Printer Does Not Print: Offline

[kaneohe]

Does this make sense and what is the fix? Printer used to work fine with Mac.....would print something from Text Editor or from internet. More recently it seems not to want to do that. By accident I think I have discovered that the problem started about the time I posted about a Garmin GPS problem and got some suggestions to update the Garmin.

I didn't think I had done that successfully since the Mac said it couldn't find the GPS unit....basically it seemed to spin it's wheels forever. I finally gave up and unplugged the GPS unit. There appears to be something related to Garmin that was downloaded on the Mac that is new (or else I never noticed before).

Sometime after that GPS episode I discovered the printing issue. Again by accident I discovered that turning the Mac off, then on resolved the printing issue. More recently the problem reappeared. I believe it is related to a new GPS device that my DW bought .....one for golf courses if you can believe that even exists. That unit is plugged in periodically to the Mac to recharge it. Again rebooting the Mac resolved the printing issue.

Does all that make sense and is there an easy fix? When the printer doesn't print, the Mac thinks it is not connected according to some messages.

[mpeirce]

Is it a USB connected printer or is it connected over the network?

[pb4uski]

I wonder if uninstalling the printer and then reinstalling it would solve the issue. Have you googled for a solution?

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpeirce Is it a USB connected printer or is it connected over the network?

And if it is networked, the first step I'd do is to try it with the USB connection. That can tell you if it is a printer or connection problem, and eliminate all sorts of possible issues.

As Thoreau said, years before wi-fi was invented: "Simplify, simplify".

-ERD50

[kaneohe]

Not sure I'm answering your questions but..........what network? There is a Mac and there is a printer. To print, I connect the Mac to the printer via USB cable. Nothing else.....no router,etc.

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe Does this make sense and what is the fix? Printer used to work fine with Mac.....would print something from Text Editor or from internet. More recently it seems not to want to do that. By accident I think I have discovered that the problem started about the time I posted about a Garmin GPS problem and got some suggestions to update the Garmin. I didn't think I had done that successfully since the Mac said it couldn't find the GPS unit....basically it seemed to spin it's wheels forever. I finally gave up and unplugged the GPS unit. There appears to be something related to Garmin that was downloaded on the Mac that is new (or else I never noticed before). Sometime after that GPS episode I discovered the printing issue. Again by accident I discovered that turning the Mac off, then on resolved the printing issue. More recently the problem reappeared. I believe it is related to a new GPS device that my DW bought .....one for golf courses if you can believe that even exists. That unit is plugged in periodically to the Mac to recharge it. Again rebooting the Mac resolved the printing issue. Does all that make sense and is there an easy fix? When the printer doesn't print, the Mac thinks it is not connected according to some messages.

When you plug in your printer it is a physical connection. Then Mac OSX connects it through software to a printing port. The printer goes to sleep.

Some intruder plugs in a garmin usb whatever. It sounds like no driver for that and OSX gets confused. So your printer is offline now. Waking it up with a print job is not working.

I'd find another way to charge the garmin.

[Bamaman]

You might want to reboot the modem. And cut the printer off and back on. Same with rebooting the computer. Eventually it'll be back online.

[kaneohe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 When you plug in your printer it is a physical connection. Then Mac OSX connects it through software to a printing port. The printer goes to sleep. Some intruder plugs in a garmin usb whatever. It sounds like no driver for that and OSX gets confused. So your printer is offline now. Waking it up with a print job is not working. I'd find another way to charge the garmin.

target, thanks for your thoughts. I think we can charge it on the other Mac......an older one which might transfer the problem to that one which we use less so it would be less of an issue. I don't know if the Garmin Express which was downloaded on the newer Mac is a driver or not. There seems to be some issue w/ that ...........occasionally after the Garmin is unplugged, there is a message that says to "close?" or "eject" or some such thing to the Garmin "disc" before unplugging but I can't find that "disc" so something is a bit off.
I know when I connect my camera to the old Mac, I'm supposed to click and drag the camera icon to the trash icon before disconnecting the camera which
I assume is a similar thing.

[nwsteve]

I have found verifying my printer is using the latest software release and then cold booting the printer helps resolve some printer issues.
nwsteve

[Sunset]

You can get various other devices that have a usb charging port, which you could use to charge the garmin, or just plug it into your car when using it.

