Issues with connecting an HP Photosmart B209a to High Sierra

[Ken Springer]

I'm trying to connect the printer wirelessly, and following the
instructions in the User Guide does not work.


And, since I can't connect to either the network nor to the computer,
there's no way to download any drivers and software.  So connecting via
USB as instructed by the manual, also was useless.


Tried using the PIN, but the number in the printer apparently can't be
changed on the printer.  At least, I didn't find anyway to change it.


Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.


I am not the only one to attempt to connect this printer to this computer.

I do not have ready access to the printer.


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.11.6
Firefox 59.0.1 (64 bit)
Thunderbird 52.6.0
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

[Jolly Roger]

On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
>
> I'm trying to connect the printer wirelessly, and following the
> instructions in the User Guide does not work.


Which user guide (link, please), and which steps?

Which computer (make, model, and year, please)?

What sort of wireless network (make and model router, please)?

> And, since I can't connect to either the network nor to the computer,

> there's no way to download any drivers and software.i

You're trying to connect from a Mac, right? And you're saying this Mac
is not connected to a network at all? What do you mean by "I can't
connect to...the computer", if you are working on the computer? Did you
man you can't connect to the internet? If so, then surely you can use
another computer to download the drivers from the link below, put them
on a USB stick or some other external storage device, then copy them to
the computer and install them:

<https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-all-in-one-printer-series-b209/3777155/model/3777156/drivers>

> So connecting via USB as instructed by the manual, also was useless.


That normally works, assuming the printer is actually connected to the
Mac with a USB cable of course.

What manual (link please), and which *specific* steps did you use?

> Tried using the PIN, but the number in the printer apparently can't be
> changed on the printer.  At least, I didn't find anyway to change it.


How is a PIN relevant? Much more information is needed.

> Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.


Ah, is this related to the PIN you were talking about? Anyhow, I
wouldn't expect WPS to work reliably anyway.

> I am not the only one to attempt to connect this printer to this
> computer.

Who else has tried to connect? How have they tried to connect? From what
computers did they try to connect? What was the result of each attempt?

> I do not have ready access to the printer.

Do you mean the printer is not in your physical location? I must not be
too far away if you have wireless and USB access to it. What exactly do
you mean here?

Sheesh, Ken... Why do I feel like I'm pulling teeth just to help you?

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[Wolffan]

On 25Mar 2018, Ken Springer wrote
(in article <p983n1$kc7$1...@news.albasani.net>):

> I'm trying to connect the printer wirelessly, and following the
> instructions in the User Guide does not work.
>
> And, since I can't connect to either the network nor to the computer,

if you can’t connect the computer to the network then your problem is with
the computer. If you can connect your computer to the network, go to HP’s
support page and download the latest drivers
https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-all-in-one-printer-
series-b209/3777155/model/3777156/drivers

>
> there's no way to download any drivers and software. So connecting via
> USB as instructed by the manual, also was useless.

You really seem to be saying that you have a network problem with the
computer. How is your computer connected to the network? Wired or wireless?
What is the computer’s IPv4 IP and subnet and gateway and DNS? Do you have
IPv6 connectivity? Is your router connected to the Internet?

>
>
> Tried using the PIN, but the number in the printer apparently can't be
> changed on the printer. At least, I didn't find anyway to change it.
>
> Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.
>
> I am not the only one to attempt to connect this printer to this computer.
>
> I do not have ready access to the printer.

Where is the printer relative to you why you don’t have access? Is the fact
that you don’t have access to the printer the real reason why you can’t
connect by USB?

[Ken Springer]

Good morning, Jolly Roger and Wolffan,

Well, it looks like I didn't write as clearly as I thought I did. <G> I
apologize for that.

I'm a senior, and I try to help other seniors with using their
computers. But I'm not into the hardware end of repairs, networking,
etc. I just get entangled in it because Jane Doe says "I want to..."
while I'm teaching her how to use her computer, and I try to solve the
problem. Usually, I know enough about this area to get the problem
solved, but not this time. :-)

Before I begin going through Jolly Roger's post, here's a link in HP's
forums from an individual who had scanning problems with his printer and
Sierra.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Software-and-Drivers/Photosmart-Plus-All-in-one-B209a-m-printer-not-scanning-with/td-p/6021978

Much of the info you asked for will be from memory, as I did not collect
the details you've asked about.

On 3/25/18 8:22 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
> On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
>>
>> I'm trying to connect the printer wirelessly, and following the
>> instructions in the User Guide does not work.

>
> Which user guide (link, please), and which steps?

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-all-in-one-printer-series-b209/3777155/model/3777156/manuals

Starting on User Guide manual page 5, I tried both the Push Button and
PIN method to connect to the router, failed. I could not find a way to
change the PIN that was showing on the printer's screen to the PIN
listed on the router.

