HP LaserJet 4250 User Manual

							4
Problem solving
This troubleshooting information is organized to help you resolve printing problems. Choose
the general topic or type of problem from the following list.
●
Troubleshooting flowchart
●
Solving general printing problems
●
Guidelines for using paper
●
Printing special pages
●
Clearing jams
●
Understanding printer messages
●
Understanding accessory lights for the stacker and stapler/stacker
●
Correcting print-quality problems
●
Troubleshooting network printing problems
●
Troubleshooting common Windows problems 
●
Troubleshooting common Macintosh problems
●
Troubleshooting common PostScript problems
●
Troubleshooting the optional hard disk
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							Troubleshooting flowchart
If the printer is not responding properly, use the flowchart to determine the problem. If the
printer does not pass a step, follow the corresponding troubleshooting suggestio\
ns.
If you cannot resolve the problem after following the suggestions in this guide, contact an
HP-authorized service or support provider. (See 
HP customer care .)
NOTE
Macintosh users : For more troubleshooting information, see Troubleshooting common
Macintosh problems.
1 Does the control panel display read READY?
YES Go to step 2.
NO 
The display is
blank, and the
printer fan is off.The display is
blank, but the
printer fan is on.The display is in
the wrong
language.The display
shows garbled
or unfamiliar
characters.A message
other than 
READY appears
on the printer
control panel
display.
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							●Turn the
printer off
then on.
● Check the
power cord
connections
and the
power switch.
● Plug the
printer into a
different
outlet.
● Check that
the power
supplied to
the printer is
steady, and
meets printer
specifications.
(See
Electrical
specifications .
)
● Press a
printer
control panel
button to see
if the printer
responds.
● Turn the
printer power
off, and then
turn the
printer power
on.●Turn the
printer power
off and then
on. When
XXX MB
appears on
the control-
panel
display,
press and
hold down 
(SELECT
button) until
all three
lights stay
on. This
could take
up to
10 seconds.
Then,
release 
(SELECT
button).
Press 
(DOWN
button) to
scroll
through the
available
languages.
Press 
(SELECT
button) to
save the
desired
language as
the new
default.
● Make sure
that the
desired
language is
selected at
the printer
control panel.
● Turn the
printer power
off, and then
turn the
printer power
on.●Go to
Interpreting
control-panel
messages .
2 Can you print a configuration page? 
(See Configuration page.)
YES   Go to step 3.
NO 
A configuration page does
not print.A blank page prints.A message other than 
READY or PRINTING
CONFIGURATION appears
on the printer control panel
display.
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							●Check that all trays are
properly loaded, adjusted,
and installed in the printer.
● Using the computer, check
the print queue or print
spooler to see if the printer
has been paused. If there
are problems with the
current print job, or if the
printer is paused, a
configuration page will not
print. (Press  S
TOP and try
step 2 in the
troubleshooting flowchart
again.)
● Check that the sealing
tape is not still in the print
cartridge. (See the getting
started [start] guide or the
instructions that came with
the print cartridge.)
● The print cartridge might
be empty. Install a new
print cartridge.●Go to Interpreting control-
panel messages .
3 Can you print from a program?
YES Go to step 4.
NO 
The job will not print.     A PS error page or list of commands prints.
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							●If the job will not print, and a message
appears on the printer control panel display,
see 
Interpreting control-panel messages .
● Using the computer, check to see if the
printer has been paused. Press  S
TOP to
continue.
● If the printer is on a network, check that you
are printing to the correct printer. To verify
that it is not a network problem, connect the
computer directly to the printer with a
parallel or USB cable, change the port to
LPT1, and try to print.
● Check the interface cable connections.
Disconnect and reconnect the cable at the
computer and the printer.
● Test the cable by trying it on another
computer.
● If you are using a parallel connection, make
sure that the cable is IEEE-1284 compliant.
