This topic deals with an iMac that cannot print to an attached, known-good USB printer.

This article covers repair procedures for authorized service providers on selected Apple products, but we have published them in the Knowledge Base for the general public for educational purposes. At this time, there are a limited number of repairs that a customer can perform and these are covered under the customer installable parts program http://www.info.apple.com/installparts . If you have not been authorized to perform these procedures, please contact Apple (800-APL-CARE in the USA) or your local authorized service provider to schedule a repair.

DANGER! This procedure exposes you to high voltages that can result in death or serious injury. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS PROCEDURE IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN CERTIFIED AS AN APPLE-AUTHORIZED TECHNICIAN.

Products affected

• iMac (Slot Loading)
• iMac (Summer 2000)
• iMac (Early 2001)

Solution

1. Printer is not compatible with the iMac USB bus. Verify with the manufacturer of the printer that it is iMac compatible.

2. Open the Chooser and verify that you have the correct printer and printer driver selected.

3. Open Apple System Profiler to see if it recognizes that a USB printer is connected.
Yes : Reinstall the printer driver.
No : The printer or its cable is malfunctioning. Replace the cable or printer.

4. If the printer is connected to a third-party hub, switch it to one of the iMac ports in the I/O panel. Does the printer work now?
Yes : You have a bad third-party hub. Replace the device that contains the problem USB port or refer to the third-party documentation for troubleshooting procedures.
No : Go to next step.

5. If the printer is already connected to a USB port on the iMac, switch it to the other USB port. Does the printer work now?
Yes : Replace the logic board.
No : Go to next step.

6. Perform a clean installation of the system software using the Mac OS CD that shipped with the iMac. (You must use the system software CD that came with the iMac in order to get the correct version of the Mac OS.)

7. Replace the printer interface cable.

8. Replace the logic board.