Somewhere during all this, I found a link to this HP page,
https://support.hp.com/rs-en/document/c04718444 There is nothing in her
keychain that I could find. I rarely access the keychain myself, but I
don't think I missed it. I use El Capitan.

My thought was, if I got the printer connected to the router, Apple
would know about the printer and list it for me to add from Printers and
Scanners in System Preferences.

> Which computer (make, model, and year, please)?

iMac, definitely less than a year old. From conversation, it may have
been a Christmas present last year.

> What sort of wireless network (make and model router, please)?

Century Link branded ZyXEL 1100, I think.

>> And, since I can't connect to either the network nor to the computer,
>> there's no way to download any drivers and software.i
>
> You're trying to connect from a Mac, right? And you're saying this Mac
> is not connected to a network at all? What do you mean by "I can't
> connect to...the computer", if you are working on the computer? Did you
> man you can't connect to the internet?

Yes, it's a Mac. And iMac connects wirelessly to the router and the
internet. I'm envious of the speed of her iMac. I'd buy a new Mac, but
the money isn't there.

By connect to the computer I meant the direct connection you can use
with HP printers. But my first choice was to connect to the router.

> If so, then surely you can use
> another computer to download the drivers from the link below, put them
> on a USB stick or some other external storage device, then copy them to
> the computer and install them:
>
> <https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-all-in-one-printer-series-b209/3777155/model/3777156/drivers>

Well, damn. I missed seeing the 123.hp.com link on the learn more link.
I read right across the link and didn't see the color change. (I'd
like to kill most of today's website programmers, they seem have
forgotten how to design web pages to be easy to read, and friendly to
those of us with visual issues of some type. In my case, age related
macular degeneration.)

After 3 tries, I got the Easy Start software downloaded. For some
reason, it wouldn't download correctly to my thumb drive. Downloaded to
my desktop, unzipped, and moved the files to the thumb drive.

This may solve the problem, but I won't be able to find out today.

Thank you very much for posting that link, as it got me to reread the
different links.

>> So connecting via USB as instructed by the manual, also was useless.

>
> That normally works, assuming the printer is actually connected to the
> Mac with a USB cable of course.

It was, I connected it. :-) But the Mac didn't see it.

Oh, and I did ask her if she had the original disk that came with the
printer, but she couldn't find it.

> What manual (link please), and which *specific* steps did you use?

Manual referenced above.

>> Tried using the PIN, but the number in the printer apparently can't be
>> changed on the printer.  At least, I didn't find anyway to change it.

>
> How is a PIN relevant? Much more information is needed.

Referenced above from an HP link.

>> Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.

>
> Ah, is this related to the PIN you were talking about? Anyhow, I
> wouldn't expect WPS to work reliably anyway.

Educate me, why wouldn't you expect WPS to work reliably?

>> I am not the only one to attempt to connect this printer to this
>> computer.
>
> Who else has tried to connect? How have they tried to connect? From what
> computers did they try to connect? What was the result of each attempt?

The local computer shop, one man operation. I didn't find that info out
until yesterday, but I am in the shop fairly often. I'll try to
remember to ask him what he did/tried, and pass on the Easy Start info
if it works.

The printer does work, the shop tested it by connecting it to a Windows
computer.

>> I do not have ready access to the printer.
>
> Do you mean the printer is not in your physical location? I must not be
> too far away if you have wireless and USB access to it. What exactly do
> you mean here?

It belongs to one of my tutoring students. She's 20-25 minutes away,
depending on traffic.

Mac, printer, and router are all on the same desk. Interestingly, no
Ethernet port on the printer. To me, stupid move.

> Sheesh, Ken... Why do I feel like I'm pulling teeth just to help you?

I think it's your expectations about any given poster's computer
literacy. I see this in a lot of your posts, and the posts of others in
the newsgroup.

You have a perspective that the poster has a given level of knowledge,
and when they don't, you get frustrated.

Over the years, I've learned that, for the majority of users, the truth
is just the opposite. The user doesn't know diddly effing squat about
computers. I know an Apple consultant in the "big city" who comes
across users who don't know how to copy and paste. I see user after
user after user that has no clue how to organize a hard drive.
Frustrating as Hell for me.

Don't expect any user to know anything these days. Both Apple and
Microsoft long ago stopped providing the basic information with their
products, so how can you expect there to be a large group of users with
the knowledge we would like to see them have?

If you think online help is the answer, I've got some ocean front
property in Arizona for sale, to you, special price.

I think, if you were to expect someone to know little or nothing, you
may not find offering help to be as frustrating as I think you may find it.

Here's a case in point about lack of information about something about
your computer.

