HP LaserJet DOS Printer Drivers and DOS Utilities --------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS A. WHAT IS INCLUDED ON THIS DISK B. INSTALLING THE DOS PRINTER DRIVERS AND DOS UTILITIES C. DOS PRINTER DRIVERS D. DOS UTILITIES - THE STATUS MONITOR E. DOS UTILITIES - THE REMOTE CONTROL PANEL F. DOS UTILITIES - THE SYMSET UTILITY G. TROUBLESHOOTING - DOS UTILITIES H. HOW TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM HP SERVICES ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A. WHAT IS INCLUDED ON THIS DISK This disk contains DOS printer drivers and DOS utilities. If you use DOS software applications, you will want to install some or all of the software included on this disk. Printer drivers are required by most DOS software applications for you to be able to access the printer's features and then print your files. This disk contains the latest DOS printer drivers and installation notes for several of the most popular DOS software applications. Refer to the "DOS Printer Drivers" section for more information. The DOS printer utilities are not required for you to print, but they provide additional benefits when you print with your HP LaserJet printer. The DOS Printer Utilities included on this disk are the Status Monitor, the Remote Control Panel, and the Symset Utility. For more information on these utilities, refer to the sections following this one. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- B. INSTALLING THE DOS PRINTER DRIVERS AND DOS UTILITIES To install either the DOS printer drivers or the DOS utilities or both, follow these steps: 1. Be sure that your HP LaserJet printer and cables are set up and connected to your PC according to the instructions in your HP LaserJet Printer User's Manual. 2. Make sure that your printer is plugged in and ready to print. 3. Insert the HP LaserJet DOS Utilities disk into your flexible disk drive (usually A: or B:). 4. At the DOS prompt, switch to the drive where the HP LaserJet DOS Utilities disk is located (for example, A:). Note that if you are running Windows, you must completely exit Windows before you install the DOS printing software. 5. At the DOS prompt, type INSTLJ and press the ENTER key. 6. Follow the instructions on the screen. Once you have installed the DOS printer drivers or DOS utilities, you can run the installation program again with the following command: -> At the DOS prompt, type INSTLJ and press the ENTER key. For information on using the DOS printer drivers, refer to the installation notes included with each printer driver and also to your software application's documentation. For information on starting and using the DOS utilities, refer to the following sections and the Help module within each utility. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- C. DOS PRINTER DRIVERS The DOS printer drivers included on this disk support only the versions of software listed below. Most of the printer drivers will not support previous versions of this software. Therefore, we encourage you to upgrade your software by contacting the vendors listed below. Where to get Software Supported Upgrade Information Application Versions USA Canada ----------- ---------- ---------------------------- Lotus (R) 1-2-3 2.3, 2.4 800-TRADE-UP 800-668-1509 Lotus (R) 1-2-3 3.1, 3.4 800-TRADE-UP 800-668-1509 WordPerfect for DOS 5.1, 6.0 800-321-4566 800-321-4566 ====================================================================== 1-2-3 is a product of Lotus Development Corporation. WordPerfect is a product of WordPerfect Corporation. If your DOS software application is not listed above, contact your software vendor to order an updated printer driver for your software. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- D. DOS UTILITIES - THE STATUS MONITOR The Status Monitor is a "terminate-and-stay-resident" (TSR) program that runs in the background and automatically displays messages from the printer on your computer screen whenever the printer's status changes (for example, "out of paper"). During the DOS utilities installation, if you choose to modify your autoexec.bat file, the Status Monitor will be loaded into memory each time you start your computer. If you choose not to modify your autoexec.bat file, you can load the Status Monitor into memory at any time with the following command: -> At the DOS prompt, type STAT and press the ENTER key. When the Status Monitor is loaded into memory, it will automatically monitor your printer for messages. You can bring up the Status Monitor's main menu with either of the following commands: -> Use the "hot key" combination by pressing all hot keys at the same time. The default is [CTRL]+[ALT]+[E]. or -> At the DOS prompt, type STAT and press the ENTER key. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- E. DOS UTILITIES - THE REMOTE CONTROL PANEL The Remote Control Panel allows you to view and modify the printer's default settings from your computer. This is useful if you are running DOS software applications that do not support some or all of the printer features that you need. Once you have installed the DOS utilities, you can start the Remote Control Panel with the following command: -> At the DOS prompt, type RCP and press the ENTER key. