Resurrection of an HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 (cleaning print head)

In this video, I'll be testing this printer to put it into service after being in storage for years. In the process, I'll be cleaning the print head and discuss how it can resolve issues such as the "There is a problem with the printer or ink system" message.
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[@CubeComputerChannel]

Wow! This video has really exploded in popularity! Be sure to check out the follow-up video with better views of where to clean the printhead: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4GYp2qnd7ObbJI

[@mimimiller-blauen9414]

Good afternoon Cubed Computer Channel, I must give you a heartfelt pat on the back for your tips in dealing with the HP Officejet Pro 8600. I had previously cleaned my printhead, replaced the printer cartridges several times with different cartridges and after watching your video a few swear words and the steps you gave to remove the printhead,power off, turn the printer back on, get the missing carriage error while cleaning the print head for the 5th time, replacing everything including the cartridges, and finally powering down and restarting my printer; it finally came back to life and the home screen. Thank you, thank you, thank you kind Sir😊

[@bjrgreene]

I purchased my HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 in 2012!

[@pw55135]

Thanks for taking the time to do the video learnt a lot about my printer. FYI my printer gave same message but problem was just that one of the colour cartridges (Magenta) was empty. Replaced cartridge and fixed problem. However, after your video also cleaned printer head now have a fully functioning printer good as new! Ty

[@Kim-rm5gc]

My error message says. I need ink. But ink is leaking so I'm about to clean up my ink head. I really appreciate your instuction video. Very much enjoyed. You give me hope that one day I will be able to print again. :) Have a nice day.

[@Fresh-tw7ev]

Your hack solution worked great for me…thank you

[@Navid173]

I just pulled mine out of closet after almost 10yrs probably replaced ink and ran head cleaner thru all 3 levels like 10x...prints/scans perfectly

[@alanpearson7554]

I've just looked on Amazon for a replacement printhead £170 or about US$210, hope your cleaning video will do the trick.

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Yeah the printheads cost more than buying a new printer. It's crazy! Good luck on the cleaning - I hope it works for you.

[@swiftsilver]

$50 on ebay, hope this can help someone. Just gotta look hard enough there. Don't buy replacement parts from Amazon, they're usually overpriced , non OEM, used, etc. I get better results from eBay or AliExpress

[@blanknam3d]

Holy shit, I've got this exact same model in my closet to repair! Been looking for someone else who's worked in-depth on this model, pretty sure what I've got is also a printhead issue. I've been figuring out the errors on it & also dug into the firmware service menu. If you specifically get 0x6100004e, it means it failed to prime the printhead/ink pump. Only way to get around it (e.g. to do a firmware update to accept 3rd party ink) is to use the firmware service menu to factory reset + boot with no mech.

[@Rose8248]

?

[@facebreaker12]

how do update the firmware on it? do you have the link or website so i can get it

[@Ebolachicken]

I have the same error after i was cleaning the black dry ink. I manage to factory reset and get rid of the error but i get faulty ink cartridge error and replacing the them still gives me the same error. Im thinking of cleaning and flushing down the whole print head.

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Hopefully that gets it working for you!

[@Ebolachicken]

@@CubeComputerChannel weird youtube just notify me of your comment after 2 months have passed 🤣. Anyways it didn't work im just done with inkjet makes too much of a mess. Thanks tho

[@jamilahjohn6533]

How did u factory reset cause my printer which is the same HP officejet pro 8600 printer failure it says there is a problem with the printer or ink system.turn printer off,then on,if problem persists, contact HP. But I follow exactly what the video shows here and still getting the same message error can someone help me sort this out?

[@antonioavmelo]

​@@jamilahjohn6533 i also have that message, didn't solve it yet 😢. Press the back button 3 times and you get to more menus that allow to do a reset. But I read that you'll need a special kit after that reset

[@florafox6590]

Please can we see the part of the printer heads that you are wiping

[@CubeComputerChannel]

I was wiping the surface of the print head, which is on the bottom of the carriage. I'll post a new video showing the area where I cleaned since it's been a common request of this video. I will try to get it posted this evening or tomorrow.

