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olarte56

12 Posts

41247

November 19th, 2012 14:00

Printer not communicating with laptop computer dell XPS L502x

I have a dell 966 printer. 

Sometime ago, when i send something to print from office or any other program, it tells me that there is no communication with the printer. I uninstalled the printer and, using the dell disk, I installed it all over again. it worked fine for a while but it has started to happen again. I uninstalled it again, installed it again but this time it continued to show the same error (printer not communicating). The strange thing is that when i install the drivers again IT PRINTS the sample page but when I send something from word, for example, or a PDF it tells me there is no communication.

Can someone help me - i've installed and unistalled the software several times. I have even done it from the DELL site with no results.

Thankx

DELL-Nikhil D1

4 Operator

 • 

2.6K Posts

November 19th, 2012 14:00

Hi olarte56,

I must appreciate the ease with which you are handling this technical issue on your computer.

There are a set of Services which has to be started. These are required by the printer to scan and print the documents from the computer.

Please perform the steps below and ensure that the services required are started:

  • Press the “Windows + R” to launch the run window.
  • Type “Services.msc” in the run window and hit the Enter key.

Right click each service mentioned below, click properties. Set the startup type as “Automatic” from the drop down menu and click “Start”. Please click “Apply” to save the changes.

The services to be enabled are:

  • Human Interface Devices (HID).
  • Printer Spooler.
  • RPC (Remote Procedure Call).
  • RPC Locator (Remote Procedure Call Locator).
  • Windows image acquisition (WIA).
  • Windows Installer.

After starting the services, restart the computer and try to print from the computer. If the problem still persists uninstall the printer drivers from the computer.

 Follow the steps to uninstall the printer drivers from the computer:

  1. Click “Start”.
  2. Select “Control Panel”.
  3. Select “Add or Remove Program” (for windows xp operating system).
  4. Select the printer model Dell 966 and uninstall it
  5. Restart the computer for saving the changes.

These steps will uninstall the printer drivers.

Insert the printer driver’s cd for a Dell 966 printer and install the drivers in the computer.

If the cd is unavailable use the following steps to download the printer drivers.

Download the printer driver from the link below.

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/Product/dell-966

NOTE: Please do not connect the printer using the USB cable to the computer prior to installing the drivers. Please choose the right operating system from the list under operating system.

Please copy the above mentioned link, paste it in the address bar of the new internet explorer window.

  1. Select the operating system of your computer from the list.
  2. Save the file to the desktop.
  3. Double-Click the downloaded file.
  4. Click “Yes”, when the utility prompts to extract the files.
  5. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation.
  6. Connect the printer using the USB cable when prompted.

Try Scanning and printing the document from the computer and reply with results.

If the issue persists check if the system has a antivirus/firewall software installed, please check with the firewall settings in the antivirus software and allow permissions for all the printer related programs in the firewall list.

Please try the above steps and reply.

 

 

olarte56

12 Posts

November 26th, 2012 18:00

Dear Nikhil De,

I followed your procedure with the services.msc but it did not work. I then uninstalled the printer completely and used the CD to load it again. In the middle of the setup, a note came up telling me that there was a missing driver and asked me if i wanted to download it. I did, the installation continued and THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT :

skylarking

548 Posts

November 26th, 2012 21:00

Good to hear that you resolved your issue :emotion-1:

But as a further comment that others might find helpful and/or revealing, some inkjet printers, notably those from Epson, can display an error message indicating a communication fault exists. However the real issue is that the printer's firmware has determined that the waste ink pad is full and the printer needs servicing (which can be done by replacing/washing the waste ink pad and resetting the firmware counters). This is particularly the case with my old but reliable Epson Stylus Color 760 (now retired due to lack of Win7 drivers). Such issues may be relevant to newer Epson printers and even those from other manufacturers!

So be warned and don't assume that the manufacturer is presenting accurate information in its error messages, as obviously 'full waste ink pad' has nothing to do with 'communications error' unless the error is that Epson has not coded their drivers correctly.

Cheers.

olarte56

12 Posts

November 27th, 2012 05:00

Thank you skylarking

My printer is a  DELL but I'll keep in mind if this happens again.

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