Unable to start "Printer Assistant" Officejet Pro 8600

[Sticks10]

Printer Assistant and my 8600 have worked well for over a year.  Now I can't start "Printer Assistant".  This may have been triggered by an update to Win 8.1.  Others on the Discussion Board have been told to uninstall all HP programs, reboot, and then download the "full feature" package from the HP site.

I've done all that.  Installation works fine.  Print, fax, and scan all work fine when tested.  A shortcut was installed on the desktop.  But I cannot start the "Printer Assistant" either from the desk top, the start button, or from the program file. 

I used Trouble Shooter to try and find the problem.  From the trouble shooter I was able to open "HP Scan - HP Officejet Pro 8600".  From there I could initiate a successful scan.  But the only route to this page that I have found is through the Trouble Shooter.

Printer Assistant is loaded on my computer: File Ver 28.0.1315.0; 5.16MB; Date Modified 10/17/12.

Got any ideas?

[RnRMusicMan]

Hi @Sticks10,

Welcome to the HP Forums!

I understand that you cannot open your Printer Assistant program for your HP Officejet 8600. I am happy to help!

Please take a look through this guide, HP Printer Assistant Opens with a Script Error or in Notepad.

Hope this will solve your problem, and hope you have a good day!  

[Sticks10]

Thanks for replying.  Before I add the patch let me be sure I've described the symptoms correctly.  When I double click on the HP Printer short cut I get nothing - it doesn't open in Notepad and I don't get a script error.  Same thing happens if I go to Program files and double click "HP Office jet Pro 8600.exc".  From "HP Office jet Pro 8600.exc" I've tried to open as Admistrator - no luck.  I've run "Troubleshoot Comaptability" using both "Try Recommended Settings" and "Troubleshoot Program".  In each case I eventually get to a page that says "test compatability settings for program".  No matter the option picked the result is the same - Click on "Test the Program..."; "User Acct Control Window" appears and asks for permission to run "HP Printer Assistant"; Click Yes;  Nothing Happens.

If you think the patch is still the best approach, I'll try to get it loaded.  Thanks for the help.

[RnRMusicMan · Accepted solution]

Hi Sticks10,

Thank you for your response, I appreciate the clarification. I still think the patch is a good idea to try.

If it still does not work, try the following in this order:

1. Uninstall the software. Uninstalling the Printer Software.
2. Clean boot the computer. How to perform a clean boot in Windows.
3. Disable any antivirus programs. Turn Windows Defender on or off. (This will work in Windows 8.1).
4. Disable any firewalls. Turn Windows Firewall on or off. (This will work in Windows 8.1).
5. Create a new user account. Create a user account.
6. Re-install the software using the HP Printer Install Wizard for Windows.

Hope this works for you, and have a great day!

[Wouter_B]

Hello,

I got the kind of the same error as you. I searched long for a solution, and uninstalling - reinstalling the HP Officjet Pro 8600 software didn't help.

I solved the problem eventually by deleting/uninstalling all the software of my Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX webcam.

It seems there was a driver confilct.

Uninstalling the webcame software solved my problem completly, reinstalling the HP printer software after that wasn't even necessary.  I installed the last version of the Logitech webcame software, and these version haden't the problem I got frist.

It is a strange problem: the Logitech Webcame software (old version) and the HP software worked togheter smootly for years, but out of the nothing the problem arsose.

Information about the error i got (sorry, it is in Dutch/Nederlands):

Beschrijving
Pad naar toepassing met fout: C:\Program Files\HP\HP Officejet Pro 8600\Bin\HPNetworkCommunicator.exe

Probleem met handtekening
Naam van probleemgebeurtenis: BEX64
Naam van de toepassing: HPNetworkCommunicator.exe
Versie van toepassing: 28.0.1315.0
Tijdstempel van toepassing: 507e96b6
Naam van foutmodule: LVPrcInj02.dll_unloaded
Versie van foutmodule: 0.0.0.0
Tijdstempel van foutmodule: 4acc50c3
Uitzonderingsmarge: 00000000023d91c0
Uitzonderingscode: c0000005
Uitzonderingsgegevens: 0000000000000008
Versie van besturingssysteem: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Landinstelling-id: 2067
Aanvullende informatie 1: 866d
Aanvullende informatie 2: 866d0a7bdb9f4d9f5a1f5420ad626147
Aanvullende informatie 3: 3ff8
Aanvullende informatie 4: 3ff8bdbac474944e50cc9b5cc9961a53