Problems with Lexmark 5000 color printer

I have a Lexmark 5000 Colorfine inkjet printer, and it's always been temperamental. A while ago, I "uninstalled" it, but left the device physically connected to my computer (I hardly ever have to print in color, and all my b/w printing is handled by a sturdy laser printer), and left the software still on my HD. Today I tried to reinstall the color printer...

Using "Add new printer" in the Printers utility, I went through all the steps. At the end, it asked me if I wanted to print a test page, and I said yes. However, nothing ever printed. After determining that the printer was, in fact, connected to LPT 1 on my machine, and getting power from the wall wart, I tried using the Lexmark utilities to "install" cartridges and print a "clean print heads" page. Still nothing. Soon I had 8 documents queued for that printer, and none of them were printing!

{Side issue: Why does it take ten to fifteen minutes to clear the printer queue? And why don't the documents just go away if you re-start the computer?}

I've tried everything obvious. I've downloaded a fresh copy of the software and installed it. I've checked all the connectors. I've turned the computer off for half an hour and then rebooted. Somehow or another, whatever the machine is trying to send to the printer just never gets through. And I really do need to print something in color before Monday. Any suggestions, other than "buy a new printer? "

(If it makes any difference, I'm running Windows 2000 Professional.)

 

It seems like this printer is being quite naughty.
Basics:
Unplug and replug in the cable from both the printer and the computer (with the power off of both)
Delete the printer again, and readd it as a HP DeskJet500. Will it print a test page like that?

Hard core:
Its possible the drivers you installed left some garbage around. Please be careful following these next steps. its pretty easy to mess this part up, if you are not comfortable using regedit, please do not follow these steps.

Uninstall all printers, then review the following registry keys for any references to Lexmark or your specific printer, and whack any keys you find with it. Reboot and readd the printer using the built in driver (not the fancy shmancy driver you downloaded)


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PrinterPorts
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Devices

 

Unplugging a printer's AC power cord from whatever outlet its connected to, waiting 20-30 seconds and then reconnecting can often do wonders too. Thought you might like this high tech tip.

 

I did all those things. I checked all the connections. I uninstalled and reinstalled the printer in Device Mangler. I uninstalled all the software, then deleted the files by hand and edited the Registry by hand to remove every trace of the printer, then downloaded a new copy of the software and installed it. I fiddled with a few more printer settings. The bloody thing just refused to print no matter what I did.

At that point, I started comparison-shopping online...

This printer has always been difficult to work with anyway - it was usually only by chance that I got it to work right on any given occasion. So I fixed my problem... I am now the proud owner of a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 3650. And I must say it's a lot easier to deal with!

 

hard to argue with that solution
If all those steps failed, its probable that printer itself had bit the dust.