hp ink cartridge expiration problems

Hi, all....

I refill my own ink cartridges, and buy some refills now and then. I have a HP j5750 All-In-One printer.

The problem is that HP cartridges have a built-in expiration date that is read by the printer's CMOS, which is powered by an internal battery. The expiration date will keep brand new cartridges from working if they've been on your shelf too long. And used or recycled cartridges are crap shoots as to when they will expire. (Which just happened, and is the reason for this thread.)

Expiration means a 3/4 full cartridge, etc, will not work in the printer. This is an aggravating problem, caused by HP's desire to sell more ink at the consumer's expense.

There is a workaround for the expiration problem. It is the removal of the CMOS battery, which stops the printer from reading the date on the cartridge. Removal of the battery doesn't cause any printer malfunctions.

I cannot locate the CMOS battery in my HP j5750 Officejet printer. HP has no diagrams or schematics available, and searches of the net have been unsuccessful. (FixYourOwnPrinter has nada on my printer.)

So, I am seeking guidance on this situation. The CMOS battery part is Q8233-Battery, if that's of any help.

Directions to possible sites that could help would be appreciated.

Thanks for your attention!

cousin

 

Get refillable cartridges
http://www.macroenter.com/product_p/cb337wn.htm
http://www.macroenter.com/product_p/cb335wn.htm

 

This isn't your printer but it might be in the same general location. Also, HP has been know to soldier the batteries in now. I do not know think it is a CMOS battery because it retails for $65 refurbished.

http://www.partshere.com/online/detail.asp?partno=Q8233-BATTERY

http://land.netonecom.net/tlp/ref/letters/hpPrinters.php

 

Typical HP "service", IMO. rolleyes

Bazza

 

FooGoo.......I don't have perfect knowledge (doh) re this problem, but I think some of the refilled carts quit when their dates expire. :confused Anyway, I'm trying to avoid the situation altogether.

Tgell, thanks, but I've already been there.

OK, so here's what's next: This evening I took out some screws and pried stuff up to try to spot the battery. Got a good look at the circuit board and ribbons, but no battery.......yet!

I can see that I can't undo enough stuff on the printer to see the battery without some major screw up occurring. So, I'm going to get out the old Ryobi rotary tool and cut off the end of the case to get a better view of the insides. I'll let you all know how it goes.

cousin

 

These refill carts 'automatically' reset so they don't expire. They are still cheaper in the long run.
Especially if you foobar your printer taking it apart.

 

FooGoo....as far as I've gotten, yours is the best answer. I'd like to refill my carts over and over until they mechanically go bad. My printer menu screen tells me only,"The cartridge will no longer work in your printer." This was on a refurbished cart that was working fine until I noticed that no color was showing on a printed page. I refilled the cart, put it back in, and got that message.

This refurbished cartridge still had the tape intact, iow, I had not refilled it before. I got only the one (partial?) fill out of that cart. That's what I'm talking about. Except for the expiration, the cartridge is ready to go.

I saw couple of other workarounds for this, involving taping over various cartridge pins to fool the printer, and one called for plugging and unplugging the printer several times. These seemed iffy to me, and a lot of effort for maybe nothing. I will read them again.

I did cut off the lower left side of the printer. I gently removed the tape carrier and got a complete look at the circuit board. Soldered into the circuit board (as tgell related) was a small battery, about the size of a hearing aid battery, perhaps a little thicker. The board contact was soldered to the battery, so I could not isolate it with a paper shim, etc. I was also concerned that messing much with the battery might disable the circuit board. So I quit there. :cry

Not having a schematic or any knowledge, I have no idea if this battery was the one I was looking for. I think it is, however, and I'm not going to cut up my printer any further for something that might not be there. (Unless I learn that further exploration is necessary.) If I find out anything more, I'll post it here.

Thanks for your input, guys.

cousin

 

Oh, boy! Do I share your hatred of HP’s printer and ink machinations!

