HP 6940 error "Unable to establish two way communication"

[thebarkingdog]

I have two possibly related problems. With an XP operating system and HP 6940 deskjet printer, I continue to receive the above error message every time I try to look at ink levels (not a big deal in itself). The problem appears to be related to one computer since swapping printers, cables, and USB ports has not eliminated the behavior. In addition, using the suspect printer and cable on another XP machine totally eliminates the problem. This lack of "communication" is possibly important because of the following annoying and additional printer behavior which I suspect may be related.

The printer also intermittently and unexpectedly form feeds in the middle of a page (during text or jpeg transmission) and continues at the top of the next page. Because this also disturbs the top of page reference (the top of the planned page may now be anywhere), it makes a long print run impossible without sitting at the printer.

Any ideas on how to solve either or both problems?

 

[w33mhz]

Sounds like a driver issue. Have you reinstalled/updated the driver on the XP machine?

 

[LawnBoy]

Check the printer port settings in your BIOS, and change it to different types until one works. You may be set to 'standard' while the printer wants'spp' or one of the others.

 

[thebarkingdog]

Thank you very much for taking the time to post your suggestions. Unfortunately #1, I uninstalled & reinstalled the printer with the latest driver and there was no change. Unfortunately #2, I searched the BIOS and could not find any reference to a printer type. I still get the feeling that something is hiding (like an intermittent defective connection to my USB ports) and that it will show itself when it's in the mood. Finally, you never know when a computer is going to develop serious emotional issues. Oh, well.

 

[LawnBoy]

My bad, I did not notice it was a usb printer with my first post.

 

[w33mhz]

are the XP machines the same type of machines? Is the suspect machine a laptop? I have had issues with usb printers and laptops, there sometimes seems to be a power issue on some.

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the USB Hub driver on the suspect macine?