I was installing a new scanner this morning for someone, and I was running into a really baffling problem: the scanner drivers installed, but when I plugged in the scanner to the USB port, Windows XP would say it found new hardware and then say "Unrecognized USB Device." I did the logical thing and tried uninstalling the drivers and reinstalling them, but that didn't help. After messing with a few settings, I decided to call Canon. It looked like some sort of driver issue, and I thought they might have a little database with what to do with this particular problem.
The guy that I got at Canon was extremely nice, maybe it had something to do with my saying I was technically adept and was able to explain the problem in detail along with what I had already tried. We tried several things, including clearing the registry of all Canon keys, disabling legacy USB support, different USB ports, removing other USB devices, and probably a few other things too, when finally I decided I'd try using the printer's USB cable.
I connected the scanner using the printer's USB cable (which was known to be good), instead of the included new cable, and guess what? Windows XP found some new hardware, and properly recognized the scanner. Woohoo! I must confess that a bad cable seemed unlikely since Windows detected new hardware when using it, but there's enough black magic in computers that it was still a satisfactory resolution.
Moral of the story: if it's new and unused, don't assume it works. Even if it's a simple cable. It wasted not only my time but the guy at Canon's time too, though we had some good chats about the "good old days" while we waited for the computer to reboot. Maybe he was enjoying it after all. :)
Speaking of satisfactory resolutions, someone remind me sometime to tell the story about banging (literally) on my keyboard...
"Speaking of satisfactory resolutions, someone remind me sometime to tell the story about banging (literally) on my keyboard..." - k, im rdy to hear it.
anyway, does this mean canon sent a new cable?
its interesting, i would have never checked a cable till the last resort (which would be before i called tech support) ...in the last few years of my computer uhh "journey" ..i have never had to call tech support.
i have ONCE contacted samsung tech support regarding a printer problem that i have now been experiencing for 2+ years (random text printed at bottom of page) ....i've posted on dozens of forums....nobody has been able to figure out a solution, not even Samsung support was able to help me.
The keyboard story will be for another post. :)
Canon is sending a new cable, free of charge. Again, the cable wasn't high on the list of possible culprits because it was brand new. We all know what they say about assumptions... Anyway, with scanners in particular driver issues are quite common, so that seemed like the reasonable place to start.
Have you tried your printer on another computer? That is indeed a weird problem you have experienced.
i've tried it on 4 computers, multiple OS's. tried everything you can think of.
i know the problem, actually. there is something stuck in the buffer that keeps printing :P ..if i knew how to clear the buffer, i would. turning off the printer and any smilar techniques dont work.
That makes no sense that there is a memory buffer in a printer that retains its contents after being unplugged. I've never heard of such a thing, nor am I sure how it would be useful. It really sounds more like a defect...
well...the printer originally worked perfect. after attempting to print a large document (i belive it was a picture in excess of 3mb) (the printer has a 2mb buffer, so maybe that was the problem?? ...not likely..but its the best thing i can think of) ...anyway, thats when it started printing random (or is it) text.
the text is actually some "meaningful" numbers. for example, one of them, i am sure, is the page counter...and the other seems to be the toner level. i can take a picture of these #'s if you want :P $10 if you actually figure out a solution.