#46 HP OfficeJet drivers cause parallel port LCD crash
To reproduce:
1. Install a Hewlett Packard OfficeJet (I have V40)
All-in-One machine. It only has a USB interface.
2. Install and run LCDSmartie for your parallel port
LCD / VFD display (I have Silverstone LC-03V).
3. Turn the OfficeJet off (this is the critical bit).
4. Open My Computer, or right-click any file in
Explorer and hover over Send To... or open any TWAIN
software.
Result:
On my two-line VFD display (from the Silverstone
LC-03V), LCD Smartie only has control of the first
character on each line. To restore the display, you
need to reset LCD Smartie by either closing it and
restarting it or by going into the config and changing
one of the hardware-related settings.
Temporary unsatisfactory but working fix:
Leave your OfficeJet turned on all day, every day,
forever and ever and ever and ever.
Further notes:
1. Hewlett Packard didn't understand the problem (not
surprising) and made an ineffective suggestion after
stating that there couldn't possibly be anything wrong
with their printer drivers ever, ever, ever.
2. LCDSmartie is brilliant and far, far nicer to use
than jaLCDs and much easier to write plugins for.