OfficeJet 4500 Align Cartridge Window Displays [ Edited ]

[bkrueger3]

Using Windows 7 if  I power on the computer  and then the 4500 MFP printer,  the align cartridge window pops up even if there is not a new cartridge. I close the window and the printer functions. However, it is aggravating to see this window every time. Is there a fix?

Thanks

[demlasjr]

I'm wondering this too. Is annoying, even if you have new cartridge. I understand that if I have color cartridge and photo cartridge, there can be problems when printing if you don't align the cartridge, but on black I never align it and printing great.

A 4 ml ink in cartridge is too low to spend it on test pages. Your problem can be however produced by the software if you don't get it on printer screen too. You can try with a partial reset too.

[dre1023]

well that might be correct you might want to do a restore to factory defaults but then if the problem will persist then try uninstalling and reinstalling the driver on your computer and it would be best if you would use the downloaded driver that can be found on www.hp.com/support

[CookyMonzta]

If 'Align Cartridges" repeatedly pops up on your screen whenever you turn your Officejet 4500 printer on, consider that it may be a sign that the functionality of the printer may be starting to give out.

I bought the wireless version of this printer in August, 2010, and unbeknownst to me at the time, it was defective right out the box.  Once I installed the cartridges and set up the printer, I used to get this message each and every time I activated the printer right after I turned on the machine.  The only way to prevent the message from popping up was to turn the printer on BEFORE turning on the machine.  But that was no safeguard from what was to follow that minor malfunction.

By January, 2011, I got 3 beeps and the following error:  "The cartridge cradle cannot move", even after the cartridge tray moved rather satisfactorily upon initial warmup.  Each and every time after the warmup, I would get this message.

Somehow, a change of paper and ink cartridge stopped the message from popping up and making my printer unusable, but only for a short while.  By the summer, this message popped up again with a vengeance.  I erased the software from my machine, and even erased my hard drives and reinstalled Windows XP and 7 on my machine.  The message still popped up and I couldn't use the printer.  Even after resetting the printer, the same message reappeared.

It got worse:  I got "Paper jam" messages even when there was no paper in the printer at all.  One day, I turned the printer off, and after "Shutting down..." came up on the display, it basically froze.  It would not shut off.  Even after unplugging the printer and plugging it back in, the printer was basically stuck in "ON" mode, with all the malfunctions that pretty much crippled the printer.

My year-long warranty was about to run out, and I had to get a replacement.  Good idea at first, but now it seems to have deteriorated into a bad one, given the $24 I wasted shipping the screwed-up printer to get a recertified replacement in return.

It worked for nearly 5 months, no problems whatsoever, until 2 things soured my mood.  For one, as I tried to print a page, it pretty much froze.  I opened up the software, and it informed me that the printer was offline, even though it was firmly plugged into my machine.

I turned off the printer and turned it back on.  After the warmup, up popped the "Align cartridges" message again!  I have thoroughly-used cartridges in my printer, neither of which are close to empty.  The same with my old printer!

Needless to say, the message repeats each time I turn on the printer, even after I completed the realignment procedure.  Another sweep of my hard drive to reinstall everything is useless.

Suffer no delusions here:  A power-cycle will not solve this problem and I will not waste my time like I did with the predecessor I replaced, with THIS one!  The functionality is on its way to deteriorating in a way very similar to its predecessor.  And the 90-day warranty on this replacement ran out in November, 2011.

No doubt, some of HP's printers are designed very carefully and function very well; but others, unfortunately the potential flaws of the Officejet 4500 and its components (i.e., the circuitry and microchip design) were  never addressed before or soon after the release of the original and wireless versions; and I doubt that those flaws will be addressed now because I think this printer is on its way to being discontinued.

Time for me to look elsewhere.  A recertified printer (as a replacement), with a sponge that was STILL STAINED WITH INK under the cartridge tray (the sooner I took it out of its box), should have been my FIRST WARNING that this printer was not going to last long.