Software for discontinued HP printer F2180

[colin4228]

(

This is a repeat post. I made the post 21/2 and received an e-mail confirmation but can not find it on the Forum.) 

I have a F2180 deskjet running under Win XP 32 bit. All aspects of printer are working fine - printer, copier, scanner so I assume that the drivers are all OK.

However the computer (a HP Pavillion Entertainment) does not appear to have the printer diagnostic and servicing software loaded. In the F2180 printer handbook this is referred to as "HP Solution Centre". Amongst other things I wanted to be able to check my ink levels.

There is no disc with the printer. When I tried to get assistance from the official HP website I got taken round and round in circles only to find that HP no longer support the F2180 and that they no longer make available the software for it - not even as legacy software. An internet search with Google also yielded no useful result. Several sites I judged to be "dodgy" because they described their downloads as free (and they were not) and/or because they tried to get me to download and install unrelated junk while asking me to accept that tool bars and browser home pages etc. would be altered on my PC.

So my questions please are :-

1. What is the name of the software I require and
2. Whence can I reliably download it from a non-dodgy site (as HP would have offered were they still to support F2180)

I suppose an ideal solution for me would be to be able to download the full disc which would have,  I assume, come with the printer when new.

All suggestions will be most gratefully received

colin4228

[REO51ST]

@colin4228

HP Deskjet F2100 and F4100 Full Feature Software and Driver

http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/swdetails/HP-Deskjet-F2100-All-in-One-Printer-series...

You can find more here.

http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/HP-Deskjet-F2100-All-in-One-Printer-series/3177559/m...

REO

[Dragon-Fur]

@colin4228

Printer is still around!  Yay!

Printer Website Support Driver Support Page:

HP Deskjet F2180 All-in-One Printer

Driver  / Full Feature Software installation package:  Windows XP through Windows 7

DJ_AIO_NonNetwork_ENU_NB.exe

(162.9 MB)

Driver Page for Windows XP - Windows 7 Full Feature Software:

XP - Win 7 - HP Deskjet F2100 and F4100 Full Feature Software and Driver

Recommend that you download and save:

User Guide

Please download and save documents from the How-to and Troubleshooting sections that are of interest.  Good to have in the event you still have the printer and it is "retired".

In general, the Full Feature Software (formally Solution Center) provides the various utilities that the printer needs.

If you do get into trouble, you can (at that time) download and run the latest copy of the Doctor.

• HP Print and Scan Doctor – Help Resolve Printer Issues

FOR LATER

If you expect to keep the printer - you might want to download and save this driver for newer versions of Windows:

Driver / Full Feature Software installation package:  Windows 8 - Windows 10

DJ_AIO_NonNet_Full_Win_WW_140_404-4.exe

(219.0 MB)

Full Feature Software Page - Windows 8 through Windows 10

Win 8 - Win 10 - HP Deskjet F2100/F4100 All-in-One Printer series Full Feature Software and Driver

Click the Thumbs Up to say Thanks!

Click Post that answers your question "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.

[colin4228]

See reply below to Dragon Fur

Colin4228

[colin4228]

REO51ST and Dragon Fur'

Many thanks for such rapid replies. Have downloaded the software. I can't imagine why I could not find this at the formal HP support site.

Using this software, I first uninstalled all previous drivers/HP Printer software then after a re-start installed this software starting with printer disconnected and re-connecting it when asked by the software. That all went fine except that at the very end of the process it hung up at 96% complete. After a second PC re-start printer was working apparently OK as printer and scanner.

However I still can not find the printer tools from which the ink levels can be checked. These should be available from the printer properties dialogue / advanced and under one of the tags. As far as I can see the tools are not showing as available.

Dragon Fur : I am taking your good advice and downloading the drivers for the later Windows species.

Regards and thanks,

colin4228

[Dragon-Fur · Accepted solution]

@colin4228

You are welcome.

I must defer to @REO51ST (or another Expert) about any issues with installations -- I do remember XP (I remember Windows 3.1) -- I have not seen or been close to XP for a long time.  Smiling.

