new peppermint 8 install, jacked up hplip <SOLVED>

[PCNetSpec]

Can you point to the instructions you followed to download/install hplip from the web.

[adamunderwood]

If you are asking who advised me to download/install from the web, I honestly  don't recall.  I was frustrated because I knew I had to be making it more complicated than it should be and was probably causing all of my own problems.  I was searching everywhere trying to fix it without having to ask for help.  I dont remember how I got there but I ended up on the following web page and it seemed pretty straight forward so I tried it and ended up with the same outcome as the version I got through the software manager.

https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing/gethplip

[PCNetSpec]

okay you're going to want to download and install it again.

Once you've done that follow the steps (A through D) here
https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing/howtos/install#howtocheck7
to uninstall it

PS. at step C you want the commands that start with "sudo", not the ones that start with "su" .. and be VERY careful to get the syntax right with those commands .. in fact instead of those 4 commands, instead run these 8 commands in sequence, there's less scope for deleting your entire system

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cd /usr/share
sudo rm -rvf hplip
cd /etc
sudo rm -rvf hp
cd ~/
sudo rm -rvf .hplip
cd /var/lib
sudo rm -rvf hp

also make sure hplip from the repos is uninstalled

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sudo apt-get remove --purge hplip*

then reinstall it from the repos

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sudo apt-get install hplip hplip-gui

[adamunderwood]

Ok it is installed.  The test pages came out blank so now I know something is still not correct.  When I try to enter the directory it is giving me this error, unless I am way off base and the .run file is my source tarball and I dont need to go into the directory. 

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gs1@gs1-HP-Compaq-Elite-8300-SFF ~ $ cd Downloads
gs1@gs1-HP-Compaq-Elite-8300-SFF ~/Downloads $ ls
hplip-3.18.9  hplip-3.18.9.run
gs1@gs1-HP-Compaq-Elite-8300-SFF ~/Downloads $ cd hplip-3.18.9
bash: cd: hplip-3.18.9: Permission denied
gs1@gs1-HP-Compaq-Elite-8300-SFF ~/Downloads $ 

I shouldnt need to use sudo to enter the hplip-3.18.9 directory or should I?  or am I really screwed up and that isn't even a directory?

[PCNetSpec]

depends on the permissions that were set when the directory was created

try:

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sudo su

then

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cd /home/gs1/Downloads/hplip-3.18.9

then

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make uninstall

then

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exit

now continue at step C

[adamunderwood]

Ok I finished all that.  reinstalled as instructed.  I try to open the HPLIP Toolbox from the preferences menu and still just a flash of a window opening and then immediately closing and nothing else.  As previously instructed hp-check output is as follows.

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gs1@gs1-HP-Compaq-Elite-8300-SFF ~ $ hp-check
error: Unable to locate models.dat file
Saving output in log file: /home/gs1/hp-check.log

HP Linux Imaging and Printing System (ver. 0.0.0)
Dependency/Version Check Utility ver. 15.1

Copyright (c) 2001-15 HP Development Company, LP
This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
This is free software, and you are welcome to distribute it
under certain conditions. See COPYING file for more details.

Note: hp-check can be run in three modes:
1. Compile-time check mode (-c or --compile): Use this mode before compiling the HPLIP
supplied tarball (.tar.gz or .run) to determine if the proper dependencies are        
installed to successfully compile HPLIP.                                              
2. Run-time check mode (-r or --run): Use this mode to determine if a distro supplied 
package (.deb, .rpm, etc) or an already built HPLIP supplied tarball has the proper   
dependencies installed to successfully run.                                           
3. Both compile- and run-time check mode (-b or --both) (Default): This mode will     
check both of the above cases (both compile- and run-time dependencies).              

