USB printer setup on Mac OS9 (HP Deskjet 920c)

[moggiemorgan]

Please help me!
I'm Recent convert to Macs and having big trouble getting my eMac to print. I have just reinstalled both OS9 and OSX, although I am booting in to OS9 as I am mainly working on OS9 apps.
I have an HP Deskjet 920c connected via a USB-to-parrallel-port cable.
I have tried downloading the driver from HP, as the disk supplied with printer had no driver for OS9, and they suggest putting the driver in 9 not X. The printer software
seems to work at first as I can clean, do test pages, etc. But when I try to print Appleworks (or Quark etc.) nothing happens when I click on File/Page Setup, and when I click on File/Print it says "you have not selected a printer..." - BUT when I select the HP Inkjet from the left window of Chooser, nothing appears in the right window (where Deskjet 920c should appear) and it asks if I want to scan for network printers (which I don't - I don't have or want a network setup!)

Aaaaggh! I think I'm getting muddled up between Appletalk, Chooser, Desktop Printer, etc. as I've tried all the help menu suggestions - Somebody help me stay away from PC's and get me printing pleeease!

 

[PTmon]

If you can't see the printer on the right side of the chooser, the mac can't print to it. It could be your usb/parallel adapter. I haven't had much luck with those. You don't need appletalk if you're not planning on any kind of networking so shut that off. It will at least take that out of the equation for you. If you have two printer choices on the left side and one has AT appended to it, use the other one. (AT would be the appletalk version.)
Best of luck,
pt

http://mahon.homeip.net/remember

 

[moggiemorgan]

Result - it was the parallel adaptor (and a dodgy driver).
Replaced USB-parallel with USB only (A-B) and tried a different driver. At last!

(Tried turning Appletalk off earlier but that didn't seem to have any effect either way.)

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is Laserwriter8 (only that and Appleshare available in chooser) - is it a set of general purpose drivers for apples own printers??

 

[PTmon]

Yes, laserwriter 8 is for appletalk laser printers. Other printers can use this too, not just apple. Glad you got it going.
pt

http://mahon.homeip.net/remember