If the tools are not in the printer software, frankly, I don't know where they would be in that setup.

In "modern" print sofware, the Printer Assistant (formally Solution Center) shortcut icon on the Desktop (named for the printer) provides access to the Printer Utilities.

Frankly useless, right?

Rats.  I was so proud to have found the software, too.  Smiling.

@REO51ST - any help for old Printer software F2180?

NOTE:  If you do get excited and decide to purchase a shiny new HP printer, be aware that many of the latest and best printers may not support XP.  Read the box Plus find and read the datasheet and Specifications for the printer before you buy it.  (Box might lie to you.)

Good Luck!

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

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

[colin4228]

To Dragon Fur and RE051ST

I must mark this post as resolved thanks to your having pointed me to sources of the full software.

Problems remain but these would best be made subject of a new post. I still can not find the tools and need these in order to be able to check ink levels. Ongoing problems are :

1.  The Solution Centre simply reports "No HP Devices detected" and closes. I tried to solve this without success. It seems to be a problem extensively encountered by lots of users and that there is no basic fix for what would appear to be a simple issue. Why would HP software not detect a properly freshly installed HP printer? Many threads I encountered reported that people had contacted HP for assistance and received a less than helpful or constructive response - which surprised me.

2.  The Print and Scan Doctor recognises the printer but then hangs up half way through the "Communicating with selected product" screen and does not give any error message.

After trying all of which I am capable it seems that I must accept that for whatever reason I can not check my ink levels.

Edit : Eureka, I subsequently found the Toolbox from the installed driver/software. See my further post below.

colin4228

[Dragon-Fur]

@colin4228

There are two methods to check on the Ink levels - software and printer panel:

1. Software
2. Printer Panel (model dependent)

From the document collection in the How-To category for your printer:

Checking Ink or Toner Levels

Section:  Check from the printer control panel menu

  If you have been using the same USB cable for the printer for a while, consider replacing the USB printer cable that connects the printer and the computer.  Although not as likely as other causes, the Cable may be related to your difficulties.

Commentary

XP notwithstanding, if the Printer will no longer provide the information you seek, it might be time to upgrade your Printer to a newer model.  

IMPORTANT Caveat:  New printers likely do NOT provide Driver support for XP.  Read the Datasheet for the printer model BEFORE purchase. 

If your situation supports the idea:  It is perhaps time to plan the budget for a newer computer that runs a newer Operating System.

Why?  Things are only getting worse for XP -- no support, no updates, not always as much help available to resolve problems that are encountered. 

Regardless, I do hope you can continue as you wish.  Speaking from a personal perspective, there is nothing wrong with "Vintage".  Smiling.

Good Luck.

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

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

[colin4228]

I share your view of older op. systems etc. If it aint broke don't fix it. I still use Win 98SE for most writing of programs in Visual Basic! It does the job and is free no matter how many PC's one wants to load with it.

I have at last found the F2180 toolbox and ink level check facility !  It was somewhat hidden away and none of the handbooks/manuals explained how or where exactly to find it.

Whereas I have closed this post, I am including below the procedure in case it should prove of use to other Forum users.

HP Deskjet F2180 printer ink cartridge checking.

How to check ink levels (and test/clean print heads)

These notes refer to a HP Deskjet F2180 operating under Win XP 32 bit.

They may be of use with other HP printers and/or other Win operating systems.

1. Open the Control Panel
2. Double click Printers and faxes.
3. Double click icon of the HP printer.
4. At top left click Printer. A drop down list appears.
5. In list, click Printing Preferences.
6. At page which opens click to select the Features tab.
7. At next page click Printer Services box (bottom right)
8. This opens the Toolbox.

The Toolbox has two tabs.:-

Design Services which allows ink cartridge alignment, cleaning and printing of a Test Page and

Estimated Ink Levels which displays graphically the black and colour ink levels.

Note: Cartridges other than genuine HP products may not report their ink levels correctly, or at all

Regards,

Colin4228