HP8600 N911a fails to scan despite hours of troubleshooting, following suggestions at support sites

[wolfgal]

I have the exact issue suddenly (going on 3 days now) with printer as Nov 2015 issue listed:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printers-Archive-Read-Only/Unable-to-scan-with-HP8600-N911a-following-...

I have uninstalled HP software 5 times, reinstalled, followed all prompts. Checked IP and confirmed 5 times. Used Scan Doctor to troubleshoot - too many times to count. Used the built in scan app in HP assistant several times. Used the website for the printer (using IP address) to scan maybe 15 times (all failures). reset cable modem, router, 6 times. Turned off and unplugged printer as long as 12 hours, many times. WIA set to Automatic as directed by support sites.

I am just trying to place a book page on the flatbed and scan it to PDF or JPG, Nothing more elaborate, no ADP, no zoom or shrink, etc. Even scan from the touchscreen does not work.

Reason I bought this printer (and have loved it for 2-3 years) is for the scanning feature, which now seems to have died.

Only message I get is "Scan cencelled" (which I did not cancel) on the web pagae for printer, after 2-3 minutes of the scanner doing nothing after I click on "scan". No details. No error message.

All print jobs are fine, wired and wireless. This printer is wired (net) directly to cable modem/router, port #2. Two wirelsee channels, both work from iPad, Kindle, Lenova laptop, Android phone. Scanning worked at least last weekend. No Windows updates since then, no updates of any kind to my knowledge (I am the only user, home office, 1 employee - me) excpet all the uninstalls-installs-delete printer-add printer etc. in the last 2+ days.

Fingers crossed for your help - LBRT

[wolfgal]

PS: I realize I had these same issues back in 2013 - different desktop system, different Windows OS, different modem and router, etc. Weird that I am having the same trouble AGAIN. I am now on Lenovo - Intel Core i5-4590 CPU, 3.3 GHz, *Gb RAM, 64-b OS, Windows 7 Pro SP1.

[Jeet_singh · Accepted solution]

@wolfgal,

Thank you for showing your interest in HP Support Forums. It is a great place to find the help you need, from other users, HP experts, and other support personnel. I see from your post that you are having issues while scanning from your HP Printer. Don't worry we'll work together to help you find a solution.

To provide you with an accurate solution, I'll need a few more details:

Have you recently made any changes on the printer before the issue started?

Does that Scanner bulb light up?

Does the scanner bar move when you open the lid & press the copy button?

Have you checked if the unit can make a standalone copy? If ‘YES’ then it means the scan hardware of the All-in-One works fine.

Did you try to scan using HP Scan and capture App? If you haven't please click here for Instructions.

In the meantime, let's try the steps here: 

Perform a Hard reset on the printer and make sure that the printer is connected directly to the wall outlet and not to the surge protector.

With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.

Remove USB cable, if present.

Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.

Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord and then plug back the power cord to the printer.

Turn on the printer and wait till warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle.

Let’s first try and make a “photocopy” to determine whether the issue is with the printer or not. Place a document on the scanner glass and choose “Copy” option. If the printer is making a good copy, then the printer hardware is fine.

Next thing, I would also suggest here is to update the printer firmware. You can either do it directly from the printer control panel or you can download the printer firmware from our HP support website.

For more details, please go through this support link: HP Printers - Updating or Upgrading Printer Firmware

If the copy comes out fine, then the next step would be to do a clean install of the printer drivers. 

First, unplug the USB cable from the printer if present.

Go to Control panel – Programs and feature – Select all the HP OfficeJet printer entries and uninstall them.

Now go to Control panel – Devices and printer – Select all the printer entries and remove the device.

Press the "windows key" + "r" to get the "Run" window open - Type "printui.exe /s" (There is a space between .exe & /) and press enter.

Under print server properties, go to drivers - remove any entry there as well.

Again, go to the Run window, type – “c:/programdata” – Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files.

Restart your computer.

Now click on this link: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers (Please enter the product number and then select the Operating system and version of Windows before downloading and installing the printer software.

Connect the USB cable if prompted and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

I would suggest you use HP Scan and Capture application to scan using your Windows 10 system. HP Scan and Capture is a simple application that captures photos or documents from an HP scanning device or your computer's built-in camera.  These images can be previewed, edited, saved, and shared to other applications as well.