I'm trying to find out more about the metadata in files you can access
via the OS supplied file managers, Finder in our Macs, Windows
Explorer/File Explorer from MS. This is the information you can
optionally display using the List View in Finder. In Windows, it's in
the Details View. Here, El Capitan, that's the optional info of Date
Modified, Date Created, etc., and there are 9 possibilities. In Windows
XP, there's 41. In Windows 7, 289! Yes, I counted. LOL

My basic question is, how is a user supposed to competently use that
information if you don't know what it means? I'd bet that fewer than 1
out of 10 actually know what Date Created means. I know they don't in
Windows, and I need to do some testing on my Mac to see if things are
the same as in Windows.

[Ken Springer]

Please see my reply to Jolly Roger.

[nospam]

In article <0001HW.20683C5B0...@news.individual.net>,
Percival John Hackworth <p...@nanoworks.com> wrote:

> Also, her system is new enough that the USB ports on her system are USB3.
> Just a SWAG, but that may be a problem. Try connecting it to an older system
> and see if that system "sees" the device.

usb 3 is backward compatible with usb 2.

any device that works on one and not on the other is defective.

[Your Name]

On 2018-03-25 18:56:08 +0000, Ken Springer said:
>
<snip>

>> Which computer (make, model, and year, please)?
>
> iMac, definitely less than a year old. From conversation, it may have
> been a Christmas present last year.

Since it's a desktop Mac, just plug the printer into a USB port (on the
computer, not an external hub). There's no real point in trying to
connect wirelessly or via a network, unless it needs to be used by
other devices as well.

Then use the "Printers & Scanners" Control Pane to add a new printer,
the iMac will see it and choose / download the approriate driver
automatically.

The only real problem could be if it's an old printer which is no
longer supported. In which case it's probably easier to simply buy a
new printer (and then thanks to the ridiculous price of ink cartridges,
just keep buying another new printer when the ink runs out).


If the printer does actually need to be on the network, then you could
try using a USB cable to plug it directly into the router-modem's USB
port (if it has any).

[Ken Springer]

On 3/25/18 2:21 PM, Percival John Hackworth wrote:
> On 25-Mar-2018, Ken Springer wrote
> (in article <p98rca$i9o$1...@news.albasani.net>):

> If you connect the printer DIRECTLY to a USB port on the system and run the
> System Profiler, does the printer "show up" as a USB device?

I did not think of doing this, but will try to get it done.

> If not, there's
> the problem. Either cable is bad or the printer isn't putting out voltages
> that the system's USB hardware can "see". I'm assuming that the printer
> follows various USB standards and announces "I'm here and I'm this sort of
> device", so connecting it up to a USB port should "show up" with some sort of
> probe, like perhaps your system.

The printer was attached via USB to, what I assume, is her previous
computer, a Windows system. I took that as an indication that printer
was being used by the Windows system. I just disconnected from the
Windows system to the iMac.

> Also, her system is new enough that the USB ports on her system are USB3.
> Just a SWAG, but that may be a problem. Try connecting it to an older system
> and see if that system "sees" the device.

As nospam mentioned in his post, the USB3 ports should be backwards
compatible.

> Since you tested the printer by connecting it to a Windows machine *with that
> same cable* you know that cable is good, right?

I did not do the connecting to the Windows system, that was done by the
local shop.

> If you don't have basic "I see you" connectivity, I'd start there. Once you
> can "see" the thing, then worry about drivers, etc. Then worry about setting
> up the network.

I'll see if I can get the opportunity to check out everything that's
been suggested.

[Ken Springer]

On 3/25/18 2:41 PM, Your Name wrote:
> On 2018-03-25 18:56:08 +0000, Ken Springer said:
>>
> <snip>
>>> Which computer (make, model, and year, please)?
>>
>> iMac, definitely less than a year old. From conversation, it may have
>> been a Christmas present last year.
>
> Since it's a desktop Mac, just plug the printer into a USB port (on the
> computer, not an external hub). There's no real point in trying to
> connect wirelessly or via a network, unless it needs to be used by
> other devices as well.
>
> Then use the "Printers & Scanners" Control Pane to add a new printer,
> the iMac will see it and choose / download the approriate driver
> automatically.

IIRC, this did not work.

> The only real problem could be if it's an old printer which is no
> longer supported. In which case it's probably easier to simply buy a
> new printer (and then thanks to the ridiculous price of ink cartridges,
> just keep buying another new printer when the ink runs out).

This possibility already occurred to me, but I want to exhaust all
possibilities before giving up. She is willing to buy a new printer,
but I hate tossing stuff that still works.

> If the printer does actually need to be on the network, then you could
> try using a USB cable to plug it directly into the router-modem's USB
> port (if it has any).

I don't remember seeing a USB port on the router, but I didn't
specifically look.

Caveat... My CenturyLink ZyXEL router has a USB port, but it's not for
plugging in a USB peripheral. It's for reprogramming the router when
it's refurbished by CenturyLink..

