MF644Cdw USB Connect to Mac

[dws2006]

Anyone successfully connect an MF644Cdw to Mac (Sierra OS) with a USB cable? I spent over an hour with tech support and we tried everything.  He finally gave up and concluded it's a Mac problem. We loaded all the recommended drivers and software.  The Mac shows it is connected to the printer but the printer never prints, the job goes into the queue and never comes out but the compter seems to think the job was completed successfully.  So I am stuck printing via wireless which I do not like. Thanks in advance for any ideas or tips.

[Darius]

Hi dws2006.

Is the computer a Macbook?  Laptops sometimes have trouble when communicating by USB to the printer while running on battery power.  Try connecting the charging cable and ensuring the laptop is receiving external power.

Otherwise, check to see if any other software is conflicting with the printer's communications. Firewalls and Antivirus software may block the printer as an external data source.

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[dws2006]

Thanks for the reply, my computer is a Mac Mini, not a notebook.

I was able to get it working with a rather large caveat: I was searching for similar problems and came across an entry on an HP printer forum that had the same problem.  The suggested solution that worked for that user was to go into DIsk Utilities for the disk that the printer drivers and software reside on and do a "permissions repair".  I did this although in my version of Sierra, it is simply called "Disk Repair". I executed the repair, reinstalled the software and then reinstalled the printer and it works.  Now for the caveat: inconsistency.  I have done a printer reset and reinstalled the printer three times and each time, the drivers or the software it installs for the printer is slightly different.  The first time, the Icon it loads for the MF644Cdw actually looks like the printer I have and it shows all three functions listed on the printer (print, scan, fax).  The next two times, the only choice of printers to install is a generic icon and the only function shown is fax.  In either case, when I install that printer choice, I can printer but I don't understand the inconsistency in the printer available to install.

[Darius · Accepted solution]

Hi dws2006.

The printer options will vary based on which Kind is selected in the Add window (click the [+] at the bottom of the Printers list; if you get a context menu, select Add New Printer or Scanner) and the driver selected in the Use drop-down.  When manually adding back, you may need to add the printer and scanner separately (select Scanner at the top of the Printers & Scanners window).

In the case that a driver is at issue, you can try manually removing it from "Librariers \ Printers \ Canon \" and "Libraries \ Printers \ PPDs \ Contents \ Resources \" for the printer driver and "Libraries \ Image Capture \" subfolders for the scanner driver.  The driver will be marked by the model number or series number (i.e. the MG3620 is an MG3600 series, the MF743Cdw is an MF700 series, etc.).

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[dws2006]

Thank you Darius, that is helpful.  The printer is now working as it should.