Go to this link to download and install the Windows Scan and Capture app.

Could you please respond to this post with the details and with the results of the troubleshooting as this will help me in further assisting you.

Eagerly waiting for your response!

that said, If the information I've provided was helpful, 

give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.

[wolfgal]

Thanks for your reply - here are answers one at a time to your questions:

1. Have you recently made any changes on the printer before the issue started?   NO

2. Does that Scanner bulb light up?  YES

3. Does the scanner bar move when you open the lid & press the copy button?  YES and it makes great copies still

4. Have you checked if the unit can make a standalone copy?  YES, including color

5. If ‘YES’ then it means the scan hardware of the All-in-One works fine.  I AM GUESSING the scanner cannot send info to the PC via the modem/router, but the PC CAN send data to the printer. And I beloieve thte printer/scanner is working OK, so I think it is something about how this modem/router allows the HP8600 to communicate via the #2 Enet port (2 ports built in, the other is corded to the PC).

6. Did you try to scan using HP Scan and capture App?  MANY times, on Fri, Sat, Sun, Today - after MANY unpluggings, and reboots, and waiting even overnite and pressing start without the printer plugged in to let excess static charge bleed out. I read dozens, maybe over a 100 pages of support articles.

7.  Perform a Hard reset on the printer and make sure that the printer is connected directly to the wall outlet and not to the surge protector.  I DID THIS on Fri, Sat, Sun, today - repeatedly

8. With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.  I DID THIS on Fri, Sat, Sun, today - repeatedly - same

9. Remove USB cable, if present.  NO USB - using Enet to go to modem/router

10. Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.  I DID THIS on Sat, Sun, today - repeatedly - waited 2-3 min 1st time, then 10-30 min, finally overnight between yesterday and today

11. Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord and then plug back the power cord to the printer.  DID THIS

12. Turn on the printer and wait till warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle.  DID THIS

13. Let’s first try and make a “photocopy” . . . DID THIS and I agree, the printer is making a good copy and printer hardware is fine.

 14. Next thing, I would also suggest here is to update the printer firmware.  DID THIS on Fri, Sat, and Sun

15. I DID GO to this link: HP Printers - Updating or Upgrading Printer Firmware

16.  Do a clean install of the printer drivers.   I DID THIS every day, sometimes 2-3 times as you specify below

. . . 

17. Delete all the HP OfficeJet printer entries and uninstall them.  in Control Panel -- I DID this

18. Press the "windows key" + "r" to get the "Run" window open - Type "printui.exe /s" (There is a space between .exe & /) and press enter. Under print server properties, go to drivers - remove any entry there as well.   I DID THIS

19. Again, go to the Run window, type – “c:/programdata” – Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files. I DID THIS

20. Restart your computer.  DID THIS every time

21. Now click on this link: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers (Please enter the product number and then select the Operating system and version of Windows before downloading and installing the printer software.  DID this every day, sometimes more than once

22. I would suggest you use HP Scan and Capture  - I DID _ I also used the webpage for the printer and the touchscreen on the printer - several times each. The printer will not send info thru the router to the PC.

I found one tiny workaround but it is cumbersome. I can scan a page on the flatbed and email it to myself using the touchscreen. I am used to using the ADF and creating PDFs and sending or archiving. I can get A PDF but it is time consuming. I do not understand why it just stopped communicating towards the PC thru the modem/router.

Another bit of info. We accepted a higher speed feed from Spectrum a month ago and this required a different modem. I had been using a modem with one Enet port for years.They sent a modem that was higher speed (ARRIS), same brand different model, but it would not communicate with my Trendnet router I had used for years. I read online, talked to Spectrum for almost two hours and worked on the issue. It also would not allow my telephone modem to communicate. I wound up buying my own modem/router (Netgear C3700) and after a couple of days and relocating the telephone modem and removing ghe Trendnet router, everything worked. I honestly cannot recall if I had cause to scan anything during that 8-12 days until this past Friday, when I tried to scan. I guess I had not used the scanner (except to copy) until then. 

