setup scan to network folder yosemite

[EricClarke]

I hope this doesn't sound like I'm trying to let HP off the hook on this.  But there are a couple of things I would like to note.  First, after updating to the latest OJ 8600 drivers, I am able to scan from the printer to a Yosemite based MAC (If the driver install completes.  That is a big IF.  There seem to be a lot of bugs in the driver install scripts and they often do not run fully to completion.)

This would suggest to me that it is possible to do a scan to Mac's network folder as the scan to computer is doing exactly this to a folder of the install script's choosing.  I can't for the life of me figure out the settings that are used by the install scripts.

As far as other companies printer's their scanning software tends to be downright horrible.  One brother printer, I don't remember the exact model, required that you press the scan button on the printer before you could scan to or from the printer.  When you were done scanning, you have to press the home button to take the printer out of scan mode.

I have a Canon MG 5420 under my desk.  Only the first computer installed on this printer allows scanning from the printer to the computer.  All the others have to pull the scans.  The printer appears to to be able to handle more computers, but it doesn't find them.  This includes several Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, OS X 10.6, OS X 10.9, and OS X 10.10.  Overall, the HP driver install the most reliably.  That is not saying that they are perfect.  They are not.  I install printers for customers in the field nearly every day.  I hate installing other brands.  They have lots of gotchas.

That said.  HP's hpconnected web-site has been having a rough go of registering new users for more than a week.  You'd think they could fix something as important as that.

[jdownward]

The primary difference between scan to Network Folder and Scan to Computer (besides being able to select needed scan options prior to scanning), is that scan to Network Folder employs (if working) a network login and thus does not require the user to be logged on when the scan is made.

The root of the problem is that in migrating from SMB2 to SMB3 protocol (which both OS X and Windows did), the SMB protocol built into the printer firmware no longer is able to process the handshaking properly with the target computer.  Theoretically, if one configured SMPUP correctly or used one of the other tricks to force OS X to use SMB 2.x, all would work.  Regretably, theory does not always correspond to observed reality, and my attempts months ago to make things work as before, failed.

Sooner or later, HP will have to update its firmware to support SMB3 in new printers because that is what Windows now supports.  Whether or not this firmware support is used to update firmware in "legacy" printers is much less certain.  HP's reorganization plan for their printer division may mean it has fewer resources available for dealing with printer support issues.

As an alternate for those not wishing to set up a separate file server and who run Parallels, one can install an earlier versions of OS X or OS X server on it, and use it to manage the network folder for the printer.  Memory intensive, but once set up, all should work as before.  I say "should" because while I use this approach for running some expensive legacy software I did not wish to update for Yosemite, setting up an old computer to serve the network folder took nearly zero additional time on my part. 

[net-buoy]

Your (Erik) comment is a bit oblique....  there are a number of ways to direct a scan from the HP AIO to a Mac, and the ability to "scan to computer" is not the same as "scan to network folder", which this thread is about.

If you can scan to network folder in Yosemite with the 8600's latest firmware, then there should be no reason HP won't upgrade the 8500 firmware to do the same, but the Case Manager at HP indicated that this would not be happening. In fact he was apparently reading off tech info about protocol issues while talking to me (in part because the tech support call he had scheduled for me with an esclation tech had been blown off by the techs...)   So it is kind of important that you provide specific details about what you mean by " I am able to scan from the printer to a Yosemite based MAC".

My 8500 is at firmware LRP1FN1231AR and has not indicated an available update,  nor did the Case Manager, provided with the details of my printer, suggest a firmware upgrade.

[net-buoy]

@jdownward has likely stated the crux of the problem, although I was very much taken with the indication by HP that HP WOULD NOT be addressing this problem, and would be moving in another direction.  Frankly, this would not be the firist time HP fiddled their firmware to address SMB issues and as SMB3 is now the de facto "standard" for smb, HP would seem to be incredibly foolish to tell users it won't support smb communications anymore if it intends to roll out an update

[net-buoy]

Humorously enough,  I have now been solicited three more times to provide my "details" so that I can be provided HP support, lol. 

As I responded to the request, perhaps HP should spend less time on pretending to provide support, and more time fixing their software 😉

[net-buoy]

Not content to let sleeping dogs lie (or should one say lying dogs sleep)  HP tech support followed up and agreed to send me an e-mail covering the crux of their position.  Here is their comment and my response follows:>?

Hello Marc,
 
My name is Barb and I am a Supervisor on the Hewlett Packard AMS TCO Escalations team responsible for resolving your issue.  Please feel to email me at any time by replying to this message.

As per our conversation the information regarding the Scan to Network Folder that is not working on your MAC 10.10 OS is due to the fact that the Apple Operating Systen Updates do not have the required software to be able to do that.  HP is aware of the issues where it is not working on MAC 10.10 and they are working on an update but at this time it is not known when the update will be available and to which printers that it will be for.  Please keep an eye on the HP website for any information.

Suffice it to say that this is largely hooey. Barb seemed to think that Apple just released Yosemite (her words). She refused to acknowledge the access HP had to Yosemite, refused to acknowledge that this had anything to do with HP refusing to implement SMB3, and insisted that HP was working on "it",  though one can see in her note that"it" may not be for printers now being sold, lol. 

Most impressively, she indicated that HP tech support could not provide any specifics about the issues to community because they had no access to this forum. What is funy here is that the Tara Bunch, top gun for printer support at HP, left HP for Apple, rofl.....   I suggested the new VP of printer support might want to fly his corporate jet to their tech support site, pick up a thumbdrive with current troubleshooting info, and then fly that drive to where their support forums are maintained, so that their customers might get some relief.....   Barb was not impressed with my suggestion.

[net-buoy]

And today I received this message: "Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forums. I needed to edit your post and remove the full name of the agent present . "

Of course, I could not share the agent's last name even if I wanted to because it was not included in the e-mail to me....  And the full name of the VP that dumped HP for Apple,  well...  that remains and no wonder it appears only a gazillion times all over the internet, lol.

HP.... busy doing, well, not so much 😉

[hedgert]

Heaven forbid that we know the name of anyone who is supposedly part of HP support - we might be tempted to hold them to account to actually provide some support! But with their cunning design of a support forum that their supposed support team don't have access to, they've ensured that there is absolutely no danger whatever of HP providing any support to anyone!

[jdownward]

Having been involved in S/W development, I somewhat understand HP's predicament.  They develope printer software using the published network protocols of the computer operating systems tthe printers will attach.  Then the computer software gets upgraded to utilize an updated network protocol (for very good reasons).  Because the printers are primarily printers, their first focus is to insure printing works.  Both Apple and Microsoft switched to SMB3 protocols and ithis changed caused problems both for many NAS storage devices and in this case for HP's printers.  Because getting printing to work was their primary focus, possibly their testing did not discover the network folder problems initially.   Or maybe because this problem involves ROM code changes rather than the printer driver, it is a more difficult problem.  Because the HP's network communication software is contained in the printer's ROM code, updating it requires 1) that the update (should it be developed) can fit within the existing ROM space and that sufficient printer RAM memory is available to execute and manage the new network protocol, and 2) that HP have software engineers available (which means they are not working full throttle on S/W for new printers)  knowledgeable in the new protocol that can develop the the ROM code update.  

Responsible companies which build H/W which communicates with different operating systems understand that on-going software engineering support will almost always be required to handle OS changes that occur over time and staff accordingly.  Given the restructuring going on at this time, whether or not HP has such support certainly is in question, and whether customers can expect reasonable support (drivers and ROM updates when needed) should they buy a new printer, NAS disk, or other peripheral from any computer accessory vendor is a valid consideration in making a purchasing decision.  While I am sure HP knows this, their non-existant customer support on this issue and really poor customer communications do not do them credit.

[dao1138]

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@jdownward wrote:

Having been involved in S/W development, I somewhat understand HP's predicament.  

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If this has been the first time this happened with HP I might be sympathetic.  However it's not.. and in the previous model (the 8500) they simply never updated the firmware to support newer MacOS network sharing.

I know Apple can be a pain about this but HP has to either step up or remove the feature and consider a 'scan to cloud' option where people can use Google drive, Dropbox, etc.