Home Forums Peripherals & Multimedia Peripherals trouble adding printer, buttons dont work

Hi,

I have spent my morning trying to add a printer to my computer and have been thwarted by the 'add printer' (from the select printer menu in the msword print window) and 'printer setup' (from the print & fax menu) buttons: they don't do anything or bring up any new window when I click on them. Is this normal? From looking at troubleshooting instructions online it sounds like they're supposed to do something. I've managed to add printers in the past somehow but to my recollection those buttons have never worked.

My computer is a macbook with OSX 10.4.11 and an intel processor. I installed the correct driver for my computer and the printer - an EPSON LP 8900. The printer is on a network, which I am connected to. The computers at desks around me have no trouble printing, and the person who worked at my desk before me had no trouble either - but none of them have macs, which might be part of the problem. Also, I am in Japan, and my computer is from Canada.

If anyone has any suggestions for how to deal with this issue (asides from saving everything to a USB and making my coworkers print everything for me) I would be eternally grateful.

Let's look at some simple things first:

Is the printer connected to the computer and turned on?

Have you tried downloading the drivers directly from Epson rather than installing from the CD that came with the printer?

Did you reset the printing system?

Yes, the printer is connected to the network and on...

I did in fact download the driver directly from Epson

I attempted to follow the directions to reset the printing system, but my 'utilities menu' contains no such 'printer setup utility'... maybe that's why selecting 'printer setup' gets me nowhere - printer setup doesn't exist on my computer??

That could be the explanation although I don't know why you don't have Printer Setup Utility. It might be possible to reinstall it by using the 10.4 installation disk and Pacifist. As an afterthought, double-click your hard drive icon and navigate to /Applications/Utilities. Is Printer Setup Utility there?

Nope, no printer setup utility in the utilities folder when you go through the hard drive icon either.

Alas, I did not bring my installation disk with me to Japan. However, it looks like I'm going to have to upgrade my osx anyways, since 10.4 is too old for my new iphone! Maybe that will solve my printer problem as well.

Do you happen to know if I need to buy a Canadian version of the upgrade package for my Canadian computer, or will my computer be compatible with a Japanese upgrade package? I can't read Japanese very well, mind you...

I can't answer your question about the Japanese version but I suspect that you're right about the Canadian version being the one to get. I'm sorry that you don't have the 10.4 disk because the next step might have been to reinstall the system using Archive&Install.

Just a minor point of clarification. There is no upgrade package to go from OS X 10.4.x to OS X 10.5 or OS 10.6. There is simply the OS X 10.5 or 10.6 install disc. OS X 10.5 is no longer available in the normal retail channels and would have to be purchased through the secondary markets. However, assuming your Mac has an Intel processor you would be better advised to skip OS X 10.5 and go straight to OS X 10.6.

Theoretically the language localizations should take care of the differences between the Japanese and Canadian versions of OS X, but there may be other differences and complications I am unaware of. However a toll free telephone call to 0120-99-4477 between 9:00 to 12:00 Monday through Friday and 9:00 to 18:00 weekends and holidays should yield an authoritative answer to this question in English.

Great, thanks!