HP 401dn keeps going offline - can I repair it myself?


PhilB

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My daily driver printer is an HP 401dn, probably 10 years old by now that gets only light usage in a home office with two users. Recently it spontaneously goes offline. Power cycling the printer sometimes restores the printer to online status. Sometimes if there is a document already in the print queue, it prints a minute or two after the printer has been cycled.

Does anyone know what board or part needs to be replaced? Is this something I can do myself if I have the skill-sets to build all my desktops, etc.
 

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Also have Lenovo T14S laptop (me) and Lenovo Slim 71 (wife)
My daily driver printer is an HP 401dn, probably 10 years old by now that gets only light usage in a home office with two users. Recently it spontaneously goes offline. Power cycling the printer sometimes restores the printer to online status. Sometimes if there is a document already in the print queue, it prints a minute or two after the printer has been cycled.

Does anyone know what board or part needs to be replaced? Is this something I can do myself if I have the skill-sets to build all my desktops, etc.
How do you have the printer connected. Can you use another interface, USB or ethernet?

 

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Windows 11 25H2Broadwell-e 6850K 4.5ghz @1.36v32GB Corsair LPM 3600 C16EVGA RTX 3080Ti FTW
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Windows 11 25H2
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PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
EVGA home brew
CPU
Broadwell-e 6850K 4.5ghz @1.36v
Motherboard
EVGA X99 FTW K
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32GB Corsair LPM 3600 C16
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA RTX 3080Ti FTW
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Asus Centurion true 7.1 headset. (5 speakers in each earpeice)
Monitor(s) Displays
LG C4 55"
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4K 144hz
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Various models of SSDs ~10TB No HDDs installed.
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be quiet! BN516 Straight Power 12-1000w 80 Plus Platinum
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Corsair 780T modified to dual 200mm intake fans
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Corsair H110i
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Corsair K95 Platinum
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Corsair M65 RGB Elite
Internet Speed
50Mbs
The printer might go into standby and cannot wake. I would try first to disable standby (make it always on). If that's not enough, next step is to connect it to one computer via USB and share it so the others can print.
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz4GBMobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)
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    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
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    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
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    Acer Extensa 5630
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    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
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    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
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    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)
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    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
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    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
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    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
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    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB (GV-N3050WF2OCV2-6GD)
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    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
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    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
That is due to it losing the assigned IP address.
That used to happen to my old HP printer occasionally.

Look in your Router and find what IP address has been assigned be it manual or by DHCP.

Use the HP App and change the address of the Printer to match.

Power cycling/reset printer may change that as well, sometimes. It is better to analyse the problem and reliably fix it.

I have to say my new Canon printer is much better and does not do that, it has been network connected for 5 years.
 

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That is due to it losing the assigned IP address.
That used to happen to my old HP printer occasionally.

Look in your Router and find what IP address has been assigned be it manual or by DHCP.

Use the HP App and change the address of the Printer to match.

Power cycling/reset printer may change that as well, sometimes. It is better to analyse the problem and reliably fix it.

I have to say my new Canon printer is much better and does not do that, it has been network connected for 5 years.
My old Canon from... 2009 Pixma MP990 only ever has an issue if I power cycle my router. Just power cycling the printer will put it back online. I have it connected by ethernet.
 

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 11 25H2Broadwell-e 6850K 4.5ghz @1.36v32GB Corsair LPM 3600 C16EVGA RTX 3080Ti FTW
OS
Windows 11 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
EVGA home brew
CPU
Broadwell-e 6850K 4.5ghz @1.36v
Motherboard
EVGA X99 FTW K
Memory
32GB Corsair LPM 3600 C16
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA RTX 3080Ti FTW
Sound Card
Asus Centurion true 7.1 headset. (5 speakers in each earpeice)
Monitor(s) Displays
LG C4 55"
Screen Resolution
4K 144hz
Hard Drives
Various models of SSDs ~10TB No HDDs installed.
PSU
be quiet! BN516 Straight Power 12-1000w 80 Plus Platinum
Case
Corsair 780T modified to dual 200mm intake fans
Cooling
Corsair H110i
Keyboard
Corsair K95 Platinum
Mouse
Corsair M65 RGB Elite
Internet Speed
50Mbs
Setting a static IP in the printer is not a bad idea. It makes sure is always available even if the power cycles.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz4GBMobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generat...2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB...
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB (GV-N3050WF2OCV2-6GD)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
Setting a static IP in the printer is not a bad idea. It makes sure is always available even if the power cycles.
For my system that isn't the problem. It always has the same IP. It is that if it loses connection when at idle, for example if I reboot the router, the printer does not have any mechanism to auto detect this and reconnect.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 25H2Broadwell-e 6850K 4.5ghz @1.36v32GB Corsair LPM 3600 C16EVGA RTX 3080Ti FTW
OS
Windows 11 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
EVGA home brew
CPU
Broadwell-e 6850K 4.5ghz @1.36v
Motherboard
EVGA X99 FTW K
Memory
32GB Corsair LPM 3600 C16
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA RTX 3080Ti FTW
Sound Card
Asus Centurion true 7.1 headset. (5 speakers in each earpeice)
Monitor(s) Displays
LG C4 55"
Screen Resolution
4K 144hz
Hard Drives
Various models of SSDs ~10TB No HDDs installed.
PSU
be quiet! BN516 Straight Power 12-1000w 80 Plus Platinum
Case
Corsair 780T modified to dual 200mm intake fans
Cooling
Corsair H110i
Keyboard
Corsair K95 Platinum
Mouse
Corsair M65 RGB Elite
Internet Speed
50Mbs
So back to what I suggested in my previous post. Configure the printer to always stay on, never go standby.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz4GBMobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generat...2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB...
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB (GV-N3050WF2OCV2-6GD)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
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