Printer not responding.

[Dendo747]

Dear All,

My HP Deskjet 5940 suddenly switched itself to stand by/off.  Now it will not respond to any print jobs sent in the print queue.  The on/off switch flashes green but will only go to full green when the orange RESUME button is held down as well. There is no movement from the ink carriage as well and no sound from the printer engaging. If the on/off switch is held down with the CANCEL button the on/off switch fails to come on but a steady orange light appears on in the ink illumination panel for the black ink cartridge, however the expiry date on that cartridge is 07/2018 and was installed recently.  The printer it appears has just locked up.  Is there a sequence of buttons to press to make it work again?

 Two weeks ago it was working fine, now this.  Can someone please help me out?

Here's hoping,

Dendo747

[DavidSMP · Accepted solution]

Hi @Dendo747,

Good Day.  Thank you for posting your query in the HP community.  I read the post regarding issues with the printer not working. I will be delighted to assist you here. 🙂

Superb description and commendable diagnosis of the issue before posting. Kudos to you for that. 🙂

For better clarity and to assist you better I would require more information regarding this:

• Did this happen after a power outage or surge?
• Did you hard reset the printer?

For now please try a hard reset on the printer

Step 1: Reset the printer

• Turn on the printer.
• Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.
• Disconnect the USB cable from the rear of the printer. If your printer has a network or wireless connection, leave it connected.
• Remove the ink cartridges from the printer.
• With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and from the wall outlet or power strip.
• Wait at least 60 seconds.
• Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet.
• NOTE:
• HP recommends connecting the printer power cord directly to a wall outlet.
• Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.
• Turn on the printer, if it does not automatically turn on.
• The printer might go through a warm-up period. The printer lights might flash, and the carriage might move.
• Wait until the warm-up period finishes and your printer is idle and silent before you proceed.
• Reinsert the ink cartridges, and then close the ink cartridge access door.
• If you receive a prompt to print a calibration page, do so.
• If you disconnected the USB cable, reconnect it to the rear of the printer.
• Try to print.

If the issue does not get resolved, then the printer has a hardware issue and needs to be replaced or upgraded by contacting HP phone support.

HP Technical Support can be reached by clicking on the following link: http://hp.care/2r9wSvP

• Once the support page opens please select the country in which you're located. Next, enter your HP model number on the right.
• Next, choose the 'Contact Support' tab at the top and scroll down to the bottom of the 'HP Support- Contact' page to fill out the form provided with your contact information.
• Once completed click the 'Show Options' icon on the bottom right.
• Lastly, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select 'Get phone number.' A case number and phone number will now populate for you.

They will be happy to assist you immediately.

If the unit is under warranty, the manufacturer’s warranty should take care of it for you.

Please perform all these steps patiently as it is critical to resolving the issue. The trick is to remain patient, Going by your technical expertise and competence I am sure you will be able to perform these steps without breaking a sweat. 🙂

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes. To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a blessed week ahead. 🙂

Cheers!

[Dendo747]

Hi DavidSMP,

I've followed your instructions to the letter, even connecting the printer to another computer, a PC this time, but the same problem remains. Personally, I believe the HP Deskjet 5940 made in 2006 has reached the end of its useful life.  It would be too costly to repair for something that's 11 years old and deleted from the HP Customer Support website.

Please accept my deepest gratitude in the way you assisted me, top notch service,  It was extremely good of you to go to such lengths to sort out my problem.  Its a hardware problem printer that's finally given up the ghost.

I enjoyed its operational workmanship when in use but feel it's time to replace it. If it was a power outage no other equipment was affected at that time. A mystery.

Thanks again, DavidSMP.  Have a nice weekend.

You've earned it. Goodbye until who knows when.

Dendo747

[DavidSMP]

Hi @Dendo747,

I thank you greatly for your quick response.  You've  displayed terrific patience, excellent technical skills and great passion to get the issue resolved.  We have worked as a team to diagnose the issue perfectly to being hardware related. Kudos to you for a job well done. 🙂

I have done all I can to assist you by keeping your best interest in mind. It has been an absolute privilege to share this platform with you and a fabulous experience. I honestly hope a new product works great and stays healthy for a long time. To order a new printer if you decide to then please contact HP shopping via this link: http://store.hp.com  and follow the on-screen instructions to buy a replacement. It will give you a year's warranty for hardware and peace of mind. It looks like you've marked your own post as an accepted solution.

If you think my post helped, to simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a fabulous year ahead and stay healthy. 🙂

Cheers!

[Dendo747]

Hi DavidSMP,

What follows is almost unbelieveable. Realising my old HP Deskjet 5940 Printer had a hardware problem, too difficult and expensive to repair, I looked at auction sites to see if a previously owned one in working order was available. To my good fortune I found one and bid with the resulting success of not only paying 99 pence for it but the seller lived in the next road to me. How uncanny is that?  Having gone through the printer setup process from the beginning with this newly acquired HP Deskjet 5940 Printer, plus using my existing ink cartridges, the printer works like a dream even with no software installation disk. I feel blessed beyond belief.  My only problem is I haven't found a way of printing a Test Page, but then again everything else is printable.  Thank you for your kind assistance. I wouldn't have thought of myself  as being that lucky, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I'm well chuffed.  I would appreciate your comments, David, as this is rather extraordinary.  How do you see it?  Thanks again.

Dendo747

[Dendo747]

Hi DavidSMP,

As I have a PC Emulator facility installed on my iMac G5, Windows operating system XP SP2, I used the Test Page for the PC Emulator to see if it would print correctly.  Lo and Behold the Test Page for Windows XP printed perfectly.

On leaving the HP Deskjet 5940 set to the Apple Mac side of the computer, the printer began flashing green on/off and printed a Test Page for the iMac all by itself successfully.  This must go to show that everything is working correctly and all my efforts to print have been rewarded.

I am one highly satisfied HP customer who's patience, tenacity, and perseverance has paid off.  I look forward to many a happy printing experience to come knowing what I know now.

This achievement has only occured by your experience and knowhow plus a huge amount of good will and luck.

I am overjoyed with the outcome and wanted to share my good fortune with you.  I consider the problem solved.

 Many thanks DavidSMP you have been of great help.  Have a nice Sunday.

Dendo 747

[DavidSMP]

Hi @Dendo747,

It has been a fabulous experience working with you. 🙂 I thank you greatly for accepting this as a solution. 🙂 You've been simply amazing with your technical expertise and thanks again for giving me the privilege to share this platform with you. 🙂

I hope the unit works great and stays healthy for a long time. 🙂

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help.

Please take care, stay healthy, keep smiling big and do have a blessed year ahead. 🙂