HP Laserjet 1000 series printer and Windows 7

[strep3241]

My dad uses an HP Laserjet 1000 series printer. He is using Windows XP right now and it is working fine. I am about to upgrade him to Windows 7 and I realize HP does not have Windows 7 drivers for this machine.

I have googled this and there are many people that can get this to work with Windows 7. What kind of chance do I have to get this working with Windows 7? Is there a pretty good chance I can get this working or is this a shot in the dark?

Has anybody here successfully got this printer to work with Windows 7 and what exactly did you have to do? I would like to be able to continue using this printer. Why doesn't HP make Windows 7 drivers for this printer? Do they just want you to buy a different printer?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Maybe stick to Win7 32-bit, and try loading the XP printer drivers through device manager?

Are there Vista drivers? Try those first. I had to use the Vista x64 drivers for my Brother MFC-420CN in Win7 64-bit.

 

[strep3241]

He will be using Windows 7 32bit. I am not able to try it out yet since I do not have Windows 7 installed on his new machine.

I have tried to get it to work through the network but did not work since my machine is running Windows 7 64bit.

 

[strep3241]

Update, I got his machine running with Windows 7 32bit and I got the printer installed. I am having a few problems with it. He will print a few pages and it will quit working. To get it working, I have to go to Devices and Printers and right click on the printer icon and select troubleshoot. Each time, it will give me a different message. One time it said something about a print job in the queue was causing trouble, another time it says I need to reinstall the driver.

I have already tried to reinstall the driver. I am using the XP driver since there is no Vista or Seven drivers available. Would this be the problem? I am going to reinstall the driver again.

Would he be better off buying a new printer? He really does not want to go that route.

 

[gsaldivar]

The LaserJet 1000 is a low-cost "soft printer" that relies on the host computer to do the page imaging. By relying on the computer to process the page instead of doing it internally within the printer, the manufacturer can save money on building the printer and pass the savings along to you.

Unfortunately, now you are realizing some of the drawbacks to that bargain price...

Because the "soft printer" driver is more complex than a normal print driver, its difficult for HP to develop a Windows 7 update for this printer, and even more difficult to justify this effort when there is no money in it for them. Older standard printers (with their own on-board processors) continue to be supported by Windows 7 because the host driver is very simple to update.

If you aren't able to get the printer working reliably (you won't on Windows 7), you might try installing the driver virtually using either Windows XP Mode (requires Win 7 Pro or Ultimate and a supported CPU) or VirtualBox. Within the virtualized XP environment you should be able to get the driver working with no problems, then simply share the printer from your virtual environment to your host. There are several people who say this method, while cumbersome, works perfectly.

It's your call, but personally I would throw that printer in the trash and pick up a cheap refurbished HP LaserJet 4000 series for like $50-100 off Craigslist or eBay.

Good luck!

 

[strep3241]

I might try virtually installing the driver in XP mode, he has Win 7 ultimate, as long as it will not be too complicated for him.

I realize it would probably be better to buy a different printer. I just don't know if he would be better with an laserjet or inkjet. He does not do that much printing. He would like to have color to. The only reason he has this one now is he got it from our church for pretty cheap since they upgraded. He does like the fact that it prints fast.

 

[shortylickens]

What do you mean by 1000 series? There are dozens of models to choose from. Do mean the actual 1000 model? I had that one for many years and it was great, but it also came out at the beginning of the XP days so I'm not surprised it wont work under Windows 7. I am using the 1020 right now and it worked fine under Win 7 without special drivers. True plug'n'play.

And you are correct in that they want you to buy a new printer. The problem with the printer industry that most other manufacturers dont have is they can last pretty much your whole life if you take care of them. If you bought a 4L fifteen years ago and plenty of extra toner, you could still be using it today if your computer has its parallel port. While that may be awesome for the consumer, it sucks for Hewlett Packard.
The best thing (for manufacturers) about the modern computing era is that Planned Obsolescence is pretty much automatic. All you have to do is NOT put in extra effort for future-proofing and dont bother supporting all your old stuff. People will be forced to buy new gadgets and hardware unless they wanna bust their butts to make their old equipment work under less than ideal conditions.
HP used to be great about making cost-effective machinery, and they were the last ones to include full ink and toner cartridges with their new printers.

The good news is they have a low-end model with full duplexing built in, and color lasers are dirt cheap from all manufacturers these days. If you wanted to move up in the world it would be OK to do so.

 

[strep3241]

What do you mean by 1000 series? There are dozens of models to choose from. Do mean the actual 1000 model? I had that one for many years and it was great, but it also came out at the beginning of the XP days so I'm not surprised it wont work under Windows 7. I am using the 1020 right now and it worked fine under Win 7 without special drivers. True plug'n'play.