[nospam]

In article <p998bm$idp$1...@news.albasani.net>, Ken Springer

<word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:

> > The only real problem could be if it's an old printer which is no
> > longer supported. In which case it's probably easier to simply buy a
> > new printer (and then thanks to the ridiculous price of ink cartridges,
> > just keep buying another new printer when the ink runs out).
>
> This possibility already occurred to me, but I want to exhaust all
> possibilities before giving up. She is willing to buy a new printer,
> but I hate tossing stuff that still works.

the printer named the subject is not directly supported by mac os.

if hp still supports it, then install the appropriate printer drivers,
otherwise seek an alternate solution (which does not necessarily mean
tossing it).

very simple.

[Jolly Roger]

On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
> On 3/25/18 8:22 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
>> On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm trying to connect the printer wirelessly, and following the
>>> instructions in the User Guide does not work.

>>
>> Which user guide (link, please), and which steps?
>
> https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-all-in-one-printer-series-b209/3777155/model/3777156/manuals
>
> Starting on User Guide manual page 5, I tried both the Push Button and
> PIN method to connect to the router, failed. I could not find a way to
> change the PIN that was showing on the printer's screen to the PIN
> listed on the router.

Thanks. I wouldn't bother with WPS. It's error-prone and often simply
won't work. The instructions on page 7 say to install the printer
drivers. In general I don't recommend using the CD that came with the
printer since the software on it is often very old and outdated -
instead just grab the latest from the HP website. I just looked on the
above webpage and HP says there is no downloadable installer on the
website. Instead, they lead you to this webpage, which seems to indicate
you should:

1. Connect the printer to the computer with its USB cable.
2. Open the System Preferences > Printers & Scanners preference pane.
3. Click the [+] button.
4. Click Add Printer or Scanner.
5. Click the name of the printer.
6. Click the Use menu and select the printer model.
7. Click Add.

> Somewhere during all this, I found a link to this HP page,
> https://support.hp.com/rs-en/document/c04718444 There is nothing in her
> keychain that I could find. I rarely access the keychain myself, but I
> don't think I missed it. I use El Capitan.

Are you saying you don't know (or can't get) the WiFi password for this
wireless network? Doesn't anyone else there know it? If so, you can get
it from them.

> My thought was, if I got the printer connected to the router, Apple
> would know about the printer and list it for me to add from Printers and
> Scanners in System Preferences.

Once you have the printer connected to the computer's USB port and have
the printer added to the System Preferences > Printers & Scanners panel
using the above instructions, follow the instructions on this webpage
under the "Use a temporary USB connection to connect to wireless in the
printer software" heading to open the printer utility application and
connect to the router that way:

<https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c02282624>

>> If so, then surely you can use
>> another computer to download the drivers from the link below, put them
>> on a USB stick or some other external storage device, then copy them to
>> the computer and install them:
>>
>> <https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-all-in-one-printer-series-b209/3777155/model/3777156/drivers>
>
> Well, damn. I missed seeing the 123.hp.com link on the learn more link.

I don't see a link to 123.hp.com. Maybe I'm missing something.

> I read right across the link and didn't see the color change. (I'd
> like to kill most of today's website programmers, they seem have
> forgotten how to design web pages to be easy to read, and friendly to
> those of us with visual issues of some type. In my case, age related
> macular degeneration.)
>
> After 3 tries, I got the Easy Start software downloaded. For some
> reason, it wouldn't download correctly to my thumb drive. Downloaded to
> my desktop, unzipped, and moved the files to the thumb drive.
>
> This may solve the problem, but I won't be able to find out today.

I don't see any "Easy Start" software on that page for macOS. I'm not
sure what you downloaded, but I am pretty sure you don't need it if you
follow the steps I mentioned previously above.

>>> So connecting via USB as instructed by the manual, also was useless.

>>
>> That normally works, assuming the printer is actually connected to the
>> Mac with a USB cable of course.
>
> It was, I connected it. :-) But the Mac didn't see it.

I'm betting you didn't do this in System Preferences > Printers &
Scanners while the printer was connected to the Mac's USB port:

3. Click the [+] button.
4. Click Add Printer or Scanner.

At that point, macOS should download the latest software for the
printer over the internet and then show the printer in the list.

> Oh, and I did ask her if she had the original disk that came with the
> printer, but she couldn't find it.

That's not recommended anyway as it is likely very old.

>>> Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.

>>
>> Ah, is this related to the PIN you were talking about? Anyhow, I
>> wouldn't expect WPS to work reliably anyway.
>
> Educate me, why wouldn't you expect WPS to work reliably?

Just lots of personal experience with it. It's really clunky and error
prone, if it works at all in most cases.

>>> I do not have ready access to the printer.
>>
>> Do you mean the printer is not in your physical location? I must not be
>> too far away if you have wireless and USB access to it. What exactly do
>> you mean here?
>
> It belongs to one of my tutoring students. She's 20-25 minutes away,
> depending on traffic.
>
> Mac, printer, and router are all on the same desk. Interestingly, no
> Ethernet port on the printer. To me, stupid move.

