[Misc] Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

[aAandy]

Hello everywon

was called out to a client to setup their MX-3201N machine on their windows 8.1 64 bit system, but for the life of me i can't get the printer driver to load (they had tried several times to do so, i noticed their downloads were dated Nov 2014)

first i tried the installation disk, but the system told me it was an incompatible operating system,,, so i went to the sharp website & downloaded the correct driver for the system, unpacked the zip file & ran SETUP - setup went through the motions & finished stating that the software had been installed, but i couldn't find the printer in "devices & printers"

pings fine,, browser talks to it,,,

so, i tried "add printer", the system found the printer, clicked that, system stated it would load the MX-3201N PCL driver & i clicked OK - about 10% into the installation the system stopped with a warning message as follows:

printer driver cannot be installed
%1 is not a valid Win32 application

so, instead i tried "add a device", the system recognised the machine & installed it, it now appears in the "devices & printers" list, but states "driver not present"(or similar)

uninstalled everything & tried again, same result

tried "add printer" using manual settings, scrolled through the printers list & found the relevant driver, same error message - tried again, this time i clicked on windows update in the add printer dialogue box,, waited,, clicked the driver,, same error message

during one attempt i accidently clicked on the driver for MX-3501FN,, it loaded this driver & the printer seems to operate fine, printing emails, PDF's, pictures etc perfectly - i then installed smartdesk & got fax & scan working fine too, i also installed the printer monitor & this appears to be working fine too

has anyone got any frikken eye-deer why i can't install the MX-2301N driver? and what the heck does that error message mean?

[JTRAV]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

Check the pc to see if it is a 64 bit operating system.

[aAandy]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

Check the pc to see if it is a 64 bit operating system.

thanks mate, as stated in my original post, it is a windows 8.1 64 bit system

[Akitu]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

Local resources may have incorrect driver uploaded. My local Sharp gang had the incorrect driver uploaded to the resource website for an MXM232D; intended driver was supposed to be a GDI driver for USB printing but instead it was the SPLC driver that required an IP address, which the machine did not have.

Call your local Sharp center and consult with their IT guys, the quality control is pretty lax.

[aAandy]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

Local resources may have incorrect driver uploaded. My local Sharp gang had the incorrect driver uploaded to the resource website for an MXM232D; intended driver was supposed to be a GDI driver for USB printing but instead it was the SPLC driver that required an IP address, which the machine did not have.

Call your local Sharp center and consult with their IT guys, the quality control is pretty lax.

thanks for that tip - will do!!! seeing the original installation disk does not support 8.1, maybe Sharp will provide me a disk, or download, that will

though i'm wondering, seeing i got the same error with the "windows update" driver, maybe there is some system problem due to their attempts to install

[DavePo]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

You may also want to check and see if driver signing is turned off. Google it there are directions.

[ruben]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

I never use the CD that comes with the machine, it is always out of date. Instead, download the driver directly from Sharp (http://www.sharp.co.uk/cps/rde/xbcr/...lish_64bit.exe) run the extractor, cancel the setup program, and install the driver manually. If the device is on a network you should have the IP address ready, if it is on USB then run the installer.

[aAandy]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

You may also want to check and see if driver signing is turned off. Google it there are directions.

thanks for the pointer - i'll check this out!!

[aAandy]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

I never use the CD that comes with the machine, it is always out of date. Instead, download the driver directly from Sharp (http://www.sharp.co.uk/cps/rde/xbcr/...lish_64bit.exe) run the extractor, cancel the setup program, and install the driver manually. If the device is on a network you should have the IP address ready, if it is on USB then run the installer.

i tried this, i downloaded the driver from the Australian website, then tried the one from the US website, then the UK website - also tried by not using the setup application & installing manually in each instance - also tried the windows update driver,, all came up with the same error

device is networked, which is why i can ping it & talk to it via a browser

[aAandy]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

addendum

seeing the machine is working fine with the MX-3501FN driver,,, is there any reason i shouldn't leave it as is?

[Akitu]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

addendum

seeing the machine is working fine with the MX-3501FN driver,,, is there any reason i shouldn't leave it as is?

When crossing drivers and machines it can lead to some strange results. eg. the schools in my service area had ARM550s and just recently updated to the MXM623; the print driver for the ARM550 causes multiplicative copies. So if you try to print on an MXM623 with the ARM550 driver and selected 5 copies, you actually get 5 SETS of 5 copies. Stranger results occur if the machine has any accessories installed as they also do not play very well with the other drivers.

[Ceechtay]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

tried "add printer" using manual settings, scrolled through the printers list & found the relevant driver, same error message - tried again, this time i clicked on windows update in the add printer dialogue box,, waited,, clicked the driver,, same error message

When you tried the manual method, did you choose the "Have Disk" option?

Here's what you can try:
-Download the correct driver
-Run the executable: After it is done extracting itself (blue installation Window comes up), cancel out of the program.
-Go to Devices & Printers and start a manual install via Add a printer.
-Choose local device and then create a new port. Choose Standard TCP/IP port and create a new port with the copier's IP address.
-When prompted for driver, click the "Have Disk" option and find the print driver. By default, Sharp's installation program installs the files in the C:\Drivers directory. Find the correct driver folder within that folder and drill down through EnglishA->PCL6->64bit and it should then list the INF file. Click Open and it should take you back to the previous screen with a list of models to choose from. Choose the correct model and finish the installation.

That should hopefully get the driver to install.

[ZOOTECH]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

Agree with Cheetay, like with Win XP, load driver as LPT1 - then add a IP port.

[aAandy]

Re: Sharp MX-3201N printer driver installation problem

When you tried the manual method, did you choose the "Have Disk" option?

Here's what you can try:
-Download the correct driver
-Run the executable: After it is done extracting itself (blue installation Window comes up), cancel out of the program.
-Go to Devices & Printers and start a manual install via Add a printer.
-Choose local device and then create a new port. Choose Standard TCP/IP port and create a new port with the copier's IP address.
-When prompted for driver, click the "Have Disk" option and find the print driver. By default, Sharp's installation program installs the files in the C:\Drivers directory. Find the correct driver folder within that folder and drill down through EnglishA->PCL6->64bit and it should then list the INF file. Click Open and it should take you back to the previous screen with a list of models to choose from. Choose the correct model and finish the installation.

That should hopefully get the driver to install.

ahh!!! excellent eye-deer,,, dunno why i didn't think of that at the time - will try that today & see what i see

thank you