No printers appear in 'Add Printer' box

Our main printer is a HP LaserJet 5000, connected via a wired network, and I could print to it with no problem until today. A few days ago I needed to connect another printer (an Epson) directly to this iMac (10.6.6). However installing the Epson has affected the HP 5000. When trying to print to the 5000 I received the message 'looking for printer. printer offline' (it was switched on of course). Interestingly the names of both printers, when going to File > Print, had small white link/spanner icons next to them (?).

I tried removing the HP from my printer list but it doesn't appear when I go to re-add it (it used to appear under 'default'). I've had no joy copying preference files for the 5000 from other Macs on the network onto my iMac. I also tried 'reset printing system', which seems to be a step backward as I now have no printers available, and can't add any of them...!

I've tried installing the latest HP drivers a couple of times with restarts each time, but this seems to have no effect.

This iMac is only a week old - when first setting it up, I simply went to printers > add, and the HP was available there. Now nothing appears in the list (besides a printer connected to one of the Macs, but I don't need that). Please can anyone shed some light on this for me? Having the HP available to me is crucial, the Epson not so much.

I'm downloading the 10.6.8 update, and fear this could be another step backward...

Can other computers see the 5000?
You say its networked have you typed in its address ?
Try unplugging the ethernet from the 5000 wait a few seconds and plug it back in.
Is the 5000 set to DHCP or static ?

Thanks for your response,

Yes, the other machines can see the 5000.
How would I go about finding the printer's address?
I tried unplugging the cable but it doesn't appear in the list.
I believe it's set to DHCP.

Look on the other computers if you can access supplies for printer it will usually read hp5xxxx.local or type in address 192.xxx.x.xx your router/ modem should show you what
ip everything in your network has.
The reason I asked if you set up as DHCP if you power down or unplug ethernet on the HP it will re-establish the link or works for the C 6380.
Last resort would be to hook a USB cable direct to Mac after unplugging ethernet to let the Mac re-establish all printer info. Then if it shows up and works disconnect the USB and re-connect using ethernet making sure to check make this default printer.

I couldn't find hp5xxxx.local or similar, where exactly would I be typing '192.xxx.x.xx'? The only IPs/URLs I could find within Supplies are 'pap://*/LaserJet%205000/LaserWriter' and '4.3.5.153', though the Add Printer > IP screen on my machine doesn't find the printer using this info.

Tried removing the ethernet cable and powering down, no luck when turning it back on.

Your last resort was a great idea, but it's an old printer unfortunately and thus doesn't have a USB port on it... d'oh!

You tried typing 4.3.5.153 in your address bar ?
Also did you try checking the box printer sharing in system preferences in printer ?
What ports are on this printer ?

Yes, it tells me it's a 'complete and valid address' but it doesn't assign the printer to it, or have any effect when trying to print from it.

I didn't look at printer sharing because nothing's changed on the other machines in this aspect - everyone else can see the 5000 and I used to be able to see it in the list so I'm guessing it's all down to my iMac.

It has a SCSI port and a Local Talk port. Thanks for your help so far.

Chrisadapt said:

Yes, it tells me it's a 'complete and valid address' but it doesn't assign the printer to it, or have any effect when trying to print from it.

I didn't look at printer sharing because nothing's changed on the other machines in this aspect - everyone else can see the 5000 and I used to be able to see it in the list so I'm guessing it's all down to my iMac.

It has a SCSI port and a Local Talk port. Thanks for your help so far.

Click to expand...

You should be able to set up the printer through the address it should allow you to check all settings and networking.

Chrisadapt said:

It has a SCSI port and a Local Talk port. Thanks for your help so far.

Click to expand...

That's a parallel printer port, not a SCSI port. You can use a USB-to-parallel adapter cable.

pap://*/LaserJet%205000/LaserWriter
is an appletalk URI -- ie, it can't work on Leopard or S.L.

Add printer > select IP takes you to non-automatic printer setup options. You need to know the IP address. Select IP > HP Jetdirect and enter the IP address.

Print out the IP address of the printer by printing a startup/config page - usually by power off/power back on.

Guys thank you so much for your help - printing a configuration page gave me the IP and I connected to this with add printer > IP, and it successfully prints!! Your help is much appreciated, thanks again!