The USB port is what you need, along with adding it to the printer list
in System Preferences as described above. Once you've done that, you can
open the printer utility and set up the printer's wireless connection to
the router.

>> Sheesh, Ken... Why do I feel like I'm pulling teeth just to help you?
>
> I think it's your expectations about any given poster's computer
> literacy. I see this in a lot of your posts, and the posts of others in
> the newsgroup.
>
> You have a perspective that the poster has a given level of knowledge,
> and when they don't, you get frustrated.
>
> Over the years, I've learned that, for the majority of users, the truth
> is just the opposite. The user doesn't know diddly effing squat about
> computers. I know an Apple consultant in the "big city" who comes
> across users who don't know how to copy and paste. I see user after
> user after user that has no clue how to organize a hard drive.
> Frustrating as Hell for me.
>
> Don't expect any user to know anything these days. Both Apple and
> Microsoft long ago stopped providing the basic information with their
> products, so how can you expect there to be a large group of users with
> the knowledge we would like to see them have?
>
> If you think online help is the answer, I've got some ocean front
> property in Arizona for sale, to you, special price.
>
> I think, if you were to expect someone to know little or nothing, you
> may not find offering help to be as frustrating as I think you may find it.

Good points. It seems I'm regularly in need of more patience. : )

[Jolly Roger]

On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
>
> Here's a case in point about lack of information about something about
> your computer.

Can you please start a new thread with this?:

> I'm trying to find out more about the metadata in files you can access
> via the OS supplied file managers, Finder in our Macs, Windows
> Explorer/File Explorer from MS. This is the information you can
> optionally display using the List View in Finder. In Windows, it's in
> the Details View. Here, El Capitan, that's the optional info of Date
> Modified, Date Created, etc., and there are 9 possibilities. In Windows
> XP, there's 41. In Windows 7, 289! Yes, I counted. LOL
>
> My basic question is, how is a user supposed to competently use that
> information if you don't know what it means? I'd bet that fewer than 1
> out of 10 actually know what Date Created means. I know they don't in
> Windows, and I need to do some testing on my Mac to see if things are
> the same as in Windows.

I'll be happy to answer there, but don't want to muddy this thread with
off-topic conversation. ; )

[Your Name]

On 2018-03-25 22:37:41 +0000, Ken Springer said:
> On 3/25/18 2:41 PM, Your Name wrote:
>> On 2018-03-25 18:56:08 +0000, Ken Springer said:
>>>
>> <snip>
>>>> Which computer (make, model, and year, please)?
>>>
>>> iMac, definitely less than a year old. From conversation, it may have
>>> been a Christmas present last year.
>>
>> Since it's a desktop Mac, just plug the printer into a USB port (on the
>> computer, not an external hub). There's no real point in trying to
>> connect wirelessly or via a network, unless it needs to be used by
>> other devices as well.
>>
>> Then use the "Printers & Scanners" Control Pane to add a new printer,
>> the iMac will see it and choose / download the approriate driver
>> automatically.
>
> IIRC, this did not work.

1. You may need to turn the printer off and then on again. My old HP printer
often is not seen when turned on the first time (the Mac still says it is
"offline" even after waiting longer than the warm-up / head clean process),
but turning it off and on again makes the connection properly.

2. Make sure the printer has it's own power supply since USB port power alone
won't be enough for a normal desktop printer (it can be for some portable
printers).

3. Try another USB socket on the iMac and another USB cable - perhaps the one
you're using is faulty.

[nospam]

In article <fhqug9...@mid.individual.net>, Jolly Roger

<jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:

> > Educate me, why wouldn't you expect WPS to work reliably?
>
> Just lots of personal experience with it. It's really clunky and error
> prone, if it works at all in most cases.

and a security hole.
<https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/04/13/we-told-you-not-to-use-wps-
on-your-wi-fi-router-we-told-you-not-to-knit-your-own-crypto/>

[nospam]

In article <p99g9v$1l5d$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, Your Name

<Your...@YourISP.com> wrote:

> 2. Make sure the printer has it's own power supply

they all do.

> since USB port power alone
> won't be enough for a normal desktop printer (it can be for some portable
> printers).

no it can't. portable printers either have a power adapter or run on
batteries.

[Jolly Roger]

That too. Thanks for reminding me.

[Tyrone F. Horneigh]

On 3/25/18 9:02 PM, Jolly Roger wrote:
> On 2018-03-26, nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>> In article <fhqug9...@mid.individual.net>, Jolly Roger
>> <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> Educate me, why wouldn't you expect WPS to work reliably?
>>>
>>> Just lots of personal experience with it. It's really clunky and error
>>> prone, if it works at all in most cases.
>>
>> and a security hole.
>> <https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/04/13/we-told-you-not-to-use-wps-
>> on-your-wi-fi-router-we-told-you-not-to-knit-your-own-crypto/>
>
> That too. Thanks for reminding me.