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- F. DOS UTILITIES - THE SYMSET UTILITY The Symset Utility allows you to print pages that display the characters contained in various symbol sets. Symbol sets (or character sets) are specific collections of alphabetic, numeric, punctuation and special symbols in a given font. Once you have installed the DOS utilities, you can start the Symset Utility with the following command: -> At the DOS prompt, type SYMSET and press the ENTER key. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- G. TROUBLESHOOTING - DOS UTILITIES This section provides possible solutions if you are having problems installing, starting, or using the DOS utilities. 1. CANNOT INSTALL THE DOS UTILITIES 2. CANNOT START THE DOS UTILITIES 3. UNLOADING THE STATUS MONITOR 4. THE STATUS MONITOR IS NOT MONITORING PRINTER MESSAGES 5. THE POSITION OF THE STATUS MONITOR IN YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE 6. POSSIBLE SOFTWARE APPLICATION CONFLICTS WITH THE STATUS MONITOR 7. THE STATUS MONITOR IS NOT WORKING WITH PRINTCACHE BY LASERTOOLS 8. STATUS MONITOR BEEPS BUT DOES NOT DISPLAY PRINTER MESSAGES 9. CANNOT START THE REMOTE CONTROL PANEL 10. THE STATUS MONITOR IS NOT WORKING AFTER YOU RUN THE REMOTE CONTROL PANEL --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. CANNOT INSTALL THE DOS UTILITIES Because the Remote Control Panel and the Status Monitor must be able to receive data from the printer, these utilities will work only with a direct-connection Bi-Tronics parallel port. Therefore, if the installation program cannot detect bidirectional communication, you will not be able to install the DOS Utilities. The following is a list of some things to check if bidirectional communication cannot be established: (1) You are using a parallel cable, and the parallel cable is securely connected to both your PC and the printer. (2) Your parallel cable supports Bi-Tronics communication. (3) Your PC is directly connected to your printer. Most devices connected to both the printer and your PC, such as switch boxes, print spoolers and networks, will prevent bidirectional communication. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. CANNOT START THE DOS UTILITIES Once you have installed the HP LaserJet DOS utilities, you should be able to start the utilities with the commands discussed in the preceding sections. If these commands result in the error message "Bad Command or File Name", you probably need to add the HP LaserJet DOS utilities directory to the path you type. To do this, note the directory where you installed the HP LaserJet utilities (the default is C:\HPLJUTIL) and add the following to your autoexec.bat file: PATH=%PATH%;C:\HPLJUTIL If your autoexec.bat file already contains one or more PATH statements, add this statement after the existing PATH statements. Otherwise, add this statement to the beginning of the file. Once you have modified your autoexec.bat file, reboot your computer for the new path statement to take effect. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. THE STATUS MONITOR IS NOT MONITORING PRINTER MESSAGES For the Status Monitor to monitor printer messages, it must first be loaded into the computer's memory. Also, the Status Monitor is a DOS-only utility and is not intended to be used with DOS screens within Microsoft Windows. Make sure that you are not running a DOS screen under Microsoft Windows when you load the Status Monitor into memory and when you are using the Status Monitor to monitor printer messages. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. UNLOADING THE STATUS MONITOR If the Status Monitor is interfering with one of your other software applications, or if you need to free up the memory it uses (12 KB), you can unload it from memory with the following command: -> At the DOS prompt, type UNLOAD and press the ENTER key. This will unload the Status Monitor (if possible) and disable the the Status Monitor functions. Note that if you have loaded other TSR programs into your computer's memory since loading the Status Monitor, you must first unload these other programs before you can unload the Status Monitor. If you are still having problems unloading the Status Monitor, or if you don't want the Status Monitor to be loaded into memory each time you start your computer, remove the Status Monitor command from your autoexec.bat file and reboot your computer. Depending on where you installed the DOS utilities, the command will look something like the following and will probably be at the end of your autoexec.bat file: C:\HPLJUTIL\status\stat --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. THE POSITION OF THE STATUS MONITOR IN YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE During the installation procedure, if you chose to modify your autoexec.bat file, the command to load the Status Monitor is placed at the end of this file. This will usually work correctly. For example, because the Status Monitor uses the computer's file system, all disk caching (for example, SMARTDRV), disk compression (for example, STACKER), and LAN software (for example, NOVELL), must be loaded BEFORE the Status Monitor in your autoexec.bat file. On the other hand, if you load a DOS "shell" program (for example, DOSSHELL or Norton Commander) from your autoexec.bat file, the Status Monitor command must come BEFORE the DOS "shell" commands. Commands after the shell program will not execute until you exit from the shell. If you upgrade your version of DOS or install other software applications, your autoexec.bat file may get modified. Make sure that the commands are still in the correct order after the upgrade. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. POSSIBLE SOFTWARE APPLICATION CONFLICTS WITH THE STATUS MONITOR The Status Monitor monitors the printer's status continuously while it is loaded into the computer's memory. To avoid conflicts, it also watches for other software applications that may be using the printer's parallel port at the same time. For performance reasons, some software applications access the printer's port directly and cannot be detected by the Status Monitor. These applications may conflict with the Status Monitor operation, and vice versa. In some cases, these applications allow you to change the printing configuration with settings such as "Print through the BIOS" and "Print to Hardware Port." Selecting the "Print through BIOS" setting will avoid conflicts with the Status Monitor, but it may decrease the performance of your software application. If the conflicting application does not provide a "Print through BIOS" option (for example, Borland's Paradox database), or if you choose not to select this setting, you can deactivate the Status Monitor while running your application to avoid conflicts. To deactivate the Status Monitor before running the conflicting application, follow these steps: (1) Press the "hot key" combination (the default is [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[E]). (2) Select "Options." (3) Select "De-activate." (4) Select "Y" for yes and press ENTER. (5) Press ESC twice. To reactivate the Status Monitor after running the conflicting application, follow these steps: (1) Press the "hot key" combination (the default is [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[E]). (2) Select "Options." (3) Select "Re-activate." (4) Select "Y" for yes and press ENTER. (5) Press ESC twice. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. THE STATUS MONITOR IS NOT WORKING WITH PRINTCACHE BY LASERTOOLS PrintCache, which is manufactured by LaserTools, is a high-speed print-buffering program that writes directly to the LPT port. Although the current version of PrintCache is fully compatible with the Status Monitor, using older versions with the Status Monitor will cause conflicts and abnormal operation. And although PrintCache can be configured to use the BIOS (to avoid conflicts), performance will suffer. Please call LaserTools at 510-420-8777 for an upgrade to the newest version of PrintCache. Make sure to specify that you are using the HP DOS Utilities Status Monitor. Other programs may conflict with the Status Monitor in different ways. If the Status Monitor displays a printer message during a data transfer, the data transfer can be aborted. To solve this or any other problem associated with the Status Monitor displaying messages at the wrong time, you can include the name of the application that should not be interrupted in the C:\HPLJUTIL\STATUS\NOSWAP.TXT file. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. THE STATUS MONITOR BEEPS BUT DOES NOT DISPLAY PRINTER MESSAGES Many common DOS software applications print in a way that prevents the Status Monitor from displaying printer messages during printing. In this case, the Status Monitor will make its normal "beep" sound, but it will not display printer messages. This occurs in the DOS Copy command (to LPT), Microsoft Word for DOS, and in other software applications that use the DOS Copy command for printing. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. CANNOT START THE REMOTE CONTROL PANEL When you try to start the Remote Control Panel, if you get a message such as "The Status Monitor is the wrong version for this Remote Control Panel," or if the Status Monitor displays a message, you may need to set the VERIFY command to OFF in your autoexec.bat file. The Status Monitor and the Remote Control Panel cannot communicate correctly if the DOS VERIFY command is set to ON. If you have the Verify command set to ON in your autoexec.bat file, either remove the command from the autoexec.bat file or set it to OFF and then reboot your computer. Setting the VERIFY command to OFF will not cause problems on your computer, as this is the default setting. In fact, it may increase the performance of your hard disk. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. THE STATUS MONITOR IS NOT WORKING AFTER YOU RUN THE REMOTE CONTROL PANEL Both the Status Monitor and the Remote Control Panel receive information from the printer. Therefore, if the Status Monitor is loaded into memory, it will be disabled and will not be able to monitor the printer while the Remote Control Panel is running. Once you have exited the Remote Control Panel, the Status Monitor will be re-enabled and should work as usual. In some cases, the Remote Control Panel may not be able to re-enable the Status Monitor or reset the printer so that it can send messages. If the Status Monitor is not working properly after you exit the Remote Control Panel, follow these steps: (1) Check the printer's control panel and make sure that the printer is ready to print. For more information on the printer's control panel, refer to your HP LaserJet Printer User's Manual. (2) At the DOS prompt, type STAT and press the ENTER] key. