Printer will only print random letters and symbols?

Question

Original Title: Problem with HP laserjet 5L

Hi Everyone,

Actually, I'm going to install HP laserjet 5L in my laptop. and of course I used the windows update which is in the "Add a Printer" tab, and install the laserjet 5L driver. the problem is when I'm trying to print a document it appears like symbols and random letters.

Note: some times after printing there is a popup that some programe wants to reach your hard disk drive...

Program Name: Admin Utility Application

Verified Publisher: Braodcom Corporation

File Origin: Hard disk

and I give it the permission to reach my hard disk and nothing going to happen...

Is there any problems in the driver or the steps I followed.

Thanks for Help

Answer 1

Hi,

 Please follow the methods listed below.

Method 1:

Run the troubleshooter mentioned in the link below.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Open-the-Hardware-and-Devices-troubleshooter

Method 2:

Please check the print preview before taking the print.

Use the link mentioned below.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Preview-the-appearance-of-a-printed-webpage

Method 3:

Follow the steps mentioned in the link below.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/printer-problems-in-windows

Answer 2

I tried previous methods and the problem was not solved.

I will give more details:

1. I'm using USB 2.0 Print/Parallel 2 in 1 converter, it appears in 'devices and printers' as (IEEE-1284 Controller) under unspecified tab. Also it appears in Device manager as USB Printing Support.
2. The status of my HP laserjet 5L in the printers and faxes tab is ready. When I start printing some documents the printer's light starts flashing then it keeps lighted until I press the printer's button.

I forget to mention that I'm using the USB001 port, disabled the bidirectional support and increases the printer memory to 9 mb.

and some times I have to remove the USB cable from the laptop and plug it again to start printing (not always).

Answer 3

Hi,

You may try the following methods and check the status of the issue.

Method 1:

Set the computer to clean boot state to check for software conflicts.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Note: When the troubleshooting is over do not forget to reset the computer to normal startup. Follow step 7 in the above article.

Method 2:

Uninstall and reinstall printer drivers and check if it helps.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Uninstall-or-change-a-program

Answer 4

Hello, I had problems with the HP LaserJet 5L printing PDF pages incorrectly (i.e. cutting off the bottom of one page and printing it onto the next page, letters would sometimes get jumbled too).  What I found to fix the problem was to load a different driver and worked like a charm:

For Windows XP, use the Epson ActionLaser 1500 driver (this I used for years and it worked great!)

For Windows 7, use the HP LaserJet III driver (I just very recently installed this and the few pages I printed work)

I don't know if this will correct your specific problem, but I will cross my fingers for you.

Bob