We have an alarm clock that has a usb charger built in, and a plug in the wall thing that has usb ports for charging devices.

[gauss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe Does this make sense and what is the fix? Printer used to work fine with Mac.....would print something from Text Editor or from internet. More recently it seems not to want to do that. By accident I think I have discovered that the problem started about the time I posted about a Garmin GPS problem and got some suggestions to update the Garmin. I didn't think I had done that successfully since the Mac said it couldn't find the GPS unit....basically it seemed to spin it's wheels forever. I finally gave up and unplugged the GPS unit. There appears to be something related to Garmin that was downloaded on the Mac that is new (or else I never noticed before). Sometime after that GPS episode I discovered the printing issue. Again by accident I discovered that turning the Mac off, then on resolved the printing issue. More recently the problem reappeared. I believe it is related to a new GPS device that my DW bought .....one for golf courses if you can believe that even exists. That unit is plugged in periodically to the Mac to recharge it. Again rebooting the Mac resolved the printing issue. Does all that make sense and is there an easy fix? When the printer doesn't print, the Mac thinks it is not connected according to some messages.

Did you get the Garmin update directly from Garmin? If not, it may be possible that you received some type of malware that infected your computer.

I know that when I looked into updating a Garmin a few years ago the cost for an update was as much as I paid for the unit (discounted on the Internet) originally.

-gauss

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe target, thanks for your thoughts. I think we can charge it on the other Mac......an older one which might transfer the problem to that one which we use less so it would be less of an issue. I don't know if the Garmin Express which was downloaded on the newer Mac is a driver or not. There seems to be some issue w/ that ...........occasionally after the Garmin is unplugged, there is a message that says to "close?" or "eject" or some such thing to the Garmin "disc" before unplugging but I can't find that "disc" so something is a bit off. I know when I connect my camera to the old Mac, I'm supposed to click and drag the camera icon to the trash icon before disconnecting the camera which I assume is a similar thing.

You did a fine job of isolating this, and have the fix. Many can't do that on their own.

You probably do have a driver for the Garmin installed, since you installed software. But there are issues with that, as you have pointed out. Your Mac thinks the garmin is a disc, because that is the default. So the correct dirver is not assigned.

Best to charge this guy elsewhere. Do you have a usb adapter in your car? Or maybe plug in an adapter in the kitchen. You can buy an outlet with USB charging built in, if you're comfortable with changing outlets.

[dixonge]

Whether or not your GPS has installed the right driver or not should have *nothing* to do with your printer. I realize that you see circumstantial evidence that the two are related. Odds are they are not.

Your printer might be going into some sort of 'sleep mode' and is not responding to print jobs, however to actually troubleshoot something like this would require more information. Your OS version, printer model, etc.

[rbmrtn]

Since you suspect the garmin might be the issue, and the printer was working fine before the garmin express install, I would start by uninstalling the garmin express and see if the printer problem goes away. After a week or so with no problems install the garmin express again and see if the printer problems come back. Once you confirm the the garmin express is the issue then you can start looking for a fix. It most likely has a driver , the garmin express is an update tool to download maps and software to the garmin device. Maybe the update is not compatible with your OSX version. See if garmin has a tech support site and check user forums for similar problems.

[kaneohe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dixonge Whether or not your GPS has installed the right driver or not should have *nothing* to do with your printer. I realize that you see circumstantial evidence that the two are related. Odds are they are not. Your printer might be going into some sort of 'sleep mode' and is not responding to print jobs, however to actually troubleshoot something like this would require more information. Your OS version, printer model, etc.

Thanks, all, for the suggestions. Might have to charge elsewhere after I convince myself that it's ok and can find an acceptable substitute at reasonable price.......can see on Amazon the cheapies w/ lower ratings and the higher rated higher priced ones.

Yesterday, as mentioned, had the non-printing problem for the 2nd time.
Rebooted computer and printed ok. This morning turned on printer and printed ok(computer had been on all the time and gps had not been plugged in) ........so if there is a sleep mode,
it must take over 12 hrs to go to sleep. Will try again 12 hrs from now..........before gps is plugged in.
printer is typically off unless being used.
Gps is typically plugged in overnight 1 night a wk so I can do these probes before/after it is plugged in to convince myself the events are correlated or not.