HELP: Epson Printer features disabled with XP...

[yogiB]

I've got the Epson C43SX printer.

I upgraded my computer about 2 months ago and the new machine has XP SP2, whereas the older machine ran on Win 98.

Ever since I fixing the printer to new computer (with Epson printer driver), two of the printer features are greyed-out on the Maintenance menu under Printing Preferences. The greyed-out features are: Status Monitor and Ink Cartridge Replacement.

As a result of the non-availability of these two features, I now cannot see the ink level on each cartridge. Also, I cannot change the cartridges half way without waiting till the cartridges are completely empty. This is very inconvenient, especially not being able to tell the level of ink at any given moment.

All other printer functions work normally.

Since the greyed-out functions worked flawlessly with Win 98, I'm assuming this to be an issue with Win XP.

Has anyone experienced this, or similar, problem? How can I overcome this situation?

Thanks in advance for any help extended.

 

[JBark]

Do you have the latest Epson drivers and status monitor software? I'm using an R200 with XP SP2, and I don't have any problems reading the ink levels.

 

[yogiB]

Yes. I downloaded and installed the latest drivers/monitor from Epson. Still no luck. Can't think of any reason why this should occur.

 

[mosin]

Forget about it. Your printer is too old, so those features won't work in XP. They aren't supported. My HP LaserJet had similar features in Win98, but no longer. I miss the copy count feature, but I've learned to live without it.

 

[yogiB]

Forget about it. Your printer is too old, so those features won't work in XP. They aren't supported. My HP LaserJet had similar features in Win98, but no longer. I miss the copy count feature, but I've learned to live without it.

Are you sure? Because this printer was released sometime late 2003/early 2004. I was using Win 98 till Dec 2004. I would imagine that any printer released during that time would be XP-compliant.

No?

Further, the Epson driver download site clearly states that the latest driver is for XP.

 

[mosin]

Those features are in a separate program. Did you look on the CD that came with the printer for any utility software? I didn't realize the printer was that new.

 

[yogiB]

Those features are in a separate program. Did you look on the CD that came with the printer for any utility software? I didn't realize the printer was that new.

Yes, I've installed all the software that came with the printer. The utility SW is loaded. It shows all other data/features. Only the Status Monitor (which shows the ink levels at any given time) and Ink Cartridge Replacement (which allows the cartridges to be replaced before the ink in them finishes) are disabled or greyed-out.

I even wrote to Epson but had no response.

Any ideas?

 

[djnes]

What access level is your user account?

 

[yogiB]

Problem SOLVED!!

Gosh!

This is VERY embarrassing. It was my fault.

When I installed XP and connected the printer, I simply followed the "Found New Hardware" procedure to install the drivers, etc. I never read the installation instructions that came with the printer.

Just last night, when I glancing through the installation instructions, I realized that they specifically tell you to keep the printer switched OFF and to install the software FIRST. So, for the heck of it, I uninstalled ALL printer related software. Then, after switching off the printer, I re-installed SW as per the instructions! Voila! It worked!!!

And to think I've been blaming XP all this time!!

Anyway, thanks guys for all the feedback and support.

 

[djnes]

And to think I've been blaming XP all this time!!

That's what most people do. It's always Microsoft's fault, apparently, no matter where the real blame lies.