Hey--can you solve my printer error problem, please?

[hahaseashells]

Hi all,

After the common fix of Vista's "Configuration 3 out of 3" crash (which my computer is working A-ok now), my printer is unable to print from my laptop anymore.

OS: Vista home Premium
Printer: Brother HL-2040
Connection: USB cable...didn't try parallel yet
Port: LPT1

Here's a list of solutions I tried:
1) Reinstall Printer driver
2) It does print on my Desktop computer, which also uses USB cable and same driver, but different OS: Ubuntu/Linux
3) I tried printing on Notepad, doesn't work
4) I got a "error-printing" message
5) I went into Device manager, Brother HL-2040 did not show up (to my knowledge)
6) Test page run on printer, not the computer, works fine.

Therefore,
it is not the Printer driver, not the USB cable connection, not a specific software incompatibility, the error message is unclear.

I conclude:
It is a connection to printer problem. The printer does not show up in Device manager, so it is also a recognization problem. However, my desktop recognized it and print just fine.

What shall I do? Which steps shall I take?

Please be specific and walk me through, thanks!

[Craig100]

Connection: USB cable...didn't try parallel yet
Port: LPT1

Hey, I haven't used Windows properly for a while now, so cannot give you step by step guidance. However, the port you're using to connect to the USB printer, LPT1, is commonly used for connecting printers with the parallel interface.

Is there an option to change the port to USBxxx... or such?

Maybe Windows handles this and allows the use of lpt1. I wouldn't assume it does though.

Craig :)

[glc]

LPT1 is a parallel port, not a USB port. You have not properly installed the printer if that's what it's showing.

Completely uninstall all Brother drivers and disconnect the printer. Restart the computer, then reconnect the printer. It should install itself properly. If not, download this:

http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public/midlink3.aspx?prod=hl2040_all&lang=all&src=DOWNLOAD

[hahaseashells]

Thanks for your answers,

I still get the "error-printing" problem after I switch to USB port and restarting my computer. After that, I also reinstall the driver once more (stating USB connection interface) in the meanwhile. It still give the the same "error-printing" when printing a test page.

My laptop doesn't have a parallel port..(probably because it is a mini one, "12.1 HP Pavilion tx2110us with touchscreen"

Any suggestions?

[hahaseashells]

I found this out just now that might be helpful as to what to do next:

When I connect my portable HD into USB, it gave me this signal of "Ba-Dum" and the HD function properly.

When I connect my Printer USB cable however, it gave me a different signal "Ba-Dum-Dum" and the Printer doesn't work.

When I connect to my Desktop Computer using the same USB cable, running Ubuntu as an OS, it works.

Any ideas?

[glc]

Is Vista completely updated with SP1 and all critical updates?