[@jennichurchill9566]

It would really help if you filmed what you were doing

[@larrysmith6797]

This is a sink cleaning video. Freakin' one handed camera work.

[@CubeComputerChannel]

In the cards and pinned comment is a follow up video which covers what was not shown well in this video.

[@butawanradz3214]

do you have Idea about this? to avoid damage use On button to shoutdown do not. use a power strip or wall switch to shout down (printer error please turn off, then turn on)

[@CubeComputerChannel]

The reason why it wants you to perform a proper shutdown is so the printhead can properly park itself. The printhead parks on top of a rubber seal, which seals the printhead to help prevent ink from drying inside the printhead.

[@namolokaman2393]

When the vinyl membrane of the cartridge pressurization weir comes unglued, one gets a "Supply System Problem" error message. Also, when the membrane is unglued, one does not hear the four usual 'puff' sounds, during the cartridge pressurization step, when the printer starts up. The best way to address this issue is to peel off the membrane and replace it with very sticky tape, such as silicone tape, or the kind of 2-sided tape used for gluing smartphone screens. The repair can be seen here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZ6nY2OOh9F_l5o Or here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5e5Y2xoZa2reZo

[@spindleblood]

I just installed a brand new print head on mine and it keeps telling me it's initializing but never seems to finish. 😵‍💫 I want to hard reset it but I'm afraid to because it warns you not to reset it while it's initializing (???)

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Some of the replacement print heads for these are questionable at best. Try reseating the printhead and see if it will initialize. Or, remove the printhead completely and see if the printer will boot up.

[@robdf9024]

Hi. I cleaned and serviiced my printhead changed with new cartridges and the printer still gives me message " one or more cartridges appears to be damaged etc...". Any hint? Thanks

[@CubeComputerChannel]

This will sometimes happen with knockoff cartridges. Try removing all cartridges and the printhead, then reinstall everything and see if the message goes away.

[@ZacVaper]

If you have a "Printer Failure" error, the touch screen is dead. I replaced the ink head with a good one, from a working printer; still have "Printer Failure, There is a problem with printer or ink system". I reset by unplugging, 10 times...Tried printing from pc, nothing. Is there a reset button or just the unplug thing?

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Try starting it up with no printhead or cartridges and then reinstall the printhead and see what happens.

[@ZacVaper]

Thanks but that didn't work. @@CubeComputerChannel

[@lostinmyspace4910]

At time 23:10 That guy coughing thru the phone...that's why those Indian tech people makeme sick. Yeah, I get the same thing when I owned my HP 8600 Pro printer. I had the extended 3 year warranty. They ended up sending me another printer. Bid deal. There was a label on the printer saying that I needed to remove the printhead from my old printer, and install it into the new one they sent. Some warranty. It was also missing the back part of the printer where you dislodge paper jams. That's a lousy HP extended warranty. I hate HP, and their scamming ink toner scam they put upon us. Theie computers lock you out from usage unless it detects that you reinstalled their new cartridges only or it locks you out from using your printer. I'm sick of those people, and their useless warranty.

[@ptwest111]

Mine was printing fine the other week now it acts like it’s printing but no ink on paper, also no error messages.

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Manual cleaning would likely fix it.

[@angelhelp777]

My print head and cartridges went bad long ago, but since I only use my 8600 to scan to my computer and fax it did not matter. A few days ago the fax would dial, but would never connect. After testing I determined that the telephone line itself was OK, but whenever I plugged the line into the 8600, the line was "in use" just like I left a phone receiver off the cradle somewhere. I could input a fax number and it dials, but never connects to the receiving fax. I progressively went through all three types of resets. When I tried a factory reset, I now get only a cartridge error and then a setup tutorial that keeps repeating. Is there any way to breathe life back into it to just have scan and fax available without buying a new print head and cartridges? The home screen will no longer appear.

[@CubeComputerChannel]

I'd imagine it would let you send faxes, but not receive them. Pull the printhead completely and see what it does.

[@angelhelp777]

@@CubeComputerChannel I tried pulling the cartridges and then later also the print head assembly which did not help, but at least I had a home screen then. After the OOBE reset it will only play the setup demo again and again. No home screen. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[@ncdave4life]

​@@angelhelp777, another video I saw claimed that if you do the full reset on an HP printer with a touch screen, it will refuse to work until it sees "setup cartridges" loaded into it -- those stupid 10% full cartridges that come with the new printer. It can apparently tell the difference. The setup cartridges don't have to be new, but they do have to be setup cartridges, not regular cartridges. After you go through the setup process, you can swap out the setup cartridges for regular cartridges. So you might need to find / borrow a set of original setup cartridges. (And, if they're empty, you might need to add some ink to them -- a dirty, messy job.) For many years I've assumed that the setup cartridges were just 10%-full regular cartridges, but they apparently aren't. I've also assumed that they should be discarded, and that's obviously a mistake.

[@angelhelp777]

@@ncdave4life Thank you for your response. You are exactly correct. I was going through my junk box of old empty ink cartridges a few days ago thinking that I might need to refill some to make it work. I noticed some cartridges said, "set up" on them and thought...hmmm, if I set everything back to factory defaults, then I may need to set it up again. I had always thought the setup cartridges were just sample cartridges. I never knew the chip on the cartridges was for anything other than ink color and level, but apparently, it is. As soon as I loaded them, even though they were empty and long dried up, the printer started working again. Another thing I learned is that you can't just pull out an empty cartridge from the printer, fill it and reinstall the same one. The printer will not read the same cartridge twice in a row. You have to insert a different cartridge, let the printer read it, and then you can put the original one back in. The printer is working great now except for a few streaks caused by plugged print heard, but all I need it for is to run so I can scan and send faxes. Thanks again for the response. Have a blessed day!

[@ncdave4life]

​@@angelhelp777, thank you for the useful info! The other video suggested refilling the setup cartridges; it is good to know that that isn't necessary. Also, I didn't know about swapping cartridges before reinstalling them. I hope you, too, have a blessed day.

[@kellylinero8479]

Sooooo. I tried this and i dont know what I did wrong because now my printer won't even power on

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Loose power cord? Not sure how this would prevent it from even turning on.

[@industrial.surplus.oregon]

Wish I could see actually where and how you were wiping off the printhead vs. the running water. : >/

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Just the surface of it. Nothing complicated.

[@florafox6590]

@@CubeComputerChannel which surface?

[@bobpegram8042]

PrintPal has good third party ink cartridges.

[@larrysmith6797]

If you have two sets of OEM cartridges, you can refill them yourself. Just refill both sets of empty cartridges and print until you get the "ink depleted" message. Not "low ink" but "depleted." Then just swap the empty cartridge for the second refilled cartridge. Refill the first one and just keep swapping refilled cartridges for full. The only rule is do not swap a cartridge until is shows "depleted" and the printer stops printing. I've been doing this for years. OEM cartridges work much better than third party.

[@TACTIC0MP]

Maybe it's the thick dust... LOL

[@georgehuerta1990]

I really wish you would’ve shown what you were cleaning. All I seen was a video of a sink and you never showed what the hell you were cleaning.

[@CubeComputerChannel]

See pinned comment for video showing the printhead better

[@Gringo_334]

Ich habe ein bessere Idee HP in den Müll schmeißen und nie ein Produkt von denen kaufen. Alleine wegen ihre Firmware Politik.

[@WarrenTolley]

You're kidding me right? Why would you go through the trouble of making a video if you're not in it

[@prt464riv]

This is a video, right (?) but you are doing most of your actions off screen or visually blocked by your hand or out of focus. That--together with your blurt and mumble style of speaking makes the info of little use.

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Nope, not a video. Just a moving picture with sound.

[@larrysmith6797]

Here's a video on how to do it right. The guy also talks funny and the camerawork is also shaky but he's a former Epson inkjet printer engineer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJ2uqHqMppmAiac

[@CubeComputerChannel]

Fooling the printer into thinking there's ink in the chambers by bridging the contents with aluminum foil isn't going to fix the issue when the printhead is clogged. If the printhead is starved of ink, it would likely get damaged as a result. I would suggest his contact cleaning recommendations if the message persists after first completing the steps shown in this video (and the followup video) where the printhead is manually cleaned with hot water. The process of unclogging the printhead is not a "wrong" way to fix the problem.