● If the printer is on a network, print a
configuration page. (See 
Configuration
page .) If an HP Jetdirect print server is
installed, a Jetdirect page also prints. Check
the Jetdirect configuration page to verify that
the network protocol status and settings are
correct for the printer.
● To verify that it is not a computer problem,
print from another computer (if possible).
● Make sure that the print job is being sent to
the correct port (LPT1 or network printer
port, for example).
● Check that you are using the proper printer
driver. (See 
Using the printer driver .)
● Reinstall the printer driver. (See the getting
started [start] guide.)
● Check that the computer port is configured
and working properly. (Try connecting
another printer to that port and printing.)
● If printing with the PS driver, on the Printing
submenu (on the Configure Device menu) at
the printer control panel, set  PRINT PS
ERRORS=ON , and then print the job again.
If an error page prints, see the instructions
in the next column.
● On the System Setup submenu (on the
Configure Device menu) at the printer
control panel, make sure that
PERSONALITY=AUTO .
● You might be missing a printer message
that could help you solve the problem. On
the System Setup submenu (on the
Configure Device menu) at the printer
control panel, temporarily turn the Clearable
Warnings and Auto Continue settings off.
Then, print the job again.
●The printer might have received a
nonstandard PS code. On the System Setup
submenu (on the Configure Device menu) at
the printer control panel, set
PERSONALITY=PS  for this print job only.
After the job has printed, return the setting
to AUTO.
● Make sure that the print job is a PS job, and
that you are using the PS driver.
● The printer might have received PS code
although it is set to PCL. On the System
Setup submenu (on the Configure Device
menu), set  PERSONALITY=AUTO .
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							4 Does the job print as expected?
YES Go to step 5.
NO 
Print is garbled, or
only a portion of the
page prints. Printing stops in the
middle of the job.Print speed is slower
than expected.A printer control
panel setting is not
taking effect.
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							●Check that you
are using the
proper printer
driver. (See 
Using
the printer driver .)
● The data file sent
to the printer
might be corrupt.
To test, try
printing it on
another printer (if
possible), or try a
different file.
● Check the
interface cable
connections. Test
the cable by trying
it on another
computer (if
possible).
● Replace the
interface cable
with a high-quality
cable (see 
Part
numbers ).
● Simplify the print
job, print at a
lower resolution,
or install more
printer memory.
(See 
Printer
memory .)
● You might be
missing a printer
message that
could help you
solve the problem.
On the System
Setup submenu
(on the Configure
Device menu) at
the printer control
panel, temporarily
turn the Clearable
Warnings and
Auto Continue
settings off. Then
print the job again.
●STOP might have
been pressed.
● Check that the
power supplied to
the printer is
steady, and that it
meets printer
specifications.
(See 
Electrical
specifications .)
●Simplify the print
job.
● Add more
memory to the
printer. (See
Printer memory .)
● Turn banner
pages off. (See
your network
administrator.)
● Note that slower
speeds should be
expected if you
are printing
narrow paper,
printing from tray
1, using the HIGH
2 fuser mode, or
have set Small
Paper Speed to
SLOW.
●Check settings in
the printer driver
or program. (The
printer driver and
program settings
override printer
control panel
settings.)
The print job is not
formatted correctly.Paper is not fed
correctly or is
damaged.There are print-quality problems.
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							●Check that you
are using the
proper printer
driver. (See 
Using
the printer driver .)
● Check the
program settings.
(See the program
online Help.)
● Try a different font.
● Downloaded
resources might
have been lost.
You might need to
download them
again.
●Make sure that
the paper is
loaded correctly
and that the
guides are not too
tight or too loose
against the paper
stack.
● If you are having
problems printing
custom-size
paper, see
Printing on small
sizes, custom
sizes, or heavy
paper .
● If pages are
wrinkled or curled,
or if the image is
skewed on the
page, see
Correcting print-
quality problems .
●Adjust the print resolution. (See Print Quality
submenu .)