Wow. I knew it seemed to good to be true. I disabled it LONG ago in my
Netgear R6700.

[Ken Springer]

On 3/25/18 6:51 PM, Jolly Roger wrote:
> On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
>> On 3/25/18 8:22 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
>>> On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:

<snip>

>>> <https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-all-in-one-printer-series-b209/3777155/model/3777156/drivers>
>>
>> Well, damn. I missed seeing the 123.hp.com link on the learn more link.
>
> I don't see a link to 123.hp.com. Maybe I'm missing something.

My bad, but the message was getting long, and I thought you had likely
explored the page.

1. Click Software and Drivers, click Go.
2. Change the OS to High Sierra.
3. There's a light blue "Learn more" link underneath the "Driver-Product
Installation Software". Click on it.
4. Read the Note, the link is in there.
5. Click the link.
6. The printer is not listed when you enter Photosmart B209a, so go ahead
click the "My device is not listed" link.
7. Click the Download button. You get an EasyStart zip file, and when un-
zipped, you have the HP Easy Start.app file.

<snip>

>>>> So connecting via USB as instructed by the manual, also was useless.

>>>
>>> That normally works, assuming the printer is actually connected to the
>>> Mac with a USB cable of course.
>>
>> It was, I connected it. :-) But the Mac didn't see it.
>
> I'm betting you didn't do this in System Preferences > Printers &
> Scanners while the printer was connected to the Mac's USB port:
>
> 3. Click the [+] button.
> 4. Click Add Printer or Scanner.

I did. <G>

> At that point, macOS should download the latest software for the
> printer over the internet and then show the printer in the list.
>
>> Oh, and I did ask her if she had the original disk that came with the
>> printer, but she couldn't find it.
>
> That's not recommended anyway as it is likely very old.

That was my last resort, at the time. :-) I reasoned that if the
drivers were old, Software Update would install the current drivers.

>>>> Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.

>>>
>>> Ah, is this related to the PIN you were talking about? Anyhow, I
>>> wouldn't expect WPS to work reliably anyway.
>>
>> Educate me, why wouldn't you expect WPS to work reliably?
>
> Just lots of personal experience with it. It's really clunky and error
> prone, if it works at all in most cases.

OK. I've a friend who has similar experiences with Bluetooth.

>>>> I do not have ready access to the printer.
>>>
>>> Do you mean the printer is not in your physical location? I must not be
>>> too far away if you have wireless and USB access to it. What exactly do
>>> you mean here?
>>
>> It belongs to one of my tutoring students. She's 20-25 minutes away,
>> depending on traffic.
>>
>> Mac, printer, and router are all on the same desk. Interestingly, no
>> Ethernet port on the printer. To me, stupid move.
>
> The USB port is what you need, along with adding it to the printer list
> in System Preferences as described above. Once you've done that, you can
> open the printer utility and set up the printer's wireless connection to
> the router.

My info on the port on CenturyLink modems actually came from
CenturyLink. So, I've never tried to plug anything in. I got curious
about it as I wanted to plug an external HD into the port, to create a
poor man's NAS. I may revisit this idea, now.

>>> Sheesh, Ken... Why do I feel like I'm pulling teeth just to help you?
>>
>> I think it's your expectations about any given poster's computer
>> literacy. I see this in a lot of your posts, and the posts of others in
>> the newsgroup.
>>
>> You have a perspective that the poster has a given level of knowledge,
>> and when they don't, you get frustrated.
>>
>> Over the years, I've learned that, for the majority of users, the truth
>> is just the opposite. The user doesn't know diddly effing squat about
>> computers. I know an Apple consultant in the "big city" who comes
>> across users who don't know how to copy and paste. I see user after
>> user after user that has no clue how to organize a hard drive.
>> Frustrating as Hell for me.
>>
>> Don't expect any user to know anything these days. Both Apple and
>> Microsoft long ago stopped providing the basic information with their
>> products, so how can you expect there to be a large group of users with
>> the knowledge we would like to see them have?
>>
>> If you think online help is the answer, I've got some ocean front
>> property in Arizona for sale, to you, special price.
>>
>> I think, if you were to expect someone to know little or nothing, you
>> may not find offering help to be as frustrating as I think you may find it.
>
> Good points. It seems I'm regularly in need of more patience. : )

LOL My Bluetooth friend mentioned above is the same way. She'll ask
for help, and via Skype screenshare or Teamviewer, I tell her to do A.
Before the remote connection can catch up, she's gone off in a direction
that I'm not aiming for, which just causes more problems. ROFL

There are people who killfile some posters, but I don't believe it it.
Quite often, the first couple of posts have good info for me, then they
go "off the tracks" and become totally useless to the conversation.

