HPNetworkCommunicator.exe hangs during printer setup

[pjcaseyoh]

After a power outage, I could no longer connect to my HP Officejet Pro 8600 printer.  Ended up uninstalling the printer from the computer and tried reinstalling the software.  During the process of running Printer Setup & Software, the software shows the printer as a wireless printer.  I click on the printer and click next.  The setup process hangs at that point.  I can see HPNetworkCommunicator.exe running in task manager.  If I kill the process, the setup program continues with errors and finishes the setup without successfully connecting to the printer.  I have added the printer using control panel, and can print to it, but any process that uses HPNetworkCommunicator hangs, such as checking ink levels, managing scanning from the printer to the computer, etc.  I have completely disabled all firewalls, virus scans, etc. with no change in behavior.  Any suggestions how to get this working again?

HP Officejet Pro 8600 and PC running Windows 7 64 bit.

[Cloud_Strider]

It sounds like there may be some old installation files left behind.

Was it uninstalled using the HP software or the control panel?

[pjcaseyoh]

I think I uninstalled it from the control panel. Where would old installation files be? I can uninstall again and delete all old files. Would there be anything in the registry that needs cleaning too?

[Cloud_Strider]

Even though the installation has completed with errors, I would recommend trying to uninstall it from the HP Software.

1.  Click on the Windows logo (formerly called Start).

2.  Click on All Programs.

3.  Navigate to a folder called HP.

4.  From here, select the folder for your printer. 

5.  Select Uninstall.

HP's uninstaller should launch at this point.  Follow the prompts to remove it.  This uninstaller may look similar to the control panel, but it is slightly different under the hood.

Once that is complete, follow these steps.

1.  Click on the Windows logo.

2.  Click on Computer.

3.  Navigate to C: (should be default install location).

4.  Navigate to Program Files (x86).

5.  Open the HP folder and delete the printer's folder.  I recommend deleting the HP folder all together, but this would require installing all printers again.  If this is the only printer installed from HP, then go ahead and delete the HP folder.

Note:  If you have an HP computer, you will also see a Hewlett-Packard folder.  DO NOT delete this folder as it contains HP software for the computer and not the printer.

6.  Go back to C: and navigate to Program Files. This is the 64-bit version of Program Files (x86), and the HP driver package includes 64-bit versions as well.

7.  Delete the printer's folder in the HP folder or delete the HP folder all together.  

At this point, the printer is uninsalled and the default directories have been cleared.  

I recommend installing the drivers from the website instead of the CD.  This will ensure that you have the absolute most current software.  

Drivers can be found here.  This is the direct download to the drivers for the Officejet Pro 8600 Plus for Windows 7 64-bit.  The download should start automatically.  If you have a different version of the 8600 (like premium), the download should still work as all the 8600 software and drivers are in one package and identical on each platform of the 8600.

[pjcaseyoh]

Followed all your steps with no success.  Connected the printer to computer via USB.  Ran setup and it worked just fine.  The ran setup again and got an option to convert printer to wireless.  I chose that option and get a screen to confirm the printer wireless settings.  I choose the yes option to use the settings and clicked Next.  When I click next, task manager shows that HPNetworkCommunicator.exe has started.  The next screen in setup process shows a "Searching for printer..." status bar where the status quickly gets about 1/3 complete and stops.  I have left the computer in this state for hours with no change.  I click the Cancel button, and the screen changes where the status bar shows "Cancelling..." and the green blob recursively scrolls the lenght of the status bar for as long as I let it go.  The cancel button is grayed out, so the only way to stop the process is by ending the HPNetworkCommunicator.exe file in task manager.  I then get a screen that is titled "Unable to Find the Printer" with suggested fixes.  I have done all the suggested fixes.  In the process of this, the printer received an OTA upgrade which I ran.  I have unistalled the printer and deleted the folders many times.  I have the latest driver from HP.  I have rebooted my router several times.  I have shut down all virus, firewall, malware, etc protection.  Nothing seems to work.  I have a laptop on which I have installed the printer wirelessly (about a week ago) that is running flawlessly on the same network with the same BitDefender virus protection.  Something is conflicting with HPNetworkCommunicator.exe, and I can't figure it out.  When the setup stalls, taskmanager shows HPNetworkCommunicator.exe at 0% CPU, Network traffic is practically zero.  Everything else runs fine on the PC with no apparent degradation in performance.   Any other ideas?

[Cloud_Strider]

I know you stated it works fine on a different computer, but I highly recommend disabling any firewall software during installation.  While they are the same firewall software on both computers, I suspect the one has a slightly different firewall rule that is interfering with it.

Try the same steps above with the exception of disabling your firewall before performing those steps.

[pjcaseyoh]

I stated that I did shut down the firewall in my previous post.  I have even shut down virus scanning, malware scanning, etc in previous attempts at this.  However, I shut down the firewall agan at your request, shut down the computer and restarted it.  BitDefender started with many red warnings that the firewall was disabled, so I have to assume it is off as I have set it.  I ran the setup program again with the same results where the search for printer hangs 1/3 of the way along the progress bar.

[Cloud_Strider]

At this point, I am afraid that I will no longer be of assistance for this parituclar issue.

The printer installed fine on a different computer, so that indicates that there is not an underlying network issue and that this is strictly a software issue at this point (especially since the firewall was disabled).

With it being an OfficeJet 8600, I am certain it is still under warranty.

For the best result, you may need to contact HP support at 1-800-474-6836.

[pjcaseyoh]

Thanks for your suggestions.  I'll call this one in.

[pjcaseyoh]

After thinking about your comments and going through things in my own mind, I uninstalled BitDefender and everything worked. Reinstalled BitDefender and it blocks the printer functions. I am now working with BitDefender to resolve the problem. Thanks again for your input.