I first experienced their way of preventing my printer from printing several years ago when my HP PSC 1350 quit printing right in the middle of a document that was printing with no quality problems whatsoever. Printer was 6 months old with both original cartridges. Not knowing if printer or cartridge was at fault, I hated to spend nearly $30 on a new black cartridge, but I decided to do just that and everything worked just fine again. Then a week later Office Max offered a free ink refill, so I took in my old cartridge. The clerk told me that the cartridge had a date that could be read and she took my old cartridge and gave me a different one that she had refilled.

Since then I have Googled the subject of workarounds for HP ink cartridges to death. I learned that (for my model anyway) the printer remembers 2 cartridges of each kind, so you need a set of 3 to rotate. I found I could set the date on my computer back before the cartridge date and get the old cartridges to work. You have to set the date back then plug in the printer so it never sees the current date. Not always convenient and not good since your dates in the computer mess with some websites, but it does allow me to print. I could take out the CMOS battery and print but I’ve been reluctant to tear into the printers (I have a couple people have freecycled, saying they would not work—but they will work with either NEW cartridges OR some sort of workaround).

I have steamed old cartridges over water brought to boiling and sprayed the bottoms with Windex (original blue) and put them on a coffee filter to get the ink flowing. I know the ink will come out, but I think HP has read some of these workarounds and is fighting back. I refuse their software updates; I think they are putting some other “spyware” to see if the cartridges are old and refilled and doing something to keep them from working.

I even wrote Obama at whitehouse.gov and told him Congress ought to outlaw these printer and ink policies that prevent easy use of third party materials. If everybody could save $60 on ink, we’d have some more money to spend elsewhere to stimulate the economy!

 

Sigh. This is why it pays to research the dirty little secrets of specific models (not just brands) before you buy. Once a printer manufacturer discovers their IRM ("Ink Rights Management") for a specific model has been hacked, the "new" model replacing it usually has tougher IRM features to increase the sale of overpriced OEM ink/toner.

Although my current printers are not the latest and greatest (HP Deskjet 5610 and Samsung CLP-310), the HP is a cinch to refill; good aftermarket toner carts for the Samsung are a dime a dozen on eBay (a set of 4 is usually less than the OEM black cartridge alone).

A quick way to research aftermarket ink/toner availability is to search the printer model # or replacement cartridge #s on eBay. Few or no aftermarket options indicates you'll spend a fortune for OEM supplies.

Based on this, last year's closeout may save you a few bucks now and a lot more later when the ink runs out.

 

I'm am sooo glad I have three old working HP printers in the house before HP started all this battery and chip nonsense!

 

I found this, which I saw in a couple of other places also:

http://taschek.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/2-minute-fix-for-hps-print-cartridge-error/

This site provides the link to what seems to be the right solution. I have emailed for the fix but have received no response yet.

cousin

 

Having worked in more than one Printer Service Centers and being factory certified to work on at least five major brands of printers, including HP, I've developed a serious hatred for HP printers. Not so much the big Laser printers, but the little ink jet printers.
From the lousy drivers and software that comes with them to the ink situation, HP is on my SH$% list.

So what to use? EPSON! I have five EPSON printers in my house and I buy pre-filled carts for them from "Inksell.com". For several years I did refill my own carts and I even have the little resetters, to reset the chips on the back of the carts.

But the price for bulk ink has gone up so much and then there's the messiness of refilling my own carts, that I just gave up that whole process. I buy all my ink carts now, pre-filled and guaranteed from the above mentioned company and I've never had a problem with any of them.

So that's my suggestion to any of my customers looking for a new printer....EPSON and Inksell.com

Good Luck,
Shadow

 

Hello,
Found this that might be of help. The idea of editing the HP.ini files sounds interesting. This is probably what the person did with the software fix. Check out the one comment by an anonymous poster on editing the ini files.

http://constitutionalcode.blogspot.com/2005/02/cartridge-expiration-date-workarounds.html

Found another site here with comments:

http://www.hojohnlee.com/weblog/archives/2005/02/27/how-to-reset-hp-ink-cartridge-expiration-drm/

 

Good tip for inkjets.