[Ken Springer]

On 3/25/18 6:52 PM, Jolly Roger wrote:
> On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
>>
>> Here's a case in point about lack of information about something about
>> your computer.
>
> Can you please start a new thread with this?:
>
>> I'm trying to find out more about the metadata in files you can access
>> via the OS supplied file managers, Finder in our Macs, Windows
>> Explorer/File Explorer from MS. This is the information you can
>> optionally display using the List View in Finder. In Windows, it's in
>> the Details View. Here, El Capitan, that's the optional info of Date
>> Modified, Date Created, etc., and there are 9 possibilities. In Windows
>> XP, there's 41. In Windows 7, 289! Yes, I counted. LOL
>>
>> My basic question is, how is a user supposed to competently use that
>> information if you don't know what it means? I'd bet that fewer than 1
>> out of 10 actually know what Date Created means. I know they don't in
>> Windows, and I need to do some testing on my Mac to see if things are
>> the same as in Windows.
>
> I'll be happy to answer there, but don't want to muddy this thread with
> off-topic conversation. ; )

Done.

[nospam]

In article <p9alg9$a7l$1...@news.albasani.net>, Ken Springer

<word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:

> >>>
> >>> Ah, is this related to the PIN you were talking about? Anyhow, I
> >>> wouldn't expect WPS to work reliably anyway.
> >>
> >> Educate me, why wouldn't you expect WPS to work reliably?
> >
> > Just lots of personal experience with it. It's really clunky and error
> > prone, if it works at all in most cases.
>
> OK. I've a friend who has similar experiences with Bluetooth.

bluetooth is very easy to use and extremely reliable.

[Jolly Roger]

On 2018-03-26, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
> On 3/25/18 6:51 PM, Jolly Roger wrote:
>> On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
>>> On 3/25/18 8:22 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
>>>> On 2018-03-25, Ken Springer <word...@greeleynet.com> wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>>>> <https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-all-in-one-printer-series-b209/3777155/model/3777156/drivers>
>>>
>>> Well, damn. I missed seeing the 123.hp.com link on the learn more link.
>>
>> I don't see a link to 123.hp.com. Maybe I'm missing something.
>
> My bad, but the message was getting long, and I thought you had likely
> explored the page.
>
> 1. Click Software and Drivers, click Go.
> 2. Change the OS to High Sierra.
> 3. There's a light blue "Learn more" link underneath the "Driver-Product
> Installation Software". Click on it.
> 4. Read the Note, the link is in there.
> 5. Click the link.
> 6. The printer is not listed when you enter Photosmart B209a, so go ahead
> click the "My device is not listed" link.
> 7. Click the Download button. You get an EasyStart zip file, and when un-
> zipped, you have the HP Easy Start.app file.

Who knows whether that software will actually be able to help you or
not. Let us know what happens when you run it.

>>>>> Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.

>>>>
>>>> Ah, is this related to the PIN you were talking about? Anyhow, I
>>>> wouldn't expect WPS to work reliably anyway.
>>>
>>> Educate me, why wouldn't you expect WPS to work reliably?
>>
>> Just lots of personal experience with it. It's really clunky and error
>> prone, if it works at all in most cases.
>
> OK. I've a friend who has similar experiences with Bluetooth.

Bluetooth is simple to use and very reliable. Nowhere near the same
thing. It's possible your friend doesn't really know what they are
doing.

>>>>> I do not have ready access to the printer.
>>>>
>>>> Do you mean the printer is not in your physical location? I must not be
>>>> too far away if you have wireless and USB access to it. What exactly do
>>>> you mean here?
>>>
>>> It belongs to one of my tutoring students. She's 20-25 minutes away,
>>> depending on traffic.
>>>
>>> Mac, printer, and router are all on the same desk. Interestingly, no
>>> Ethernet port on the printer. To me, stupid move.
>>
>> The USB port is what you need, along with adding it to the printer list
>> in System Preferences as described above. Once you've done that, you can
>> open the printer utility and set up the printer's wireless connection to
>> the router.
>
> My info on the port on CenturyLink modems actually came from
> CenturyLink.

I wasn't referring to a USB port on the router. Connect the printer's
USB cable to the *Mac*, then open System Preferences > Printers, then
click the [+] button, then wait for it to identify the printer over the
USB connection. It should then show the printer in the list and allow
you to add it. Once you've added it you can open the Printer Utility app
from the same window, which will let you connect the printer to the
wireless network.

> So, I've never tried to plug anything in. I got curious
> about it as I wanted to plug an external HD into the port, to create a
> poor man's NAS. I may revisit this idea, now.

Don't bother connecting the printer to the router's USB port.

[Ken Springer]

On 3/25/18 6:12 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
> I'm trying to connect the printer wirelessly, and following the
> instructions in the User Guide does not work.

