CentOS

Hi all

I am trying to install a HP Deskjet 6980 printer to my peer to peer network via Administration>Printing>Add printer using HPLIP but get the above "client-error-not-possible" error. The printer ppd is shown on the list as located at lsb/usr/HP/hp-deskjet_6980_series.ppd.gz as I pass through the various pages. As a check I found that it is visible if I go to System>Remote Places>www servers, at least on the one machine the details of which are posted here:

http://pastebin.centos.org/38216

Cannot see at at all on the other machine but that is a seperate problem so not for this post. Can't seem to find much about this error on the web as far as installation of a printer is concerned, only problems when access printers from another OS so not much help there.

By the way, I checked on the HP website and the versin of HPLIP on the CentOS 6.2 distro, although very out of date, does support this excellent little network printer.

Any suggestions anyone?

Cheers

Alan

Did you try "Find Network Printer" under "Select Device" and was it found? If it is to be used as a networked printer then don't connect via USB.

Ah Phil, have you seen the wonders of the new HP's--many of them only have wireless, so the only way to set it will be through USB.

At any rate, I would avoid the CentOS (and Fedora, and Ubuntu, and Mint) GUI config tools--I've found them to be problematic.

For HP printers, I recommend installing hplip--in CentOS, I think it's available from rpmforge--and using hp-setup to setup your printer.

[quote]
scottro wrote:
Ah Phil, have you seen the wonders of the new HP's--many of them only have wireless, so the only way to set it will be through USB. [/quote]
Wandering OT; however, my wired/wireless router assigns all IPs on the same subnet so that should not be necessary, at least in my case.

[quote]
At any rate, I would avoid the CentOS (and Fedora, and Ubuntu, and Mint) GUI config tools--I've found them to be problematic.[/quote]
That was certainly true in the past, but my experiences with recent EL/CentOS-6 tools find them much improved.

[quote]
For HP printers, I recommend installing hplip--in CentOS, I think it's available from rpmforge--and using hp-setup to setup your printer.[/quote]
No need to go outside:[code]
# rpm -q centos-release
centos-release-6-2.el6.centos.7.i686
# yum list hplip
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, priorities, refresh-packagekit
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
* elrepo: mirror.symnds.com
1 packages excluded due to repository priority protections
Available Packages
hplip.i686 3.10.9-3.el6 base
# yum provides \*/hp-setup
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, priorities, refresh-packagekit
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
hplip-3.10.9-3.el6.i686 : HP Linux Imaging and Printing Project
Repo : base
Matched from:
Filename : /usr/bin/hp-setup
[/code]

Hi Phil and scottro,

I neglected to add in my post that all my machines are network via cable.

[quote]
pschaff wrote:
Did you try "Find Network Printer" under "Select Device" and was it found? If it is to be used as a networked printer then don't connect via USB.[/quote]

Sorry Phil. I am not sure where you meant me to look (Find network printer?). However, I do suspect that accessibility is the key rather than which version of, or what software is installed.

As you know, hplip is part of the default Centos installation but obviously not the most up to date version. That said, according to the HP website the hplip package that is currently installed is fine for the printer I am trying to install.
(http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/models/deskjet/deskjet_6980_series.html)

Now then.
# rpm -q centos-release
centos-release-5-7.el5.centos

# yum list hplip
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
* base: mirror.denit.net
* extras: nl.mirror.eurid.eu
* updates: mirror.nl.leaseweb.net
base | 1.1 kB 00:00
extras | 2.1 kB 00:00
updates | 1.9 kB 00:00
Installed Package
hplip.i386 1.6.7-6.el5_6.1 installed

I must say that the printer installation error message that I used to head this post is one of the most obscure I have ever seen. Might be of some help to someone but not even a hint of what the problem could be to me.

Anyway I will add Dag's repository and priorities ? that will take me a day or so as I will have to re-read and absorb all I did last time. I also whant to pick up on the "finding" part. As I said, I wonder if there is a clue there.

Cheers

Alan

[quote]
bigal wrote:
... I am not sure where you meant me to look (Find network printer?).[/quote]
Step-by-step:
Start [b]system-config-printer[/b] from the GUI under "Administration / Printing" or from the command line.
Go to the "Server" menu "New >" sub-menu and select "Printer"
You should get a request to enter the root password to authenticate (inexplicably twice - seems like a minor bug).
That brings up a "New Printer" window with "Select Device" and an entry for "> Network Printer"
Select that and you should see some new lines including "Find Network Printer". When I select that it goes out and finds my Brother MFC-7840W in three different variants.
Clicking ""Find Network Printer" yet again will create a new display on the right side for "Network Printer / Host:" where you can enter an IP address, or hostname if your router has been set up for that, and a "Find" button.

Does anything in that process identify the correct printer?

[quote]
However, I do suspect that accessibility is the key rather than which version of, or what software is installed.[/quote]
I agree.

[quote]
As you know, hplip is part of the default Centos installation but obviously not the most up to date version. That said, according to the HP website the hplip package that is currently installed is fine for the printer I am trying to install.
(http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/models/deskjet/deskjet_6980_series.html)
...
Anyway I will add Dag's repository and priorities ? that will take me a day or so as I will have to re-read and absorb all I did last time. I also whant to pick up on the "finding" part. As I said, I wonder if there is a clue there.[/quote]
Neither RPMforge nor any of the other well-known repos have an updated hplip for EL6.

I have an outdated page on installing from source on CentOS 5--mostly taken from the hplipopensource.com page, but anyway.....

http://home.roadrunner.com/~computertaijutsu/hplip.html


Various caveats apply--you're using CentOS, which has stability as one of its main points, an outside package may affect said stability--however, I have had no problem with it.

Back at Phil, what I find--and this is only on all-in-ones, is that even the more recent versions of Fedora, Ubuntu and Mint, while they'll install the printer, they don't seem to realize it's also a scanner, so I have to uninstall and reinstall with hplip.

At work, I do the same, as the printers I use are all HP, and I usually install it from command line, simply for speed and convenience. (I never install Gnome, so am not really familiar with recent CentOS Gnome stuff.)

Thanks for the perspective Scott. Might be a good idea for someone who needs a later hplip to put in an RFE at [url=http://lists.repoforge.org/mailman/listinfo/users]RPMforge/Repoforge[/url] for a package. :-)