[waynf]

Just installed new all-in-one printer on Windows XP Pro and I keep getting "Remove Hardware Safely" icon in systray.

I have done the following troubleshooting so far:
Device Manager>Universal Serial Bus Controller>Properties>Device Status Box>
Also: USB Root Hub>properties>Device Status Box

All result in "Device is working properly"

Printer works good, but I keep getting icon.

Today I did updates from www.hp.com/support and problem still exists.

Have also been receiving notification of "power surge at USB port." That's why I centred my attention on USB port and root hub.

Printer manual advises me I should use USB cable of 10 feet or les. Mine is 15ft. Do you see any connection with this problem.

Waynf

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The "remove hardware safely" thing is supposed to do that, its primarily designed for pen drives and MP3 players and so on. Windows has been known to do it for any USB devices it finds though. If the printer works, fine, don't worry about it.

Regarding power surges on the USB port, this could be a sign of faulty hardware (ie the port(s) are definitely screwed) or it's a false alarm. Try other USB ports.

1. For a short term solution, you can turn off the error message from
Device Manager -> USB host controller -> Advanced tab -> check "Don't tell me about USB errors".

2. According to Microsoft, the error pop up does not disable its
function. It will just turn off all error messages.

Then with regards to cable length: USB is good for up to 2m, though standard length is 1m. Anything over 2m is not guaranteed to work.

[Neil Jones]

The "remove hardware safely" thing is supposed to do that, its primarily designed for pen drives and MP3 players and so on. Windows has been known to do it for any USB devices it finds though. If the printer works, fine, don't worry about it.

Regarding power surges on the USB port, this could be a sign of faulty hardware (ie the port(s) are definitely screwed) or it's a false alarm. Try other USB ports.

1. For a short term solution, you can turn off the error message from
Device Manager -> USB host controller -> Advanced tab -> check "Don't tell me about USB errors".

2. According to Microsoft, the error pop up does not disable its
function. It will just turn off all error messages.

Then with regards to cable length: USB is good for up to 2m, though standard length is 1m. Anything over 2m is not guaranteed to work.

[waynf]

Would it be advisable for me to cut USB cable and splice it.?

Could this have been an installation problem and if so 1)can I choose restore point and restore to before I did installation or 2) should I just uninstall and reinstall by means of printer installation disk.

[waynf]

Sorry, one more thing. Is there any way to test functionality of USB Ports. Also when one does Select Printer>Propeerties>Advanced>Ports which port should be selected USB 0 or USB DOT4?

[Neil Jones]

Splicing: I wouldn't do it myself, but if you've got a spare cable floating around then it would be something new to play with.

The power surge message is generated by Windows; its usually not generated by the printer software. I doubt that reinstalling it would sort it.

USB Port testing: Plug something USB in A port generally doesn't go bad on its own and doesn't gradually stop, it just stops dead in its tracks and Windows doesn't see anything you plug into it. You should isolate if the message is being generated by one of the ports or the hub its connected to, hence why I suggested to use different USB ports.

Port Selection: USB 0 is the way forward, though you may need USB DOT4 depending on the printer, as some all-in-ones such as HP OfficeJets tend to expect it floating around and/or used.