And you are correct in that they want you to buy a new printer. The problem with the printer industry that most other manufacturers dont have is they can last pretty much your whole life if you take care of them. If you bought a 4L fifteen years ago and plenty of extra toner, you could still be using it today if your computer has its parallel port. While that may be awesome for the consumer, it sucks for Hewlett Packard.
The best thing (for manufacturers) about the modern computing era is that Planned Obsolescence is pretty much automatic. All you have to do is NOT put in extra effort for future-proofing and dont bother supporting all your old stuff. People will be forced to buy new gadgets and hardware unless they wanna bust their butts to make their old equipment work under less than ideal conditions.
HP used to be great about making cost-effective machinery, and they were the last ones to include full ink and toner cartridges with their new printers.

The good news is they have a low-end model with full duplexing built in, and color lasers are dirt cheap from all manufacturers these days. If you wanted to move up in the world it would be OK to do so.

To be honest, I am not sure of the exact model of this printer. On the front of the printer, it says HP Laserjet 1000 series and that is all I could find on the model.

And what do you call cheap? I looked at some on Newegg and all of the color models costs $100 or more. And I looked at the HP Color laserjet series and they are a minimum of $300. I wouldn't exactly call that cheap. Is printers just like everything else, you get what you pay for?

Is there any brand that I should avoid?

 

[shortylickens]

To be honest, I am not sure of the exact model of this printer. On the front of the printer, it says HP Laserjet 1000 series and that is all I could find on the model.

And what do you call cheap? I looked at some on Newegg and all of the color models costs $100 or more. And I looked at the HP Color laserjet series and they are a minimum of $300. I wouldn't exactly call that cheap. Is printers just like everything else, you get what you pay for?

Is there any brand that I should avoid?

OK, cheap is obviously a relative thing. But since you obviously dont know I should help you out. 300 bucks for a color laser is FUCKING CHEAP! They used to cost thousands. In fact the first time they were available under a grand people were running around like idiots shitting themselves.
A black laser these days can be had for 100 or under, and that is also ridiculously cheap. I would go with one of their newer models in the 1000 series. Its still good quality and will work fine under a modern OS.

Take a picture for us. Even without the number I can probably figure it out by shape and color.

 

[strep3241]

Ok so they are cheap compared to what they used to cost but he would not want to spend that kind of money. He may consider a black laser since they are under a $100.

Here is a pic of the printer:

One thing I do not like about this printer is there is no power button to shut it off. Why is it made like that? Are all laserjet printers like that or just certain models?

 

[shortylickens]

Ahhh, yes, the 1000. Great printer all around. Shame it doesnt work under Windows 7.
That one does not have a power button because it goes into standby relatively fast. They wanted to make an easy, simple laser for everybody. The thing about a laser is it takes a little while to warm up for the first time during the day. I guess they figured people would be manually turning it on and off all the time (which is not really a good thing) so they took away user control by only allowing the machine to tell itself when to go on and off or in standby. Overall it probably saves more power.

Yup, I am sorry to tell you that if you cannot find proper Win 7 drivers online for that model, and the generic PNP drivers dont work either, you may need a new model. I recommend the the 1020. I've used it under Win 7 without issue. But recently I moved up to a color laser.

http://www.amazon.com/HP-LaserJet-Pr...8321817&sr=8-2

Its not worth 499, I have no idea what that guy is smoking.

 

[strep3241]

So it is a model 1000 printer then, that is good to know.

I found a refurbished HP laserjet 1020 on ebay for $90 plus $18 shipping or I could make an offer. It comes with the cables and toner. The only problem is Windows 7 is not listed under the compatible operating systems. I know you said you have yours working with Windows 7 and no problems. Did you have to do anything special to get it to work?

If I wanted another brand besides HP, what would be a good choice? I am kind of turned off by HP because of no drivers for Windows 7. I realize that probably most companies do the same thing. Is HP one of the better brands? What are some other good brands?

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[shortylickens]

Nope, it worked for me with the generic Windows drivers. I didnt even use the disc. In fact the disc would only have Vista drivers as old as the printer is. Good thing is that Windows 7 is NOT Windows 7. Its Windows 6.1. Which is Vista revised.

Also, HP is not lacking in Win 7 drivers. Old printers are lacking in Win 7 drivers. And thats true of every brand.
These days HP is still my favorite, for lasers. For ink its hard to say. Epson used to be awesome but they slacked over the years.

One thing I can say for certain. Do NOT buy Lexmark. Thats like prison rape with no lube.

 

[drizek]

go to add printer, select it, in the driver selector pane hit "windows update" and then load the driver for the LaserJet 1300.

I can't guarantee anything, but that is what I did this morning to get my 1300 working. I know I had previously used other drivers when the 1300 one wasn't available and it still printed fine. You might get lucky.

Mine looks exactly like yours, except it has a power button.

And ya, if you don't get it to work, buying another HP isn't a bad idea. They might fail sometimes, but I think they still come out ahead. I have two HP printers and they both have great driver support in linux, os x and windows.

 

[rdukeman]

I had an HP printer that didn't want to work once I got it on Win 7.

Well, it DID work, but my printing would take roughly 45 minutes to start from the time I hit print.

that was unacceptable so I threw it on CL for 20$ and got another one.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

A little warning: The HP LaserJet 1020 does NOT have win 7 drivers. The vista drivers work, but it will print VERY slowly because they're host-based. The way to get fast printing in windows 7 is to go into the drivers and manually install the LaserJet 3055 PCL driver which comes with windows 7.

