HP Officejet 4500 Desktop will not connect properly

[Nicole-Brooke]

I have a HP Officejet 4500 Desktop.  I just finished everything with the C.D. that came with it.  I then put in the USB cord and it says it is not hooked up.  Please help me.

[mc-713]

Let me have some more information and we'll see if we can do anything:

What operating system are you using?

Has the printer been installed on this computer before?

Has any other printer been installed on this computer before? If so, what was it?

Do you have any other usb devices connected - keyboard/mouse, external hard drive?

Have you tried a different usb cable?

[goal13keep]

I'm having the same issue. Just got a new Windows 8 computer. Trying to install my Officejet 4500 G510 on it. I downloaded the Windows 8 drivers/install package, as the CD that came w/ the printer was not compatible w/ my new OS. Everything goes fine until I connect the printer w/ my computer via USB cable. There is an audible sound acknowledging the connection, but the install wizard (if that's what you call it) never recognizes the connection. The "next" button stays disabled. I have used other USB devices in the slots and they have worked. I've tried rebooting the printer. I've tried w/ the printer's wireless on and off. I'm out of ideas and getting frustrated.

[VisionAiry]

If you are having problems getting Windows 8 to register the USB connection, have you tried a different cord? If that doesn't help, this document has steps on what to do in Windows 8 to fix this in the device manager:

--Device Setup Failed to Complete--

Let me know if this helps!

[goal13keep]

I finally got everything to install, but now the printer will not work wirelessly with my computer. The cord HAS to be connected for the scanner to work. The printer works wirelessly, but not the scanner. I was wondering why I wasn't given an option for wireless connection during setup....will this function never be compatible?

[VisionAiry]

I am glad to hear it is installed now but you say it never asked if you wanted to connect the printer using any other means but USB?  Is this the Officejet 4500 G510a Desktop?  That one does not have a wireless function or an Ethernet port on the back which makes USB the only installation option.  Did you ever have this printer setup on your wireless network before?

I will post a picture of the printer's connectivity specifications for verification.

[VisionAiry]

This image should help clear up some confusion:

[goal13keep]

It is a g510n-z. Yes, on my previous computer it was connected and worked wirelessly (print and scan). Right now, only the printer is working wirelessly on Windows 8. The scanner only works when the printer is connected to the computer via USB.

[VisionAiry · Accepted solution]

I really did a lot of research here to figure out the easiest course of action to take next.  In Windows 7, the start menu options to turn the USB connection into a wireless one is easy to find. In Windows 8,  it is quite difficult to find.  If this doesn't work, you may have better luck uninstalling and re-installing the printer if you did not get any options to scan.  Here is my suggestion:

1. First, try to scan using HP Solution Center.  You may have two printer's icons on the left hand side of Solution Center.  Ensure the right one is selected and try to scan.  When that fails, record the error message here for me please.

2. Next, to get to the setup menu, hold down the Windows key and the letter R to get the run screen to pop-up.

3.  Type in %programdata% and in this folder click on Microsoft>>Windows>>Start Menu>>Programs>>HP.  In here, do you see "Add a printer" or "Configure wireless?"  This is how you get to the second part of the installation to receive the prompt to add a wireless printer.

Again, if you do not see this or are having a hard time finding this, you may have to uninstall the printer and restart it to see if it brings up more setup options.  If you don't care about having multiple copies of the same printer, you could see if installing the Full Feature Software and Drivers (link is for Windows 8 64-bit U.S.) without uninstalling the printer first will also bring up the options you seek to connect a wireless printer.  I hope this helps.  Check out all of my links for more information about that topic.

[goal13keep]

I completed steps 2 and 3 as you outlined below and subsequently followed the prompts. Yay! My printer/scanner does seem to be working properly over the wireless internet connection now! Thank you so much...I'm so glad I don't have to buy a new printer! I've already had to buy a bunch of new things for compatibility with Windows 8.