Troubleshooting HP Laserjet P2015dn (lost all communication)... please help

lizmari

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Sep 18, 2011
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I am having trouble figuring out what is wrong with my HP Laserjet P2015dn. I originally had it connected to a Netgear router (most recently an R6300) using the ethernet connection. It was working fine for a few months; we were able to print wirelessly from my Windows 10 laptop, a Windows 7 desktop, and an android phone with no issues.

A couple of months ago we were no longer able to detect the printer wirelessly. At first I could locate the printer through connected devices by restarting the printer (but only briefly before it would disappear again), however this has eventually stopped working so that it does not show up under connected devices for the router.

I have tried several different ethernet cables (including CAT5, CAT5e, and CAT6), and even cables that I have verified ([strike][/strike]by connecting to WD MyCloud) are working, are no longer connect the printer and the router.

Some things that changed around that time (not sure of exact timing - I'm trying to finish a dissertation, so this printer problem has been simmering for a while): Windows 10 update (something about a printer port vulnerability I think), my boyfriend bought new paper for the printer (it is labelled as ok for laser jet), we switched routers from a Netgear combined router modem (can't remember model) to a Motorola modem and a Netgear R6300 router.

Not sure if this is important, but because of its location, we usually just left the printer turned on. We do this at work with similar printers, so I don't think this was the issue, but just trying to provide all of the information.

Most recently, I have noticed that the printer does not cycle through its indicator lights at start up; instead, the top three lights (jam, toner, paper) light up at start up and remain lit. It has paper and toner, and there is no jam that I can see.

I tried doing a "cold restart" by holding down the green "go" button at startup for 5-10 seconds, but this has no discernible effect.

I just now tried to connect my laptop directly to the printer using a USB cable, but my laptop gave me an error message the first time (can't remember details, sorry), and now simply refuses to even acknowledge the connection. My Dell laptop is running Windows 10 (pre-installed), and was previously able to print to this printer.

I uninstalled the printer from my laptop earlier in this whole process hoping that reinstalling would fix the problem, but since my laptop can't see the printer either through wireless or through the USB, I cannot install it.

I am out of ideas, and I have spent a cumulative total of several hours scouring the internet to find a solution to this problem.

I tried to figure out how to update the firmware, but the one link I found is broken, and since my laptop can't see the printer anyway, I gave up without too much effort down that path. The only other option I see at the moment is that the "formatter board" (not sure what that is?) is bad... (per this link: http://www.geminimediaproductions.com/hpp2015_pjamlight.htm ).

Does anybody have any other ideas or suggestions? I bought this used from our University surplus department, and so have no warranty...

Thank you very much in advance for any help you can give me!

~Liz
 
Solution
If printer does not work on USB or ethernet that points to a bad printer, but could also be the way you are troubleshooting and trying to set it up is wrong.

For most HP printers, if you just plug them in, they can end up creating a USB port that will not work, and even trying a clean setup correctly again, it will not work. The system ends up with some odd looking USB_0000 port or something similar that tries to take over the printer connection on USB and refuses to connect to anything else or even be updated to the correct port. I've dealt with this several times, and it's a pain to fix. The correct way is to install the HP drivers first, then the driver setup will tell you when to plug in the printer.

Connect the printer to the...
If printer does not work on USB or ethernet that points to a bad printer, but could also be the way you are troubleshooting and trying to set it up is wrong.

For most HP printers, if you just plug them in, they can end up creating a USB port that will not work, and even trying a clean setup correctly again, it will not work. The system ends up with some odd looking USB_0000 port or something similar that tries to take over the printer connection on USB and refuses to connect to anything else or even be updated to the correct port. I've dealt with this several times, and it's a pain to fix. The correct way is to install the HP drivers first, then the driver setup will tell you when to plug in the printer.

Connect the printer to the router with a cable, turn on printer, then print a config page, that will give you the IP of the printer. Use a web browser to connect to that IP. If you can connect, look for an updated firmware for the printer from HP support site, update the firmware on the printer. Try to set it up again on the computers using the IP you got.

If you have to replace parts in the printer you are better off just buying a working used one, many parts will cost the same or more than a full working unit.
 
Solution