Epson 1280 Status Monitor Windows XP

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Posted By
emencz
Sep 14, 2003
Views
1115
Replies
18
Status
Closed
Hey, is the Status Monitor working for anybody here? My SM keeps on wreaking havoc on my printer driver if it starts working at all. Of course, Epson is in denial. Usually I get a communication error. Any input is appreciated.

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YrbkMgr
Sep 14, 2003
Hey emencz, long time no see!

I get an error on it from time to time across the network, but never from a direct connect. I’m on a parallel port with it, and I can’t remember if it has USB – I think it does.

Here’s a couple of questions that may help: What type of connection? Has it EVER worked okay? Have you looked at the Utility Tab under Printer and Option information? What happens if you open the printer properties and run the Status Monitor from the Utility tab?

Peace,
Tony
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emencz
Sep 15, 2003
Hello! Waving excitedly.

What type of connection?

USB, directly to the computer.

Has it EVER worked okay?

Not since I installed XP. Worked well in ME.

Have you looked at the Utility Tab under Printer and Option information?

Do not understand this question. Do you mean speed & progress? I did look under printer & option information and had no idea what all those numbers meant.

What happens if you open the printer properties and run the Status Monitor from the Utility tab?

Get a communication error message telling me to check my connections and make sure everything’s turned on or see my printer documentation for further help.
Y
YrbkMgr
Sep 15, 2003
emencz,

Get a communication error message telling me to check my connections and make sure everything’s turned on or see my printer documentation for further help

The only thing I can think of is to check the USB connection: try a different cable; try a different device on that port (like a camera or something). Point is, you’re able to print (I assume) but something’s erroring out – is it possible it IS a connection issue? That’s where I’d be focusing.

Also, are you able to print out a test page from the printer properties? If so, does it still give the error?

Another thing I just thought of – do you have a firewall? Maybe you should try, just as a diagnostic, disabling everything in the system tray to see if something there is causing a conflict.

Peace,
Tony
K
Klaas
Sep 15, 2003
I very ocassionally get a communication error when starting a print job on my 1290 via USB on WinXP. The job prints okay, but the Status Monitor thinks it can’t talk to the printer and/or driver. In those rare cases, I’ve rebooted, and the SM is happy again.

One thing I did get from the Epson webpages, is that the WinXP/2K status monitor is different to the Win98/ME monitor.

FWIW, I downloaded the driver and status monitor seperately from the UK Epson site. I note that they are also listed seperately on the US Epson site…

cheers
Klaas
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emencz
Sep 15, 2003
I very ocassionally get a communication error when starting a print job on my 1290 via USB on WinXP. The job prints okay, but the Status Monitor thinks it can’t talk to the printer and/or driver. In those rare cases, I’ve rebooted, and the SM is happy again.

That’s what’s happened to me, but now it’s unhappy period.

And yes, I’ve downloaded the new status monitor from Epson’s site. The new file’s dated ’01, though.

Is there a roundabout way of checking ink levels?
EI
Enrique Ivern
Sep 15, 2003
It doesn’t happen to me.
Sorry to ask a pretty basic question, but is your Status Monitor version the recommended for your driver?
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emencz
Sep 15, 2003
Yes.
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YrbkMgr
Sep 15, 2003
emencz,

Do what I recommended in post #3. Also, are they both the same version of USB (2.0/1.0?)
D
dpick
Sep 15, 2003
The same thing happens to me (WinXp Pro USB). I’ve emailed Epson, and they were no help. I’ve cured it for a while by uninstalling and reinstalling the monitor. Then it will work for a while, but it will eventually start doing it again. I now ignore it when it happens, and it prints fine. One thing that is interesting is while this communication error is on the screen, I can into Settings/Printers right click on my 1280/printing preferences and it shows the ink levels fine. So, it may not like to communicate with PS, but will talk to Xp…

Next, for all those 1280 users who get sick and tired of having to change their ink cartridges when they KNOW they still have ink in them, I found a little Russian program which resets their ink cartridges while still in their printers. It’s called "SSC Service Utility." Works great.
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YrbkMgr
Sep 15, 2003
Interesting find dpick. Thanks.
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dpick
Sep 15, 2003
Anytime, Tony. I usually get about 25% more out of an ink cartridge with that little gem. Saves me a ton of scratch.
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emencz
Sep 15, 2003
dpick, would SSC replace status monitor or do I have to keep it installed to monitor ink levels?
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dpick
Sep 16, 2003
No, keep the status monitor. SSC is only a little program which will "fool" the status monitor into thinking you have replaced your ink cartridges. It is not a replacement for the monitor. As I understand it, the status monitor does not actually monitor the levels in the cartridges. It is merely a countdown timer that only approximates the amount of ink left in the cartridge based on useage. A cynical person would say the system (Status Monitor) used by Epson is designed to sell more ink. A practical person would write a program to circumvent this intent.

Our thanks go to the Russians on this one.
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emencz
Sep 16, 2003
No, keep the status monitor.

Sheesh!
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dpick
Sep 16, 2003
Sheesh!

Excuse me?
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YrbkMgr
Sep 16, 2003
dpick, emencz is about at wits end with the status monitor and was hoping that that little applet would replace it so that he could forget about it and move on – nothin’ personal, I’d wager.
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dpick
Sep 16, 2003
Thanks, Tony. I’m sure you’re right–old girlfriends and computer problems tend to get even the best of us.

I did some more reading about the status monitor problem. It’s fairly well known, and one of the main reasons is having another non-Epson printer on your system. That’s ME! I have a Minolta laser, so that’s what is probably causing my problem. Like I said, it still prints fine, I just ignore the message. Small price to pay for an amazing printer. My brother-in-law is a professional artist. He is finding more and more of his peers are turning to the 1280 for their Limited Edition prints. I did quite a of his prints for him (cost him a nice original on my wall now) until he bought one for himself.

Dan
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emencz
Sep 16, 2003
I’d ignore it too, but it messes up the driver and I need to reboot after every print. The only time I have painless printing is when SM is uninstalled.

did some more reading about the status monitor problem. It’s fairly well known, and one of the main reasons is having another non-Epson printer on your system.

That explains why every time I print using Epson my HP Laserjet prints a blank page.

Thanks, Tony, for explaining my frustration to dpick. No offense intended, but I do hate Epson.

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