HP printer problem: only printing the first one or two lines.... then it ejects the page

My HP 6840 DeskJet prints a line or two and then ejects the paper. It's
connected to a WinXP (home) system via a hard-wired Ethernet network. There
are no error messages on the computer or printer. WinXP & HP drivers are up
to date. Just to be safe, I reloaded the HP driver and the problem remains.
Both the printer & PC have been re-booted numerous times. I have also
re-booted the hub. Obviously the cables are connected because it can print
something (just not much beyond a line or two).

The printer prints a diagnostic page just fine. I suspect that the text for
it comes from within the printer but am not sure. Anything from my computer
(Word document, screen from Explorer, etc.) just prints a line or two and
then ejects the page. The amount of printing is probably related to a
buffer or some amount of memory.

I have not seen anything about a way to test and verify the memory within
the printer.

Any & all suggestions greatly appreciated,

thanks in advance.

Bob

 

Bob
To eliminate the printer from the equation have you tried directly installing
it to one of the PCs, bypassing the network?
If this fails it looks like a printer logic problem, if not then a networking
problem in which case one of the Microsoft networking forums may be of better
help to you.
Are you referring to the internal printer test (diagnostic) page or to the one
from the Windows control panel?
Tony

 

Tony:

Thanks for your reply.

No, I have not plugged it into a non-networked PC. That's my next step to
see if the problem remains.

The printer diagnostic page is triggered by going to the HP control program
in the PC (tool box) and requesting a diagnostic. That worked fine and I
suspect that all of the data and logic reside within the printer and is
triggered by a very short command to the printer. That tells me that the
printer is functional.

I suspect there may be some type of memory problem within the printer (or
the network). When trying to do a "screen print" from IE, it prints about a
half of a line (color & graphic content). When trying to print a document
from Word, it prints one or two complete lines. I suspect that the color
graphic content contains the same amount of bits as the characters from the
word document. The printer is connected via a second hub. Both hubs have
been powered off and on. However, I'm not an engineer, just a software
salesrep (although I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express ; ) last night).

Thanks again & any/all suggestions are greatly appreciated,

Bob

Bob
To eliminate the printer from the equation have you tried directly
installing
it to one of the PCs, bypassing the network?
If this fails it looks like a printer logic problem, if not then a
networking
problem in which case one of the Microsoft networking forums may be of
better
help to you.
Are you referring to the internal printer test (diagnostic) page or to the
one
from the Windows control panel?
Tony