HP Laserjet 4250 4350 Formatter Board Installation Tips and Tricks
Updated: Jun 4, 2019
Installing the formatter boards on the HP 4250 and 4350 series is a little more involved than on previous models. To ensure that the printer works properly when you are finished with the installation, follow these steps.
A Replacement Formatter Board
If you install a replacement formatter, please complete the following steps to ensure a proper formatter installation:
Perform an NVRAM initialization.
Then use the control-panel display to open the service menu and specify the total page count, the maintenance count, the service ID, the cold reset paper size, and the serial number.
Reset the printer display language to the customer’s choice.
If you are installing a new HP printer formatter board, the following instructions will help you install it correctly. Failure to follow these instructions could possibly result in a printer configuration down grade. That means the HP 4350 printer could think it is now a 4250 version printer.
After installing a new laser printer formatter, please complete the following steps:
Turn the printer on and then wait for five minutes after the printer reaches the Ready state. (Please note the five minute wait is required to allow for NVRAM settings to be written to the new formatter from the DC controller.)
Then turn the laser printer off.
Turn the printer back on, and then wait five minutes after the printer reaches the Ready state.
Print a configuration page to verify against original settings of the page you printed earlier.
Network Versions of the printer Formatters - In some cases involving the network versions of the formatters, you can install the formatter board correctly and it will not come up with the network settings. There are a couple of things to try before doing a warranty claim.
Ensure the memory dimm is installed on the printer's formatter; this is a 16mb dimm that is needed for the network functions to work properly. If the memory dimm is not installed, it can cause the network functions not to work.
Another step to try is to enable the laser printer's network settings through the control panel. The procedure for this is similar to the maintenance reset.
Turn the HP 4250 4350 laser printer off.
Turn the printer on, press and hold the “Select” button, when “00MB” first appears on the display. Continue holding down the “Select” button until all three control panel lights flash and then remain on.
Press the “Up Arrow” button to scroll to “Embedded LAN Enable”.
Press the “Select” button one more time to enable the network.
In some cases after trying to flash the firmware, you may get a “Resend RFU through USB” message in your display. If this occurs, first try resending the firmware through the USB port. If that does not work you could try the following reset procedure.
Turn the HP 4250 or 4350 printer power off.
Power on the printer and watch for the memory count to begin.
Hold down the STOP button when you see the memory counts begin. Continue holding down the STOP button until all three printer control panel lights flash once and then remain on. This might take up to 10 seconds.
Press the SELECT (Checkmark) button and then the MENU button.
Scroll down until you see “Clear All RFU Errors”.
Press the SELECT button twice until the highlighted cursor is the letter “C” in the word “Clear.”
Scroll down until you see “Set Run mode to Manual”.
Press the SELECT button twice until the highlighted cursor is on the letter “R” in the word “Run mode”.
Scroll down until you see “Set RFU Error Off”.
Press the SELECT button twice until the highlighted cursor is on the letter “S” in the word “Set”.
Turn the HP 4250 or 4350 printer off and power up the printer.
Correct reinstallation of the formatter is critical to the operation of the printer. By following these steps, you can save time and money by reducing warranty calls to your sales representatives and eliminating the need for a return trip.
Other Helpful Laser Printer Service Resources
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