I have Spectrum cable coming in the wall - to the Netgear modem/router. [BTW Netgear "service" or "support" is a total joke - they are NOT helpful at all, despite thte promise online and in ads of 90 free tech support.]  I have the desktop PC connected with Enet port #1. The HP 8600 N911a is connected via Enet port#2. I have an extender connected wirelessly in another part of the house. To that extender (with 4 Enet ports) is connected my telephone modem. To that modem is connected the telephone baseset using RJ-11, which has 3 handsets around the house.

I have checked and know that my iPad, Kindle Fire tablet, Nokia cellphone, and Lenovo laptop all communicate wirelessly through this new modem/router. I also have an Amazon Fire stick that connects wirelessly thru the new modem/router.

Seems to me the issue is that the modem/router is not allowing the printer to communicate out to the rest of the LAN. I also went into local services and checked 4 recommended items (one was Windows imaging something, can't remember the others - all are status "started" and automatic selected.

Thanks in advance for any assistance. Please pardon typos, I do not type.

LBRT

[Jeet_singh]

@wolfgal,

Thank you for replying,

After reviewing your post thoroughly, I see this could be an issue with the router/modem settings. 

I need to know the complete model name of your new router. Since this is a new router it could be possible that the wireless settings on the router are not compatible with the older model printer.  Also, please try these general steps which could help you with the issue:

1) Login to the router EWS page and change the wireless frequency to 802.11 b/g mode.

2) Change the channel on the router to 6 or 11.

Alternatively, I would suggest you contact the router manufacturer or your ISP for further assistance.

Please let me know how it goes for further assistance.

Eagerly waiting for your response!

Regards,

[wolfgal]

Thanks again for your suggestions. I broke down and hired someone to come take a look. I was not able to get the HP Scan to work all weekend - after several reboots, downloading new drivers and the rest - he got HP scan to work today. So now it is only the web browser interface (EWS) that fails to enable scanning functions from the HP 8600. It will start the scan but it stalls and fails to move and scan.

He is coming back - I will post more here when we are done.

I am not trying to access this scanner wirelessly - I am accessing thru the Enet port #2 on the Netgear  [C3700 Modem router 600].  When you say change the router channel, are you talking about the wireless? Or all of it?

LBRT

[Jeet_singh]

@wolfgal,

Thank you for replying,
Please take your time and get back to me with the results,
 
I'll be awaiting your response and would be glad to help.
 
Feel free to post your query for any other assistance as well,
It's been a pleasure interacting with you and I hope you have a good day ahead.
 
If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accepted Solution.
And click on the Purple Thumbs up icon at the bottom of my comment. 

Regards,

[wolfgal]

OK - here is where I seem forced to leave this issue. My hired tech did not look at settings for the #2 Enet port, which was connected to the HP 8600. Everything on my entire LAN was/is working as it did previously with the one exception: Scan no longer works from the EWS for the HP 8600. We did get the HP Scan app to work now - it was not working over the weekend.

I bought an Enet splitter and plugged it into Enet #1 on the cable modem/router. Now my desktop PC, the HP 8600, and my telephone modem (which I had moved into a different part of the house - inconvenient - along with the phone base station) are all plugged into this splitter. Only the splitter is plugged into the modem/router. All other WiFi items in the house are visible as wireless, all of that works fine. 

So it is the Scan feature on the HP EWS for this HP 8600 which fails. I have removed all previous versions of all HP software, verified this is the latest version I have installed and working. I cannot see any way to ID the version etc. of the EWS, but I assure you it is the one available thru the HP support website as late and Sunday 9-16.

Thanks for your advice. I will try to keep looking for the readon the EWS is no longer working for scan function, but I guess I can just use th HP Scan app for now.

LBRT

[DavidSMP]

@wolfgal,

I read your post again. Your efforts and time are greatly appreciated. As @Jeet_singh is out for the day, I am responding to the post. I am glad that HP scan and capture app works for you. For the EWS page, you may need to contact the router manufacturer as suggested in the previous post.

Thanks and have a great week ahead.

[wolfgal]

Thanks to you, David,  and Jeet - this forum is an excellent resource. I did try desperately to get someone to respond to me from Netgear, under my 90 da free support warranty - not easy to find anything other than FAQs on their site, the only phone # I could find led to someone who insisted I had to pay for a support contract.

Useless!

LBRT