"Communication Error: Unsupported Device" Error Message When You Install an HP Officejet T45 or T65 Printer (823299)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional

SYMPTOMS

When you try to install a Hewlett-Packard (HP) Officejet T45 or T65 All-in-One series printer, you may receive the following error message:
Communication error: Unsupported device.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because the drivers are not installed correctly. If ZoneAlarm is installed and enabled on the computer, it may interfere with the installation program.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, follow these steps:
  1. If ZoneAlarm is active on the system, disable it or remove it. To disable ZoneAlarm, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, and then click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
    2. In the System Configuration Utility, click the Services tab.
    3. Click to clear the True Vector Basic Login and the True Vector Internet Monitoring check boxes.
    4. Click the Startup tab, click to clear the check box next to any ZoneAlarm startup item, and then close the System Configuration Utility.

      You may reinstall or enable ZoneAlarm after the Officejet printer is successfully installed.
  2. Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
  3. Select all the instances of the HP Officejet T45 or T65 printer, press the DELETE key, and then click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the printer.
  4. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
  5. Click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.
  6. In Device Manager, right-click every IEEE device, click Uninstall, and then click No when you are prompted to restart the computer.
  7. Double-click OtherDevices\Unsupported Devices to expand the item, right-click every device listed, and then click Uninstall.
  8. Make sure that the printer cable is the "IEEE 1294 9" type.
  9. Click Start, click Shut Down, select Restart from the list, and then click OK.
  10. When the computer restarts, a message in the Taskbar indicates that the operating system has found new hardware. Click Install Automatically for each instance of the Add New Hardware Wizard, and then follow the directions in the wizard. Click Finish to complete each instance of the wizard.
  11. Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
  12. Right-click the HP Officejet T45 or T65 printer, click Properties, and then click Print Test Page.
  13. If the test page prints correctly, click Yes.
  14. Open any word processing document, and then use the HP Officejet printer to print it to make sure that the installation is successful.

MORE INFORMATION

To help make sure that the installation of the OfficeJet software and drivers succeeds the first time, follow these steps:
  1. Connect the printing device but leave its power turned off. When you do so, the Universal Plug and Play utility (UPnP) does not detect it.
  2. Download and install the software and driver update from HP.
  3. Turn on the printing device to start the New Hardware Wizard, and let it install each component in sequence.
The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
For information about how to contact Hewlett-Packard (HP), click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:7/12/2003
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb KB823299 kbAudEndUser
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.