Since Epson isn't as big a player in laser, any tips on home and small office laser printer and toner choices?

 

Ditto - Shadow on HP! I had a HP PSC500 bought it refurbed thing worked until I finally gave it away (Print Scan Copy). Got a Brother MFC, very light use, it died - printheads. Common problem according to the Net, Brother would fix them for free under 2 years. Mine just out lived that, did I mention VERY light use? Took it to Staples and traded it in for $50.00 off an 8000 series HP AIO, that has separate printheads (2) & ink carts. Got it replaced once under the year warrenty. The piece of crap has never worked well. I keep buying ink & replacing printheads (under warrenty) and it will print for a few days, then nothing!! The thing is slow to start up & I used it (for the short time it did work) VERY lightly.
Bought an Epson Artisan 800 factory direct last year (best price around) and she is doing fine!!

The site I posted- macroenter sells refillable carts that don't need resetting and chip reset tools too.

 

Okay, Gents, the fix worked for me. I messed with it for about a week. I will skip all the trial and error stuff, and focus on the fix and what I did to install it.

The fix was devved by Dan Matei. He will provide the fix to all requesters, but asks that you email him for the fix, so that he will be able to keep some records. He has a RL, so expect delays of a couple days. email <snip> Subject line: FixHP

My rig is WindowsXP Pro x64. Windows blocked me from installing the fix, which is digitally unsigned. You should try to install the patch first. Maybe that will work for you. If it doesn't:

Go to Control Panel>System>Properties>Hardware, click Digital Signatures, and click Ignore.

Then go to Dan's (gikam) email download. STAY ON THE FIRST PAGE. Use the Save Attachments button and save the attachments to My Computer>Documents and Settings>My Computer.

You will see the zipped folder there. Go to Properties of the unzipped folder, and, if you find an Unblock tag, click it.

Then dbl-click the zip folder, and two files will appear. One is the fix and the other is a short ReadMe.

Dbl-click the fix file and it will install. Dan has some helpful prompts for you as you do this, and be sure to click the buttons as some popups appear. Your final click is a button at the lower right of the top window, named "Crack It". :-D

You will be given some date-setting options. I set mine for 2 years back. I don't know what's best as far as dates go. Dan advises that the date should be prior to the date of expiration, so further back might be better. How long will your printer last?

My printer shows today's date on its info screen, but immediately printed color normally. My color cart was the one being blocked by HP expiration.

Give this a shake. It worked for me!

cousin

 

Resurrecting the HP ink thread.

Did anyone else get this email?--Notice of Proposed Settlement of HP InkJet Litigation - Reference #15679007

Looks like the results of the typical class action lawsuit. Consumers get some nearly worthless discount or coupon and the lawyers get all the money and the company benefits too.

Some excerpts below.

You can check to see if your HP printer is at issue in this settlement by reviewing the list posted on the settlement website, located here. You may find the printer model number by looking in the following areas on your printer: (a) looking on the front panel of the printer for the model name and number; (b) looking on the top of the printer; (c) looking on the underside of the printer; (d) opening the cartridge access door and looking near the cartridges; or (e) using HP's automatic product-detection tool. If you have any trouble finding the model name and number you can visit the Proposed Settlement website at www.HPInkjetPrinterSettlement.com for further instructions.

E-credits can be redeemed for printers and printer supplies only online at www.shopping.hp.com. E-credits may not be used in combination with other rebates or coupons for HP products, and only one e-credit may be used per purchase order. If you are eligible to receive multiple e-credits for a single printer, those e-credits will be combined into a single e-credit for your use. E-credits received for multiple different printers will not be combined into a single e-credit. An e-credit may be used only once. E-credits are valid for six months from the date of issuance and can be transferred to members of your immediate family only. The specific products eligible for purchase will be determined at a later date.

 

No s:***t.

