HP Solution Center does not work

[StefanoJ87]

Thanks Wstack for the provided solution...I went all the way through the steps you suggested but had to stop at #6...can you (or anyone else for that matter) tell me in simple terms how to create a shortcut using the command line? Did you use a specific software/tool? Thanks a lot!!!

[critterskcb]

@Wstack 's solution worked for me.  Thank you so much!!!!  It's nice to have the software operating normally.  

One question I still have.  When I put a piece of paper in the scanner feeder, it automatically runs hpqdirec.exe, which tries to start the HP Solution Center, which puts up the Flash error screen.  I can't seem to find where I can change it so it runs the hpqkygrp.exe with the appropriate parameters.  (I tried renaming a copy of hpqkygrp.exe to hpqdirec.exe, but it didn't work because it needs the parameters).

[critterskcb]

StefanoJ87 - I didn't use the Command Line. 

1. I just went to my desktop and right-clicked on an empty area.  Choose option NEW and then SHORTCUT..

The location is where the hpqkygrp is.  (For me, it's C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqkygrp.exe).. 

2.  Provide a name for your shortcut, then save it. 

3.  You will need to highlight the shortcut you just created, right click it, then select PROPERTIES.  You will need to enter the Command Line, which contains the Parameters that will be passed to the program in order for it to execute.  (For me, it's "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqkygrp.exe"  -n"#Hewlett-Packard#HP Photosmart Prem C410 series#1610587255" -aSCAN -fSCAN_DOCUMENT  .  You will need to change the type of printer and # to match your own).. 

4.  Then, save it.  When you double click your new shortcut, it should open successfully.

Hope this helps

[skind56]

hi StefanoJ87, what OS are you on? Oh, I see you’ve had a reply already. 

[StefanoJ87]

This definitely helped!! Thanks a lot, problem solved! 

[BEKanak]

This is great! Thanks so much. - Clear and thorough

[haitch_pee]

Perfect solution by Wstack.

Note that not all steps need to be followed. Summarizing Wstack's steps to the minimum:

1) Go to "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqkygrp.exe", right-click it and make a shortcut to the desktop or Start Menu.

2) Run regedit.exe and find the value of SoftwareCUEContextID of your printer (eg. #Hewlett-Packard#HP Officejet 7300 series#1610495093 ) in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\{Your Printer Name}\PrinterDriverData\SoftwareCUEContextID

3) Right-click your new hpqkygrp.exe shortcut, select Properties, and in the Shortcut tab change the Target value to: "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqkygrp.exe" -n"[YOUR_SoftwareCUEContextID_VALUE]" -aSCAN -fSCAN_DOCUMENT

Make sure to replace [YOUR_SoftwareCUEContextID_VALUE] with your actual value, eg. #Hewlett-Packard#HP Officejet 7300 series#1610495093

And that's it! Just launch the scanner software with your shortcut and it should work again.

[babalouis]

Awesome piece of sleuthing.  

This works most elegantly.  I put this shortcut on my desktop to replace the HP Solution Center.

You get the blue ribbon.

[CQZ]

Following up on the excellent work by Wstack to track down the command to directly run the Solution Center scan software, I figured out the command to directly run the Solution Center printer toolbox software, too (described below).

But first, just a reminder that many HP wireless printers provide a web interface that can be accessed by browsing to the printer's IP address (for example, http://192.168.1.152/).  Using the web interface on my printer, I can:

• See the printer's status, including ink levels.
• See and make changes to the printer's network configuration and run a network test.
• Align and clean the printheads.
• Do basic scans and save them to my computer.

If that covers your needs, you don't need to bother with the following or any other workarounds for the loss of Solution Center.  But if you need more than that, continue reading.

Here is what I did on my system to bypass the initial screens of Solution Center that use Flash and restore access to Solution Center's printer toolbox and scan software:

1. Used regedit to get my printer or printer series name under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers

     In my case, it was "HP Photosmart C4700 series".

2. Used regedit to get the value of:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\HP Photosmart C4700 series\PrinterDriverData\SoftwareCUEContextID

     In my case, it was "#Hewlett-Packard#HP Photosmart C4700 series#1611175081".

3. Searched for the path to files "hpqtbx01.exe" and "hpqkygrp.exe".

      In my case, it was "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin".

4. Added a Start Menu shortcut for the printer toolbox:

Shortcut name: HP Printer Toolbox

Target: "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqtbx01.exe" "HP Photosmart C4700 series"

Start in: "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin"

5. Added Start Menu shortcuts for the scan software:

Shortcut name: HP Scan Document

Target: "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqkygrp.exe" -n"#Hewlett-Packard#HP Photosmart C4700 series#1611175081" -aSCAN -fSCAN_DOCUMENT

Start in: "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin"

Shortcut name: HP Scan Picture

Target: "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqkygrp.exe" -n"#Hewlett-Packard#HP Photosmart C4700 series#1611175081" -aSCAN -fSCAN_PICTURE

Start in: "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin"

Per Wstack's detective work, you could also, presumably, add a shortcut to scan film negatives and slides with a Transparent Materials Adapter by changing the "-f" option to "-fSCAN_TMA".

Again, many thanks to Wstack for posting the scan software information originally.

[Aardvark21]

Wstack, can you help, I have managed to follow your instructions, but I keep getting a path invalid message when attempting to create the short cut, have checked that the path does indeed exist, as verified by Sys Internals?