HP Laserjet M3027x MFP Scan to Desktop

Has anyone succeeded at getting an HP Laserjet M3027x MFP to Scan to Desktop?

A while back we received the HP Laserjet M3027x MFP combination Printer/Scanner/Fax/Copier to replace our copier in the stake offices.

Last week I came into a need to scan a bunch of documents an thought that it would be nice to be able to use the Scan to Desktop feature of the M3027x since it has a nice document feeder. I downloaded the HP Scan Setup Wizard from the HP website and started it up to configure the necessary share folder and the M3027x. The wizard promply told me that I needed to upgrade the firmware on the M3027x which took about an hour to download and install. Back to the wizard. Everything went fine until I tried to scan a document at which time the M3027x console told me to "Please Wait" for about two minuted and then told me "This folder is currently not accessible. Contact your Network Manager". Calls to the global Supprt Desk and Local Unit Support bth resulted in being told to contact HP support. The HP support live chat session lasted a little over three hours before I ran out of time trying everything short of reinstalling the OS and was no further ahead.

Is the computer running Desktop 5.5? While there could be many causes, I'd look at firewall issues. Unfortunately, the firewall seems to be locked down. I've had similar problems trying to get HP LaserJet tools that allow me to check the status of the printer to work. They worked just fine prior to Desktop 5.5, when I was on WinXP SP2, but after I reinstalled the same programs on Desktop 5.5 - nothing. It won't connect.

Yes, it is running Desktop 5.5. I was wondering if the firewall was the problem, but I could not get into any of the firewall configuration nor could I shut down the firewall to test that theory.

I guess the most frustrating part about it being the firewall is that niether the Global Help Desk nor Local Unit Support gave any indication that that could be the problem. It makes sense because the HP wizard has no problem talking to the printer, but the printer cannot connect back to the PC.

However, I am not certain that it is the firewall because I was able to connect my laptop to the network and write files to the shared folder.

rpyne wrote:However, I am not certain that it is the firewall because I was able to connect my laptop to the network and write files to the shared folder.

It would seem logical to me that writing files would be on a different port and/or use a different protocol than the communication a printer would have would the PC. I wouldn't rule out the firewall just because of the writing files test.

The Scan to Desktop function of the HP M3027x does exactly that, write files to a folder on the desktop.

rpyne wrote:The Scan to Desktop function of the HP M3027x does exactly that, write files to a folder on the desktop.

Yes, but what protocol? SMB? FTP? What user account does it use to connect?

RussellHltn wrote:Yes, but what protocol? SMB? FTP? What user account does it use to connect?

Considering the way it does the setup, a Windows share, the only protocol that makes sense is SMB. If it were using FTP, there would be no need to set up a Windows share nor would the README contain so much information about share access rights. The setup has you enter the user account information, I put in the CLERK account with the appropriate password.

Things I would check (for the HP M3027x):

Q: Is the firmware up-to-date?
A: According to you original post, Yes.

Q: Is the print driver up-to-date?
A: According to your original post, Unknown; but this ought to irrelevant to your scanning issue. (Personally I would avoid the Universal Print Driver and opt for the PCL6 driver instead. YMMV.)

Q: Is the scanning software (HP Scan Setup Wizard) up-to-date?
A: According to your original post, Yes.

Note: When you enter the authentication credentials in the Scan Setup Wizard, you already know what the Username and Password should be, but you might have to dig a little to make sure you are using the correct Domain under Desktop 5.5. I'm not sure if Desktop 5.5 uses the generic Windows domain of WORKGROUP or something else.

Finally, All-In-One's (especially HP's) are notorious for the scanner not wanting to communicate with the PC unless it is connected via USB instead of the Ethernet port (regardless of what the documentation claims).

Q: Is it safe to assume you have already tried connecting the All-In-One to the PC via USB instead of Ethernet and still can't get them to play nice?

jbh001 wrote:Q: Is the firmware up-to-date?
A: According to you original post, Yes.

