get internet access if I plugged the internet modem into the back port!!

cheers

atticus

worzel

I also have new-ish HP Printer connected to an old PC running Win 98 and it works fine BUT with a parallel cable so that should be one option. I have a spare one if you want to pop round

On the other hand I recently bought a USB hub (4-way adaptor basically) which came without software. As someone earlier said, new stuff these days assumes a more recent version of Windows which would sort itself out. What I had to do was search the net using Google for a driver to install (not too hard). So it might be worth typing "HP printer (model) driver 98" or some such into a search engine to see if installing that works?

Atticus

Hi Guys

Well - thanks to everyone's advice - I have finally managed to fix it and usb cable now working fine - I think if Im completely honest it was probably down to a booboo on my part as Im pretty useless - have to say though ever since the clock has started ticking to our leaving date (this monday!!) things have been going wrong!! - latest computer has gone and got another trojan (i reckon its cos of BE popups!!) and there is no way Im rebooting and using the recovery disc - been there done that and it wasnt pleasant - so bugger that. In addition the following:-

1. printer (now fixed)
2. computer - another bloody trojan
3. oven & hob - now have to use matches to light - warranty ran out
4. fridge (think its on its last legs!!)

I really hope nothing else goes wrong as getting a bit fed up!!

Once again though - thank you very much for your time and patience.

all the best

atticus