Vista - Help Adding Printer

I'm really struggling adding my HP All-In-One printer to a vista machine.
THe printer is a C6180, which can be setup as a network printer. I have been
albe to install the printer on to my laptop, which is running XP, but I can't
get it to work on my vista computer.

The printer has the ability to connect to the network wired or wireless. I
have a bit of instability/interference with wireless connections in my den,
so I have opted for the wired setup. Accordingly, the printer is connected
into a 4-port switch, which is connected to the router. I also have couple
of other devices connected to the switch & I don't think there are any issues
with the switch/router connection (the computer connected to the switch can
access other files on the network, the internet, etc).

When setting up my XP laptop I used the supplied HP software CD. During
installation, at one point the setup asked some questions about allowing
access through the firewall, opening a port for printer communications, etc.
I 'allowed' everything. Installation continued & the printer is setup &
working fine. I am able to print from my laptop to the computer... the
printer will work regardless of whether my laptop is connected direct to my
lan, or if it is connected wireless.

In order to install on my vista computer, I had to download the
software/driver package for Vista from the hp website. I downloaded & ran
the software but I cannot get the device to get added. I have disabled both
the firewall & antivirus programs during install. During the install it does
detect the printer, but when it tries to install the device I get a message
saying 'device setup failed to complete'. The installation does continue,
but only software is added, the printer itself does not get added.

A few problem solving things I've tried -
I can type in the printers IP address on internet explorer on the vista
computer & it will open up the printer network page. The network info on
this page shows the wired connection as being enabled & connected.

I've also tried to 'ping' the printer through the cmd prompt. There are no
issues with the ping.

When I click on start - network, the printer is visible as being on my
network.

I've tried to add the printer manually... start, printers, add a printer.
Using this method I can install the printer (this model is one of the models
listed on the manufacture list). This allows me to do somewhat of a
temporary install of the printer, but the issue is it does not give me the
ability to use any of the printer utilities... ie. since it is an
all-in-one it does have scanning/faxing capabilities, but I cannot access any
of that functionality because the HP software still does not think there is a
device installed.


Can anyone suggest how I can get this device to install properly?

You'll be adding it as a network printer at: \\123.123.123.123 (where 123
is the TCP/IP address of the printer). After it's 'found' it, it will ask
where the drivers are, at that point you can point it to the folder where
the downloaded and expanded files from the HP website are to be found.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Windows Technologies - Printing & Imaging
http://www.coribright.com/windows

"Bonnie." <Bonnie@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:BE48ED3A-D252-49A3-B8F6-E69255FEA314@xxxxxx

Thanks for the response. I've tried that method in a couple different ways,
but it doesn't fully work...

If I use the HP software to add a device, there is an option to search for
available network printers. My printer does show up, but the device setup
does not complete as described in my original post. There is also an option
to search for the device using IP address as you described but when I do that
the result is the same with a failed device setup.

As indicated in my original post, I have added the printer through the 'add
a printer' option in 'printers & faxes', and searching for the printer by IP
address. Again, the printer is detected & it adds ok, but the problem is
adding it this way it is not recognized by the HP software. Vista realizes I
have a printer added, but if I try to use the scanner or fax functionality
using the HP utilities it doesn't realize there is a device added. I've
attemped this using the driver that is listed in the drop down menus, and by
pointing it to the folder where the software download is, but I get the same
result - not HP devices detected in the HP solution Center

Am I misunderstanding something???

Thanks

"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote: