Scanning stops in the middle of a scan

[teemacs]

Usually my printer scans well enough. However, if I have a big document, the scanning will suddenly stop and up comes a notice telling me that there has been a communication breakdown between computer and printer. I've done all the usual things - turned off and unplugged the printer, restarted the computer, let the HP Scan and Print Doctor loose on it, all to no avail.  Very irritating.

P.S. Even more irritating - when I try to update the software, it tells me that there's no connection to the printer - even when there is and I can print! The temptation to throw it out the window is becoming overwhelming...

[E-roq]

Hey @teemacs, 

Welcome to the HP Support Forum. :robothappy:

I see that you're having some scanning and printer-to-PC communication issues when using your HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One Printer - A909a. I would like to assist you with this. 

I recommend you try the following steps: 

Clear Temp Files

1. Open your Start menu and in the 'search programs and files' box type %temp% and hit enter.
2. When the Temp folder opens select Ctrl + A at the same time on your keyboard
3. Once everything is highlighted in the Temp folder select 'Delete' on your keyboard to delete the files within the Temp folder. No files and folders on your actual computer will be removed. This will only delete Temporary files. If a file is still be used by a program on your computer you will get the pop up to 'skip' the item.
4. Once the Temp files are deleted close the window
5. On your Desktop, right click on the Recycling Bin and select Empty Recycling Bin.

Next, click here and follow the steps under the 'Solution Four' heading to set a Static IP address for your printer. Ideally this will help prevent future communication issues and ensure you maintain a consistent wireless connection. 

Please let me know the result of your troubleshooting by responding to this post. If I have helped you resolve the issue, feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below and clicking to accept this solution.

Thank you for posting in the HP Support Forum. Have a great day!

[teemacs]

Thank you, I'll try that tomorrow. 

P.S. It's a wired USB connection, not a wireless one.

[teemacs]

As mentioned, I don't have a wireless connection, so Solution 4 doesn't apply. However, I did get rid of a monumental amount of garbage! As to whether it works I can't say until I try a really big scan and see whether the thing falls in a heap again. I shall report back when I do that.

Many thanks for your time and trouble.

P.S. No, sorry, it didn't work. I tried a large scan and it failed in the middle of it. 

A thought comes to mind (they do occasionally). I'm in Switzerland. I use English as a working language on the computer and for the printer, but the HP Solution Center insists on being in German. I've tried every trick in the book (including deleting it and downloading it new from HP (UK)), but it always comes out German. Now I always presumed that the language was just a different label for the same coding, but might it make a difference? And if so, is there a way to get around the determination of my computer (HP Compaq Elite 8300) to speak German - it's happy with English in everything else?

[E-roq]

Hi @teemacs, 

Thanks for getting back to me. 

It's odd that a usb connection setup's resulting in a communication error when scanning. Usually that's a wireless networking issue. Have you tried a different usb port?

How large is the scan job? Just out of curiosity, at what point in the scan does the failure happen, i.e.- how many pages in?

I'm assuming you're scanning via the Solution Center. Since that uses WIA (Windows Image Acquisition Service) to scan, I would you like to try scanning in a different fashion to see if that yields a better result. Try scanning via Microsoft Paint and/or Windows Fax and Scan. If you're not sure how, click here for instructions. Did these alternative methods produce the same error? 

I would love to address your question about the computer's language but I am not skilled in that area of support. Your question regarding the HP Compaq Elite 8300's language settings is perfect for this branch of the Forum. 

Have a great weekend, 

[teemacs]

Hello again, E-roq, many thanks for your thoughts. Generally the problem occurs at around the 20-30 page mark, but I have known it to happen right at the beginning!

Correct, I'm using the Solution Center. I confess that, as a complete computer ignoramus whose knowledge of such matters extends to being able to turn the thing on and off unaided (well, nearly), I never knew there was an alternative method of scanning. I shall try this and report back.

I do have this vague suspicion that the language difference is at least partially responsible for my problem. I have already posed the question separately on this forum - I notice that problems with "die Computersprache stimmt nicht mit der auf dem Computereingestellten Sprache überein" are mentioned on HP's German website forum, but so far I've seen nothing there that has helped. 

Thanks again and best regards.

[teemacs]

So, I tried both solutions (many thanks, had no idea that either function even existed!). Both looked promising and initial tests with a few pages worked well. So then I tried a serious slab of paper. Windows Fax and Scan lasted about 15 pages before falling in a heap and thereafter refusing to speak to me or have anything to do with me. And Paint wouldn't even start after that, apparently a sort of strike in sympathy, probably singing a little song like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABy_06p4bFI

So I restarted the printer, I pressed the little knob here, the paper went round and round, oh-oh oh oh oh oh, and it fell in a heap again after only 6 pages. Saith Windows Lax and Ban:

"A problem prevented the document from being scanned. Please try again, or for troubleshooting information, see Help and Support or the information that came with the scanner".

So, it appears that HP Solution Center is actually the least worst. Hi, ho...

[E-roq]

Great use of prog rock by the way! Very apropos for this issue. 

I almost forgot that there's one other way you can scan to PC. Try installing the HP Scan and Capture app for Windows.  If this approach results in the same error I'll be inclined to believe that your printer has a limit on how much it can scan. I did see a few mentions of 'memory limitation' in the manual in regards to faxing (which uses the scanner). They didn't put an exact number on the page limit, but the limitation was alluded to. 

At any rate, let me know if this app provides a different result. 

Good luck, 

[teemacs]

Thank you again, E-roq, I shall certainly give it a try. The German HP guy sort-of insinuated that my printer came out of the Ark and that Moses might even have used the very one to duplicate the Ten Commandments, when he bust the first lot. This apparently limits what HP can do with the thing. Well, it ain't broke (or only slightly) so I haven't really got around to fixing it.

Prog rock, is that what it is? I always thought of it as a particularly catchy tune that betrays my extreme antiquity...

[teemacs · Accepted solution]

OK, it appears we are in business. HP Deutschland came back to me and suggested that the problem might be communications - was my USB connection via a superspeed USB? If this were the case (and indeed it was), my antique printer, designed to cope with digital technology no further advanced than smoke signals, might not be able to cope with such a USB port. Could I try a non-SS USB? I did - and it appeared to work. He also suggested that these printers were really designed to scan around 50 pages at a time, and that I should limit myself to that.

So, when we were all set up, being the raving sadist that I am, I grabbed an enormous wad of paper and fed it through the scanner. It turned out to be 79 pages - and it worked flawlessly. Now whether we continue in this state of joyous scarmony remains to be seen, but for the moment we're fine.

By the way, your suggested app requires Windows 10, and I'm not ready to go there yet with my main computer. I want to try it out on the laptop first.

Best regards, and thanks again