● Check that RET is on. (See 
Print Quality
submenu .)
● Go to 
Correcting print-quality problems .
5 Does the printer select the proper trays and paper-handling
accessories?
YES For other problems, check the Contents, the Index, or the
printer driver online Help.
NO
The printer pulls paper from
the wrong tray.  An optional accessory is not
working properly.A message other than
READY appears on the
printer control panel display.
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							●Make sure that you have
selected the correct tray.
(See 
Selecting a paper
source .)
● Make sure that trays are
correctly configured for
paper size and type. (See
Loading trays .) Print a
configuration page to see
current tray settings. (See
Configuration page .)
● Make sure that the tray
selection (Source) or Type
in the printer driver or
program is set correctly.
(The printer driver and
program settings override
the printer control panel
settings.)
● By default, paper loaded in
tray 1 will be printed first. If
you do not want to print
from tray 1, remove any
paper loaded in the tray or
change the USE
REQUESTED TRAY
setting. (See 
Customizing
tray 1 operation .) Change
TRAY 1 SIZE  and TRAY 1
TYPE  to a setting other
than  ANY.
● If you want to print from
tray 1, but cannot select
the tray in a program, see
Customizing tray 1
operation .
●Print a configuration page
to verify that the accessory
is installed properly and is
functional. (See
Configuration page .)
● Configure the printer driver
to recognize the installed
accessories (including
trays). (See the printer
driver online Help.)
● Turn the printer power off,
and then turn the printer
power on.
● Verify that you are using
the correct optional
accessory for the printer.
● If the duplexer will not
duplex, check that the rear
output bin is closed.
● If the duplexer will not
duplex, you might need to
install more memory. (See
Printer memory .)
NOTE
The duplexer is included for
models that have d in the
product name. It is optional for
all other models.
● If the optional stacker or
stapler/stacker is not
working properly, check
the accessory lights. (See
Accessory lights .)
● If the optional stacker or
stapler/stacker is not
working properly, check to
see if a message appears
on the printer control panel
display. (See 
Interpreting
control-panel messages .)
● If the optional stapler/
stacker is not stapling, but
the accessory light is solid
green, and neither  TOO
MANY PAGES IN JOB
nor  DIFFERENT PAPER
SIZES IN JOB  appears on
the printer control panel
display, call for support.
(See 
HP customer care .)
● Go to Interpreting control-
panel messages .
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							Solving general printing problems
In addition to the issues and solutions that are listed in this section, see Troubleshooting
common Macintosh problems if you are using a Macintosh computer, and see
Troubleshooting common PostScript problems if you are using the PS driver.
Printer selects media from the wrong tray.
Cause
Solution
The tray selection in the software program might
be incorrect.For many software programs, the paper tray
selection is found on the  Page Setup menu
within the program.
Remove any media in other trays to make the
printer select from the correct tray.
For Macintosh computers, use the HP LaserJet
Utility to change the priority of the tray.
The configured size does not match the size of
the media that is loaded in the tray.Through the control panel, change the
configured size to match the size of the media
that is loaded in the tray.
Printer does not pull paper from tray.
Cause
Solution
The tray is empty.Load paper in the tray.
The paper guides are set incorrectly.To set the guides correctly, see Loading trays .
For the 500-sheet paper tray, make sure that the
leading edge of the paper stack is even. An
uneven edge can prevent the lift plate from rising.
Paper curls when it exits the printer.
Cause
Solution
The paper curls when it exits to the top output bin.Open the rear output bin to allow the paper to
exit in a straight path through the printer.
Turn over the paper that you are printing on.
Reduce the fusing temperature to reduce the
curling. (See 
Selecting the correct fuser mode .)
First sheet of media jams in the print-cartridge area.
Cause
Solution
A combination of high humidity and high
temperature is affecting the media.Adjust the printer for high humidity and high
temperature conditions.
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