These class action lawsuits are a joke. In this case, the "credits" require taking the time to order from HP at full retail. HP isn't being punished; they're tricking customers into overpaying so HP can make even more money.

Newegg is usually a few bucks cheaper on most ink. Even if you pay full price for HP ink at a major office supply chain (Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot), you often receive a 10% rewards bonus which again is a better deal. This doesn't even take into account that refilling your own or buying good recycled cartridges is better for both your wallet and the enviornment.

While I normally loathe government overregulation, I wish there was some way this could have been handled as a Federal Trade Commission issue with a hefty fine against HP.

The US and other governments should put a clause in their bidding process to discourage HP and other companies from pulling this stunt: Unless a printer is "open source" (able to refill ink/toner units and/or accept aftermarket ink/toner), the government won't buy it. Given the volume of units sold to schools, universities, military and other government agencies, this could be a big enough dent to make HP and others rethink their ink and toner scams.

 

Great idea, gman. :cool It should be a world wide government clause.

Bazza

PS: the next printer I buy will be what my ink refilling store recommends as having full capacity refill option cartridges fitted.

Baz

===

 

I recieved that email too. Wow! we can get $7 for the HP store? or something crappy like that. BS.

 

http://taschek.wordpress.com/2010/06...rtridge-error/ See Post #11. This will lead you to Gikam and the fix.

Para 7, Post 16, change "unzipped" to "zipped". Check properties of the zipped file and unblock (if blocked).

 

It sounds like Scrooge wrote the settlement terms as a Holiday gift to all of HP's loyal customers. :-D :flip

 

Surely theres a reset button combination on the printer? I know on my Brother HL-2040 at work if you hold the button down long enough it resets the page counter for the drum, so you can continue using the same drum without having to replace it unnecessarily.

 

I have just had this happen to me this week, I do not use the printer as much as i used to and i tried to print off a document but the black ink refused to flow so i had to replace it even though it was more than half full.

My printer HP photosmart C4180 is constructed in such a way as to be nearly impossible to get inside (another devious trick from HP) so i was unable to get at the battery, so i just sit here fuming..

 

It depends of the specific printer (not the brand).

Some printers like yours have a "cheat code" to reset counters. Some use an RFID-type chip on the outside of the ink/toner cartridge that resets the page counter. At the extreme, bypassing the ink counter or sensor for "genuine" ink requires taking apart the printer and soldering a jumper on the board.

Generally, if a printer mfr starts seeing a lot of cheaper aftermarket ink refiils or cartridges hitting the market (especially for current printer models) they respond by putting tougher protection on their next model. An example is Samsung: On their 310 series color lasers, the RFID-type tag on the toner carts was hacked; aftermarket toner carts hit the market for up to 75% off genuine Samsung ones. When the 315 series replaced it, the hack to refill existing carts now requires soldering a hack device on the printer's board (which obviously voids the printer warranty).

The best advice is to check aftermarket cartridge and refill availability for the specific model(s) you are considering before purchasing a printer. Often, last year's model will save you many times the cost of the printer itself if aftermarket supplies are readily available.

 

Damn. They're gettin smarter lol ...

 

Just as it did for cousin, the fix worked for me. I decided to try it on my original PSC after it kept going in a loop, continually printing an alignment page, but then giving me a blinking Check Printer Cartridge light when I would try to scan the alignment page.

I have Windows XP SP3 32bit and I had no problem installing the fix.

I got five possible files identified, so I just started with the first one. After I clicked the button at the lower right of the top window named "Crack It", the Check Printer Cartridge light quit blinking and an email I had had in the printer queue printed just fine.:-D

As for date-setting options, I set mine for 5 years back. That date was prior to the date of expiration in 2006 of my black cartridge. I think it is the same cartridge I had to buy when my original one quit working!

Just made a color copy and it looks about as good as it did when the printer was new!

Pretty good, since that printer and those cartridges have been sitting unused for a couple months. I did give them a quick steam and Windex; took just a minute or two.

Everyone with a balky HP printer should give this a try. It worked for me!: