Sponsored by Conquest Imaging
By Michael Davis
A customer called me the other day regarding his GE Logiq P5. The customer had just replaced a part on the system and while testing, discovered that the printer no longer functioned. I walked the customer through the verification of the printer settings. Verifying that all the settings were correct, I asked the customer to walk me through the repair process. As we did a step-by-step recount of the entire process, I discovered that all the USB cables had to be unplugged. I began to verify where all the USB cables were connected. When we reached the printer cable, I had the customer ensure that the cable was connected to the designated port. It turns out that the cable was connected into the port next to the designated port. Once we moved the cable, the printer began to print everything that was in the queue.
What happened? Why did moving the port make a difference? Isn’t a USB a USB?
While a USB port or Universal Serial Bus is designed to support any device, this is not always the case. Any device connected to a USB port requires drivers to be loaded. Because most of the systems run Windows as the OS, many drivers are pre-installed. Input devices like keyboards and mice, can use a generic driver. Devices like CD/DVD drives, hard drives and thumb drives can use a generic and will usually show up as the next available drive letter. Other drives, like printers, require specific drivers that must be loaded. Depending on when the ultrasound was made, they will install drivers for the most current models at that time. This means that while the system will support a Sony UP-D895 printer, it may not support a Sony UP-D897 printer.
The customer’s system was running the printer before, it had the necessary driver, so why would it not work?
When an operating system is installed, it configures all the USB ports. The system’s OEM will then attach hardware to the system and load all the necessary drivers. Once this process is completed, the imaging software is then loaded, and the ports are assigned. This allows the OEM to ensure that all the systems operate in the same way. When you move a printer to another port, the imaging software may not see the changes. This is especially true with older systems.
I have always said to document as much information about your system as you can and verifying the location of all your USB plugs can make a big difference when it comes to how the system operates.
For more ultrasound technical tips and tricks, or to view technical support videos visit www.conquestimaging.com, our blog section or visit our online Technical Support Video library for installation and removal instructions and much, much more. Conquest Imaging Technical Support is available 24/7/365 at 866-900-9404.
Mike Davis is a Technical Support Specialist at Conquest Imaging.
