Unable to connect to printer
June 5, 2010 4:52 AM Subscribe
My 2nd iMac suddenly is unable to connect to my printer, despite that nothing has changed: can the hive mind offer any solutions?
Bear with me; I'll try to sum up:
1. Both iMacs are running Snow Leopard 10.6.3, printer is HP LaserJet 3050.
2. Both Macs are hardwired to the router, which is fully functional. The 2nd Mac can connect to the Internet. I can connect to the 2nd Mac via Chicken of the VNC and via AFP under Finder. I have restarted the router.
3. Firewalls and sharing settings have not changed and have been double-checked; I have repaired permissions and run scripts.
4. I have checked cables and connections; I can still print from 1st Mac.
5. Both Macs can see the printer (confirmed via System Profiler); the printers are set as default.
The only difference I can make out in the two profiles:
1st Mac has as URI: usb://Hewlett-Packard/HP%20LaserJet%203050?serial=00CNCJ282590 (printer is connected via USB)
2nd Mac has as URI: dnssd://HP%20LaserJet%203050%20%40%20[my computer name]._ipp_tcp.local (this I assume is Bonjour)
6. I have removed and reinstalled the printer on 2nd Mac via System Preferences > Print & Fax, several times. I have tried print reset, several times. Each time the install pane immediately identifies the printer as a Bonjour type via the 1st Mac. It then searches for drivers (taking longer than before it seems) and when it can't locate one, lets me then choose the correct driver ( I have also tried installing with a generic postscript driver; no dice), and then the printer is set up.
However, any print job from any application on the 2nd Mac will fail with the error message: "Unable to connect to printer; will retry in 30 seconds …" and will not print, ever.
I'm pulling my hair out trying to solve this. What am I missing?
Bear with me; I'll try to sum up:
1. Both iMacs are running Snow Leopard 10.6.3, printer is HP LaserJet 3050.
2. Both Macs are hardwired to the router, which is fully functional. The 2nd Mac can connect to the Internet. I can connect to the 2nd Mac via Chicken of the VNC and via AFP under Finder. I have restarted the router.
3. Firewalls and sharing settings have not changed and have been double-checked; I have repaired permissions and run scripts.
4. I have checked cables and connections; I can still print from 1st Mac.
5. Both Macs can see the printer (confirmed via System Profiler); the printers are set as default.
The only difference I can make out in the two profiles:
1st Mac has as URI: usb://Hewlett-Packard/HP%20LaserJet%203050?serial=00CNCJ282590 (printer is connected via USB)
2nd Mac has as URI: dnssd://HP%20LaserJet%203050%20%40%20[my computer name]._ipp_tcp.local (this I assume is Bonjour)
6. I have removed and reinstalled the printer on 2nd Mac via System Preferences > Print & Fax, several times. I have tried print reset, several times. Each time the install pane immediately identifies the printer as a Bonjour type via the 1st Mac. It then searches for drivers (taking longer than before it seems) and when it can't locate one, lets me then choose the correct driver ( I have also tried installing with a generic postscript driver; no dice), and then the printer is set up.
However, any print job from any application on the 2nd Mac will fail with the error message: "Unable to connect to printer; will retry in 30 seconds …" and will not print, ever.
I'm pulling my hair out trying to solve this. What am I missing?
This thread is closed to new comments.
After sleeping on the problem I decided to do a complete restore of the OS on the 2nd Mac from backup (from a week ago when I knew the printer was working).
After that I got the message "looking for printer ..." but no printing ensued. I checked printer sharing and for some reason it was off, so I re-enabled it.
Another print test gave the message "On Hold" and required authentication. I'd never seen that before, but a quick Google search turned up a solution: remove and reinstall the printer on the 1st Mac.
That seems to have reset everything and now the 2nd Mac is able to print again.
I still have no idea why it quit in the first place.
posted by bwg at 4:57 PM on June 5, 2010