>
> And, since I can't connect to either the network nor to the computer,
> there's no way to download any drivers and software.  So connecting via
> USB as instructed by the manual, also was useless.

>
> Tried using the PIN, but the number in the printer apparently can't be
> changed on the printer.  At least, I didn't find anyway to change it.

>
> Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.

>
> I am not the only one to attempt to connect this printer to this computer.
>
> I do not have ready access to the printer.

I called the owner of the computer/printer this morning, made
arrangements to call her back and pick out a time to try to get the
printer to work.

As I was walking out the door to go to an appointment, she called back.

She turned the system on, and it works. I do not know why, she does not
know why.

"It prints beautifully" is a direct quote. She's happy, so I'm happy.

Would the Apple system have detected the printer via just having it
connected via USB? And installed the drivers? That's the only
explanation I can think of.

[Jolly Roger]

Well yes, which is why I suggested you connect the printer to the
computer with the USB cable and open System Preferences > Printers &
Scanners in the first place. In general, that's all you need to do to
connect a printer to a Mac. : )

[Your Name]

Yes, that's *exactly* how Apple works - it used to be called "Plug &
Play". (The Windoze copy-cat version was nicknamed called "Plug & Pray"
because, as always, it never worked properly.) That's why the most
people here were telling you to plug the printer in directly via USB.
It's MUCH MUCH MUCH simpler to set-up than mucking about with flakely
wireless connections.

Depending on the age of the printer and whether or not compatible newer
OS drivers actually exist, it may simply be using a generic driver.
That would mean some of the fancier features of the printer aren't
accessible, but it will still print. This is how the ancient printer on
High Sierra-updated iMac now works for one person I help out.

[Ken Springer]

On 3/31/18 4:10 PM, Your Name wrote:
> On 2018-03-31 18:59:06 +0000, Ken Springer said:
>> On 3/25/18 6:12 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
>>> I'm trying to connect the printer wirelessly, and following the

>>> instructions in the User Guide does not work.


>>>
>>> And, since I can't connect to either the network nor to the computer,

>>> there's no way to download any drivers and software.  So connecting via
>>> USB as instructed by the manual, also was useless.


>>>
>>> Tried using the PIN, but the number in the printer apparently can't be

>>> changed on the printer.  At least, I didn't find anyway to change it.

>>>
>>> Connecting via pressing the WPS button on the router failed also.


>>>
>>> I am not the only one to attempt to connect this printer to this computer.
>>>
>>> I do not have ready access to the printer.
>>
>> I called the owner of the computer/printer this morning, made
>> arrangements to call her back and pick out a time to try to get the
>> printer to work.
>>
>> As I was walking out the door to go to an appointment, she called back.
>>
>> She turned the system on, and it works. I do not know why, she does
>> not know why.
>>
>> "It prints beautifully" is a direct quote. She's happy, so I'm happy.
>>
>> Would the Apple system have detected the printer via just having it
>> connected via USB? And installed the drivers? That's the only
>> explanation I can think of.
>
> Yes, that's *exactly* how Apple works - it used to be called "Plug &
> Play". (The Windoze copy-cat version was nicknamed called "Plug & Pray"
> because, as always, it never worked properly.) That's why the most
> people here were telling you to plug the printer in directly via USB.
> It's MUCH MUCH MUCH simpler to set-up than mucking about with flakely
> wireless connections.
>
> Depending on the age of the printer and whether or not compatible newer
> OS drivers actually exist, it may simply be using a generic driver.
> That would mean some of the fancier features of the printer aren't
> accessible, but it will still print. This is how the ancient printer on
> High Sierra-updated iMac now works for one person I help out.

For you and Jolly Roger, I did plug the USB cable from the printer into
the Mac, but the printer never showed up in System Prefs.

I know that sometimes, it takes longer than I expect for things to show
up on my Mac, now I wonder if I shouldn't have waited longer.

I'm going to hang on to the Easy Start program I downloaded from HP, in
case she calls me back.

[Jolly Roger]

Or the printer wasn't turned on, or some other PEBKAC issue... ; )

> I'm going to hang on to the Easy Start program I downloaded from HP, in
> case she calls me back.

It sounds like she's all set unless she changes something.

[Your Name]

It could be like my HP printer and simply not recognised without
turning it off and on a second time.

It could be a broken USB cable that either she replaced with a
different one, or in moving the computer or printer managed to get the
wires connecting (for the moment!). Or maybe she's using a different
USB port to the one you tried, which may have been faulty.

[Ken Springer]

Sorry for the late reply, just don't seem to have the time for any
newsgroups lately.

Yea, the printer was on.

>> I'm going to hang on to the Easy Start program I downloaded from HP, in
>> case she calls me back.
>
> It sounds like she's all set unless she changes something.

I certainly hope so.