HP Deskjet 500c and Windows 2000

I recently upgraded the OS on my aunt's computer from windows 95 to windows 2000. The upgrade, as expected, was a snap but now her printer, the HP Deskjet 500c, has majr issues.

There is no driver software necessary for this printer under windows 2000 (according to the HP website). It appears under 'printers' in control panel and does not seem to be strange.


When she tried to print with WOrd, two things happen, when it does print, the actual printing is all messed up. It is difficult to describe this but it seems that the font is very large, it prints only pieces of each letter, it is faint, and illegible. The second thing is that the 'change printer cartridge' indicator light begins flashing too.
We did install a brand new printer cartridge when it first happened (thinking that would be the end of the problem). I have spent hours tinkering with different things since then, with no luck.

Does anyone have any idea what si going on and what I can do to fix this problem?

Hi drivers,

I take you've already seen Obtaining and Installing Drivers for Windows 2000 It has step-by-step on installing same.

Was this "upgrade" straight from Win95 to Win2000 or did you first format, install, etc.? The reason I'm asking it that you might want to first "remove" your present printer and try reinstalling with the steps above.

You might also want to read up on What to do if the Printer is Printing Strange Characters or Blank or Partial Pages Can you get a good Self-Test printed out properly?

Also, What the Front Panel Lights on the Printer Indicate

Hope this helps you out somewhat...let us know how it all ends up.

Good Luck!