printer

[niloc]

when I boot up and try to use my printer wireless HP C7100  series    even if I have used it  the previous day  it  does not  respond  even though  it  has got the green tick  by it in  device and printers, but when I   right click   it says its offline   even though I'm  connected and online,  I don't see any way of   changing  the status  from offline to online,  I have to result to  remove  printer and  add it again  and it then works perfectly ?

[Dragon-Fur · Accepted solution]

@niloc

Specifications indicate that this printer supports Ethernet - if you can do so, connecting the printer to the network with an Ethernet cable between the router and the printer is the best option.

The printer only supports Wireless Wireless 802.11g

"g" is the older, slower, weaker connection type.  Not "horrible", just "not the latest and greatest" thing.  You can find information on the "g" wireless connection in many articles on the subject - use your favorite browser and search engine to search for "Wireless Wireless 802.11g".

Position and Distance

"Too close" is as bad as too far apart.  For example, make sure the printer and the router are at least three feet apart from one another (about one meter).  If there are walls, furniture, other obstructions between the printer and the rest of the network, the signal may drop.

Interestingly, the printer supports Bluetooth (nice printer for its time - lots of options).  You could try Bluetooth.  If your computer does not support Bluetooth, you could try a (purchased) Bluetooth dongle that plugs into your computer's USB port.  Will that work?  Unknown.  If you don't want to try it (for budget or any other reasons), ignore the suggestion!

The printer software, like the printer, is somewhat "vintage".  That means the software is as good as it is going to get - no more updates, upgrades, "new and improved" bits coming down the road.

If there is help for the constant wireless disconnection, the solution might be found here:

 Printer is Offline (Windows)

The User Guide includes "how to" and Troubleshooting help:

Chapter 2 - Network Setup - starting on Page 9

Chapter 5 - Network setup troubleshooting - starting on Page 92

Reference and Resources – Places to find help and learn about your Printer

Printer Homepage – “Things that are your printer”

Drivers / Software / Firmware Updates, Videos, Bulletins/Notices, How-to, Troubleshooting, User Guides, Product Information, more

HP Photosmart C7100 All-in-One Printer series

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

We are a world community of HP enthusiasts dedicated to supporting HP technology.

Click Thumbs Up on a post to say Thank You!

Answered? Click post "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.

[niloc]

Hi thanks for your detailed   reply,    yes I agree it is a "vintage " model  and still works  perfectly  apart from  the  issue I  posted about,  its only started doing this  in the last few weeks, so maybe  its getting old like me ,   I'll just have to  add  it    again prior to use  it's  no big deal only takes  a couple of minutes ,    cheers   

[niloc]

after following  all the relevant steps, I decided to do a complete    software and driver  installation  from the official  HP   download   after  getting (see attachment )      of the driver status, I had tried existing  and updated  driver after  adding my printer   again,  I'll see how it goes  next time I  boot up    

[Dragon-Fur]

@niloc

You are welcome.

Although we do get the occasional response, "I'm not doing that - I should not have to do that", removing and reinstalling the printer software is one of the "tried and true" methods to eliminate problems.  Easy and fast.

So, keep the printer as long as it serves.  "Old is good".  Smiling. 

Happy Printing.

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

We are a world community of HP enthusiasts dedicated to supporting HP technology.

[niloc]

Hi again,   I  have to  reinstall  the printer every time  I   want to print something  which is OK it only takes  a couple of minutes, but  I tried to scan  a couple of photographs   to my laptop  and I a getting the big question mark  and   its  telling me to refer to documentation to troubleshoot   and the same   when I try to scan to   an SD  memory card   in the past  it  wouldn't scan to  a couple of my cards   but  it did scan to  others  now it wont scan to any ?