Check types:                                                                          
a. EXTERNALDEP - External Dependencies                                                
b. GENERALDEP - General Dependencies (required both at compile and run time)          
c. COMPILEDEP - Compile time Dependencies                                             
d. [All are run-time checks]                                                          
PYEXT SCANCONF QUEUES PERMISSION                                                      

Status Types:
    OK
    MISSING       - Missing Dependency or Permission or Plug-in
    INCOMPAT      - Incompatible dependency-version or Plugin-version

-Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/hp-check", line 855, in <module>
    core.init()
  File "/usr/share/hplip/installer/core_install.py", line 463, in init
    self.distro_name = self.distros_index[self.distro]
KeyError: 0
gs1@gs1-HP-Compaq-Elite-8300-SFF ~ $ 

edit:
so because after downloading and installing from the .run file actually was able to recognize my printer I tried that again following your instructions from this post:
https://forum.peppermintos.com/index.php/topic,5734.msg57697.html#msg57697

Everything went smoothly with that.  The printer actually worked repeatedly except that all it was spitting out was blank pages, not what I wanted to print. 

So I followed all of the steps you just gave me a little bit ago to uninstall and purge everything again.  Reinstalled from the repos and now back to here again.

[alynur]

Hi adamunderwood, if this is a newer computer, why did you install Peppermint 8 and not Peppermint 9? I only ask because I have had things in P 8 that didn't work, like my bluetooth dongle, that just worked in P 9.

[adamunderwood]

Hi adamunderwood, if this is a newer computer, why did you install Peppermint 8 and not Peppermint 9? I only ask because I have had things in P 8 that didn't work, like my bluetooth dongle, that just worked in P 9.

I guess I misspoke.  It is new to us.  It is probably 3 or 4 years old.  Just added more ram and installed a solid state hd.
But to be honest I didn't know 9 was out.   I already had 8 on a thumb drive so I just used it.
If the general consensus is that I will be better off with 9, then I will bite the bullet and reinstall.

[PCNetSpec]

Your call adam, I mean we can still try fixing hplip in PM8 but it could take forever so if you're in a mind to move to PM9, now would be the time to do it.

[adamunderwood]

Ok, Peppermint 9 is now installed. 
Forgive me but in order not to screw anything more up I am probably going to be asking about rather elementary procedures to most of you.

So would you rather me install hplip through the terminal or software manager?
Based on previous installs, with my particular printer I will need an additional plugin.  When I tried to install it asked for root password which I know you do not want us to set.  How do you want me to go about that?

[PCNetSpec]

Personally I'd install it via the terminal:

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sudo apt-get install hplip hplip-gui

then configure your printer/scanner via:-

Menu > Settings > HPLIP Toolbox

Oh, and never be afraid to ask .. that's what the forum is for

[adamunderwood]

Ok do I still need to edit the lsb-release file to show ubuntu or does it really matter when it tells me that it doesnt recognize Peppermint while I am trying to install missing plugin?

[PCNetSpec]

NO .. you don't need to edit lsb-release if installing hplip via the repos (as the above command does)

[adamunderwood]

Ok now is where I am losing my mind.  Sometimes it prints and sometimes not.  I thought it depended on what application I was using at first because the only thing that actually seemed to work was when it was a pdf.  When it doesnt work it would still flash the message in the top right corner of the screen saying the print job started and then later completed but nothing actually printed.  Then I tried more pdf's and sometimes they worked and sometimes not.  Crazy as it sounds (maybe just a coincedence) a jpg file on my desktop prints while pdfs and spreadsheets do not.  Then I go into a folder where I store more files and the pdf's will print from there but jpgs do not, Libre office files still do not as well.
Also it will not scan.  When using Simple Scan it shows my printer, seems to start but nothing ever scans to the screen.  The message window on my printer says that it is scanning to pc also even though it never does.

I know the printer is good because the other computer hooked to it is an older model hp running peppermint 6 and everything prints and scans fine.

It couldn't be a bad usb cable or usb switch could it?

And then while I am sitting here typing this the little message window will flash a message saying one of the files I tried to print earlier is now printing, and then that the job is completed but I am not trying to print anymore and still nothing is actually printing.

[alynur]

As far as bad cables etc. goes, anything is possible. I've had bad cables that would recognize the printer and not print and I had bad cable that wouldn't recognize the printer. Also, sometimes I would have to recycle the paper discharge window open /close/open for the printer to print, and this is a current condition that I have been experiencing since I bought the printer, an HP MP Inkjet. Not much help I know.