Help Needed! - 1600n Firmware - Printer not working now

sfphilly838:

This is a good news/bad news scenario. The good news is that you might be able to save your 1600n...the bad news is that Dell Tech Support is useless when it comes to this product and they no longer have the release updates needed to downgrade the 1600n firmware...

A warning to anyone with a Dell MFP 1600n:

I've said this once and I'll say it again...

Dell has no idea what they are doing here because the printer is not their product - its a rebadged (or rebranded, if you like) Samsung product. I'm not sure which model, but you should be able to restore the network card functions by using these steps.

DO NOT INSTALL ANY UPDATES ABOVE R95523 unless your 1600n fails to complete network scans, and then YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK! I have had problems with every single update above R95524 (Dell Updates R109772, R113887, R119214, and R122231 have broken my Dell 1600n and Dell Tech Support is useless...)

Having said that..use this information at your own risk:

1. Since you were using a USB connection to flash the firmware...you will need to connect to your printer using a USB cable and install the print software for use via a USB port (local installation option).

2. Flash NIC firmware version 1.08 (Dell Update R89344). This should restore your ability to see the NIC settings in the 1600n menu.

3. If you try to flash Print Server firmware version 1.18 (Dell Update R89352), you should regain network scan functions. Make sure you check the NIC functions before you upgrade the Print Server firmware.

4. You need to flash the NIC firmware to version 1.11 (Dell Update R95523) and Print Server firmware version 1.22 (Dell Update R95523) to have stable network scan functions. I highly recommend that YOU STOP HERE if your printer is operating correctly after you complete the upgrades. You could run Dell Update 95524 if you want to upgrade the printer driver and other 1600n software, but I do not recommend you do this, because it may cause the network scan utility to be uninstalled and disappear from your program menu.

If your printer works properly...STOP HERE. DO NOT use any firmware "upgrades" released after R95524 unless you just like causing yourself headaches.

By the way, if you do not have the Dell Updates available, send me an email using the forum tools and I'll help you any way I can. I have archived most of the updates in their original form.

Let me know if this helps...

I have resigned to the fact that I have fried my 1600n printer.

I got a quote to renew my service and it costs $270 for 3 years. Now I am at the point of considering renewing versus just buying a new printer such as the 1815dn multifunction printer.

Any thoughts on a new multifunction printer? versus renewing service for my existing 1600n printer.

I'm bummed that my printer was messed up with the firmware upgrade - I would not recommend it to anyone (it will turn out to be a ~$300 mistake!)

After this firmware upgrade fiasco thanks to Dell's defective firmware upgrade file, I will never buy a Dell computer or printer. I'm now researching the HP printers.

First...let me apologize to everyone requesting help from me for the past two weeks. I started a new job and have been very busy.

sfphilly:

If you connect a USB cable to the 1600n and are using a USB hub to connect to your PC or laptop, there is a chance that the USB hub does not apply power to the ports (without getting into a long winded explanation, suffice it to say that this can cause some devices not to be detected - especially battery operated devices such as iPods and Palm Pilots).

Plug the USB cable directly into the PC or laptop BEFORE you run the install program. The setup routine will look to see if the 1600n is detected via USB and if it is you will see an option for "Local Installation". If you do not see this, post again and I will help you further.

Hi syscorpdev -

Thanks for the response - I hope your new job is going well.

I connected the usb cable from my laptop directly to the printer and the ran the install program. The options that I see are "Personal Installation" & "Network Installation."

When I choose the "Personal Installation" option - I get a message that "No Printer Found"

1) Checked the cables
2) Power the printer on/off
3) Power the laptop on/off

Any other ideas?

I need two pieces of information so that I can help you further:

1. What operating system are you running?

2. What kind of laptop?

Some laptops require that you enable USB support in the BIOS...if I can figure out the hardware specifics, we can narrow down what to do next...

I'm checking the posts on a regular basis today, so I should be able to respond pretty quickly.

Syscorpdev,

I am also interested in seeing if I can fix my printer too. My printer was connected by both USB (for the scan function) and through a network address. When I executed the firmware file, it got hung up a third of the way through. The display on my printer was showing a message that said something like "Printer upgrading...please wait." Like sfphilly, it kept saying that for hours with no change. With the firmware execution software looking like it got hung up, I turned the printer off and back on. At that point, the printer appeared dead, (i.e., none of the display buttons light up), but it is clear that the scanner portion is powered up, so it's not a power problem.

I know the USB ports on my laptop to which the printer is connected (through a docking station) are active and functional because I tested them with other USB-dependent devices.

Thanks.

I'm using a thinkpad t42 running windows XP.

I think my printer is in a similiar situation but not total dead.

After I upgraded to firmware R122231, it no longer sees my network scanner. Netscan says scanner not found with auto or static IP. Network printing works fine but somehow this has up the scanner. The firmware upgrade is the only thing I can think of that was changed that may have caused this.

It was working before the upgrade and I thought it can't hurt upgrading. Boy was this a painful lesson for me not to mess w/ anything not broken!!

The firmware upgrade went smoothly and didn't hang. I've spent hours on this and driving me crazy. The whole point for the MFP is the network scanner.

Any ideas?

Message Edited by stuckon1600 on 01-29-200701:38 AM