 

[Lemon law]

Gotta somewhat question this whole thread. All these problems were avoidable, the big mistake was in upgrading to win 7.

My wife and I are still running XP, neither of us find any new compelling features in either Vista or Win 7. And for some unexplainable reason, neither of us feels compelled to shower microsoft with money every time they come up with an ever more bloated new OS.

Maybe Microsoft should fix the security holes in XP instead. At least, over the years, I know how to keep XP safe.

 

[Texashiker]

The LaserJet 1000 is a low-cost "soft printer" that relies on the host computer to do the page imaging. By relying on the computer to process the page instead of doing it internally within the printer, the manufacturer can save money on building the printer and pass the savings along to you.

That is also called a network printer - its connected to the server and shared on the network.

Our office had an HP 1000 series as our main network printer for probably 6 years. Its an outstanding printer for a small office. We had 15 work stations printing off of it.

OP - With that in mind, if you have a windows xp machine on the network, install the printer there, share it on the network and then install it on your dads computer.

 

[Lemon law]

Get em clue folks, having a still working compute printer far exceeds the value of having a new microsoft bloatware OS.

Why should I not run away at the speed of light from the concept that known win XP drivers that work with my existing hardware will be unlikely to be better than new microsoft drivers that are unlikely to work, if I make the giant mistake of upgrading my OS.

Smell the coffee boys and girls, its a lose lose for the consumer.

 

[strep3241]

The printer still works for the most part. It justs every once in a while, it will not print and click on the troubleshoot option to get it working again.

The reason I upgraded to Win 7 is because I got it pretty cheap. I also figured down the road, he would have to eventually upgrade anyways.

Back to the printer choice. I have been looking at HP printers on newegg and noticed most of them are host based. Is that a good or bad thing?

This is one I looked at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16828115639

The printer can not be that much bigger than this one.

Anything wrong with this one? I looked on ebay to see how much the ink would cost for this machine and compatible brands sell for around $30. I didn't think that was too bad. Any reason to not buy compatible ink vs. HP brand? I don't want to buy a printer and have the ink cost as much as the printer.

I have thought about going to Bestbuy or some other local place and see what they have to offer.

 

[Compman55]

HP used to be one of the top laser manufactures. Actually Canon had alot to do with the design and HP branded it and put a plastic wrappper around it.

Now HP just makes cheap crap printers so they can make it up on consumables (toner, drums, transfer kits, fusers, etc.....)

I strongly recommend going with the WORLDS most popular color laser called the laserjet 4600dn or 4650dn. It will be very stout medium business grade workgroup printer that is SUPER cheap to buy, and even cheaper to maintain. Lasting into the 1 million page count.......

These are on ebay for 150 - 300 depending on the seller, and the toners. I picked one up for $280 including toners in the 60% full range, and a 70%+ fuser and transfer kit. Needless to say I will have no problem putting at least 50,000 more pages on the printer before I will even think about touching it. Except for toners that is.......

 

[strep3241]

Nothing against buying a used one, but I would rather buy a new one. I just don't feel comfortable buying used computer equipment.

I went shopping today and Office Depot has one that I might be interested in.
http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-LaserJet-Pro...41277069?pt=COMP_Printers&hash=item20b2f3d28d

I can get this one from Office Depot for $170 on sale and if I decide to, I can trade the old one in and get another $50 knocked off. Or I can get it off of ebay for $140 and try to sell the old one. Would I easily get more than $50 for the old printer?

Is there any reason not to buy this printer? How many pages will the toner print? When I go to buy toner, is it better to buy HP branded toner or is compatible toner just as good? We do not print professionally so quality is not that important.

What is this talk about transfer kits and fusers? How long before I have to worry about that?

 

[Compman55]

Any reason not to get it? Well, its not color. We are in 2011 and B&W is just old skool. B&W is good for faxing and text print only. You may claim you don;t need color, but I bet you really do.

This printer is of course decently priced, toner is well priced as well. You can use compatible toner as long as it has the chips for level monitoring. You will not harm the printer or reduce the print quality if you buy from a good reseller. China toner, yes, it is possible to harm the printer.

Your printer does not seem to have a image transfer kit, as it is B&W, also I do not see a fuser kit listed as a servicable item. It looks priced to be a non serviable printer.

Good news in the fuser typically does not fail, rather the pressure & heated rollers become worn as therefore do not heat your paper in the correct spots.

As much as I like laser printers, it really sounds like the price you want to spend, may be better spent on a inkjet. And of course one that has inexpensive ink cartriges.

 

[drizek]

I have a bw laser and a color inkjet/scanner. Best of both worlds.

 

[strep3241]

If he really needs to print color, which will not be that often, he can use my printer. He mostly prints text.

I realize I could probably get an inkjet for a lot less but I would imagine the cheaper inkjets are probably slower than the laser jet. Having the speed of a laser jet is really nice. Also doesn't the ink in the inkjets tend to dry out if sitting for a while?

After looking at some inkjets, I may consider them. Would HP still be the brand to look at for inkjets?