1600n-question/comment on driver and software

Question

I've had the 1600n for about three months now, and find it a pretty good machine (old printer was an HP LaserJet 6P).  The 1600n is quick, has a good quality output (although not quite as good has the HP), and functions well in all capacities.   There are, however, three questions I have:  perhaps someone can help.   (1) Is there someway to disable the idiotic 'popup' Dell 'printer status box' that appears each time I print a document?  It is useless, and positively counter-productive.   For those who don't know, when you click on 'print' in Word (or whatever), Microsoft has the popup printer box that appears;  you choose the number of copies, collating, and which particular pages to print.  With all the other printers I've had, you simply clicked on 'print' in the Microsoft box, and that was it:  the printer kicked into action.  With the Dell, however, AFTER the MS printer dialog box disappears, a Dell printer popup now appears, telling me the document is printing.  The problem is that this Dell popup becomes the 'active' window.  I've either got to mouse over to it and click it closed (grrrrr!) or I've got to wait for it to close of its own accord (which usually takes as long as 10 seconds).  If I am not looking at the screen, and continue typing--supposedly in my document--the typing is lost.  This is a horrific programming blunder.  DELL:  get rid of it.   (2) What is the latest driver for the 1600n?  My version (as shipped on the CD with the printer) is v. 5.43.  I was wondering if a new driver had been released to fix the bug mentioned above--but it is difficult to find out.  On the Dell driver site, there is a 'v. 1.10' driver...which hardly seems possible, given that I was shipped v. 5.43.  Is anyone at Dell tending the drivers site?  Any help?   (3) The 1600n is fine for my scanning and copying.  However, it has the strangest 'sleep' mode and 'wake-up' protocols I've ever seen.  First, you can't specify a quicker switch into sleep mode than 30 minutes;  why not give 15 or 10 minutes as an option?  Especially when the machine makes MUCH more noise idling than most printers (this is not a quiet machine).  Second, when the 1600n is in the sleep mode, and you open the cover, put a page down to copy, and press the 'Copy' button, nothing happens--even though the scanning armature has 'woken up' and the fan starts running.  You always have to press the 'Copy' button A SECOND TIME to get the bloody thing to copy--which is a nuisance.  (Apparently pressing 'copy' the first time merely wakes up the beast...)   Are any of these stupid--REALLY stupid--oversights in product development and engineering being taken care of in a new driver release?  I can't imagine I'm the only user who's complained about these impractical, counter-intuitive, and productivity-reducing problems....   Otherwise, a nice machine!  Thanks in advance.

BlueSideUp · Answer

Latest driver is R80041.EXE. It says it's v1.10 but that likely refers to the installer version or the package version, not the driver itself. The driver is just one component of the download.

Also, if you use the control panel on the printer, you'll find that you can set standby modes starting at 5 minutes and higher.

willpsu · Answer

Thanks to BlueSideUp for the tip--appreciated.

Any ideas about disabling the "pop-up" printer box when you print--which becomes the "active" window? It is an awful nuisance! Any suggestions?

Also: any further news about any driver updates for the 1600n?

Thanks.

d3sp · Answer

WillPsu, I believe that your 'pop-up' question was already answered on this forum. Try to search, because I don't have the link to that topic.

clincoln1111 · Answer

As I recall, this is how I got rid of that annoying pop-up:

From the Start menu, select Programs > Dell > Dell Printers > Dell Laser MFP 1600n >Dell MFP Software Uninstall and uninstall the Dell Toner Management System.

Now, who at Dell can give us any news on software updates for this beast???

willpsu · Answer

Thanks to all who provided the info on how to uninstall the "Toner Management System" (yes, you uninstall it from "add/remove programs" in the main Windows "control panel").

I echo clincoln1111's plea: (1) Any new software drivers that streamline some of the odd glitches of the implementation we now have? (2) TO DELL: please provide your customers with an INTELLIGIBLE way to tell us what driver you folks have posted as the most recent (a version number, for example?), and what we have installed (under, for example, the "help" or "about" items, as most programs do?)! It makes things much easier efficient for all concerned!

Thanks!

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1600n-question/comment on driver and software

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