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- H. HOW TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM HP SERVICES HP ELECTRONIC SERVICES INTERNET Anonymous ftp library service is available for around-the-clock access to drivers and technical support information for Hewlett-Packard peripheral and computer products. IP address 192.6.71.2 Alias ftp-boi.external.hp.com Login - anonymous Password - send user identification (your Internet name) URL to access HP - http://www.hp.com/home.html COMPUSERVE HP Peripherals Forum provides low-cost, around-the-clock access to drivers and technical support information. In the US, you can call CompuServe at 800-848-8199 (Users type: GO HPPER). This service is provided by CompuServe, not Hewlett-Packard. In countries other than the US, contact CompuServe for information. SOFTWARE APPLICATION SUPPORT Call the phone number listed in your software vendor's manual. PERIPHERAL TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE To resolve problems you may encounter, we suggest using the following resources: 1) Your company may have an internal support professional, department, or help desk. 2) Your local authorized reseller is also qualified to provide you with support. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ US and CANADA SUPPORT SERVICES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "HP Guide to Electronic Support Services" HP FIRST DOCUMENT #9020. See HP FIRST section below for assistance. HP BBS DOWNLOAD SERVICES Hewlett-Packard provides a download service for around-the-clock access to drivers and technical support information for Hewlett-Packard peripheral and computer products. (208) 344-1691 Modem Settings - N,8,1 14,400 baud maximum DRIVER DISTRIBUTION - US and Canada Hewlett-Packard's Driver Distribution Center provides US and Canadian customers with HP drivers for several popular software packages. To order drivers: Call: 303-339-7009 Monday through Saturday, 24 hours a day Fax: 303-330-7655 Driver Distribution is available in many other North American countries. Ask your local HP dealer for the numbers. HP FIRST - US and Canada HP's automated fax system provides technical information around-the-clock for Hewlett-Packard peripherals and computer products. Indexes are available listing thousands of documents. U.S. and CANADA, call 800-333-1917 Elsewhere call 208-344-4809 (must call from your fax machine) AUDIO-TIPS Audio-Tips offers pre-recorded technical information for Hewlett-Packard peripherals and computer products around-the- clock. Many trouble-shooting tips have faxable documents providing for more detailed information. US and CANADA, call 800-333-1917 HP CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER - US and Canada The HP Customer Support Center provides live technical assistance for peripherals. Call: 208-323-2551 Hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time Free technical support is offered during the warranty period at 208-323-2551 (have your HP LaserJet printer serial number available). After the warranty period, call 800-999-1148 (US and Canada) at $25 per call (US Funds - VISA or MasterCard); or call 900-555-1500 (US) at $2.50 per minute. Charges begin only when you connect with a support technician. Prices subject to change. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EUROPEAN SUPPORT SERVICES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DRIVER DISTRIBUTION - Europe Driver Lists and Driver Order Forms are available from HP FIRST (see HP FIRST in this section). Use the product numbers listed on the Driver List to fill in the Driver Order Form. The Driver Order Form includes fax numbers and telephone numbers for ordering drivers. HP FIRST - Europe (HP's Fax Information Retrieval Support Technology) HP provides technical information by fax, around the clock. To use HP FIRST, you must call from a touch-tone telephone or fax. Telephone numbers for HP FIRST are listed below. Country Language Toll Free Numbers ======== ======== ================================= Austria German 0660-8128 (local toll charged) Belgium Dutch 0800 1 1906 Belgium French 0800 1 7043 Denmark Danish 800-10453 Finland Finnish 9800-13134 (local toll charged) France French 05-905900 Germany German 0130-810061 Great Britain English 0800-960271 Italy Italian 1678-59020 Netherlands Dutch 06-0222420 Norway Norwegian 800-11319 (local toll charged) Spain Spanish 900-993123 Sweden Swedish 020-795743 (local toll charged) Switzerland German 155-1527 Switzerland French 155-1526 Access to HP FIRST in English is available from the countries listed above and other countries by calling the Netherlands at (+31) 20 6815792. NOTE: International call charges apply outside of the Netherlands. EUROPEAN CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER Hours of operation: Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri from 8:30 to 18:00, Central European Time Wednesday from 8:30 to 16:00, Central European Time Free technical support is offered during the product's warranty period. Please have the product's serial number available when you call. Telephone numbers and other information about the European Customer Support Center is included with supported products. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUPPORT SERVICES - OTHER COUNTRIES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Driver Distribution and HP FIRST is available in many other countries. Ask your local HP dealer for the numbers. Customer Support is also available in several other countries. Check your printer user's manual or contact your authorized HP Dealer for more information.