Yes.

jbh001 wrote:Q: Is the print driver up-to-date?
A: According to your original post, Yes.
(Personally I would avoid the Universal Print Driver and opt for the PCL6 driver instead. YMMV.)

According to HP Tech Support, the Print Driver has absolutely no part of the scanning function.

jbh001 wrote:Q: Is the scanning software (Scan Setup Wizard) up-to-date?
A: According to your original post, Yes.

Yes.

jbh001 wrote:Note: When you enter the authentication credentials in the Scan Setup Wizard, you already know what the Username and Password should be, but you might have to dig a little to make sure you are using the correct Domain under Desktop 5.5. I'm not sure if Desktop 5.5 uses the generic Windows domain of WORKGROUP or something else.

The preset workgroup for Desktop 5.5 is "LOCALUNIT"

jbh001 wrote:Finally, All-In-One's (especially HP's) are notorious for the scanner not wanting to communicate with the PC unless it is connected via USB instead of the Ethernet port (regardless of what the documentation claims).

Q: Is it safe to assume you have already tried connecting the All-In-One to the PC via USB instead of Ethernet and still can't get them to play nice?

One of the very first things that HP Tech Support questioned me on was to make sure that the connection was via network, NOT USB. The device specs, the scanner setup readme, and HP Tech support are adamant that the Scan to Desktop only involves the PC as a place to put the scanned files and can be done ONLY over the network using a Windows share.

rpyne wrote:One of the very first things that HP Tech Support questioned me on was to make sure that the connection was via network, NOT USB. The device specs, the scanner setup readme, and HP Tech support are adamant that the Scan to Desktop only involves the PC as a place to put the scanned files and can be done ONLY over the network using a Windows share.

That's as may be. With my (limited) experience with HP all-in-ones, I would still try give the USB route a try before "reinstalling the OS" regardless of what HP readme files and tech support are adamant about. HP has some trust to rebuild and some history to overcome regarding the USB vs. Ethernet scanner connectivity issue.

I would go back and re-do the installation following the USB guidelines in the Getting Started Guide, and then run the Scan Setup Wizard, especially since HP tech support and the readme files led to dead ends (thus far).

Q: Have you enabled File and Printer Sharing on the PC?

To do this in XP SP2, navigate to Start > Control Panel > Security Center > Windows Firewall > Exceptions tab > put a check in the File and Printer Sharing checkbox > then click the OK button to finish.

It can also be enabled through the Network Setup Wizard.

jbh001 wrote:Q: Have you enabled File and Printer Sharing on the PC?

To do this in XP SP2, navigate to Start > Control Panel > Security Center > Windows Firewall > Exceptions tab > put a check in the File and Printer Sharing checkbox > then click the OK button to finish.

It can also be enabled through the Network Setup Wizard.

1. Desktop 5.5 does not use the Windows Firewall, it uses the Symantec security suite.

2. As stated earlier, file sharing does work as I can write files to the shared folder from my laptop.

rpyne wrote:1. Desktop 5.5 does not use the Windows Firewall, it uses the Symantec security suite.

2. As stated earlier, file sharing does work as I can write files to the shared folder from my laptop.

But the Windows Firewall is where the "switch" for Printer and File Sharing is located regardless. A more complete test would be to connect your laptop to this "network" and see if it can see the printer. Specifically, go to a Windows Explorer window on your laptop and type the UNC address for the MLS machine (i.e. \\LU-XXXXXX\) and see what comes up. Alternately (from your laptop), click on Network Neighborhood and drill down through the LOCALUNIT domain to the MLS computer (LU-XXXXXX), and see if the HP M3027x is visible to your laptop. If your laptop can't see the LU-XXXXXX computer or the printer, then it is likely that the scanner on the HP M3027x can't see the LU-XXXXXX computer either.

Our FM group recently replaced our aging copier with an HP M3027x so I thought I'd trying connecting it to our MLS computer to see for myself. Here's what I learned:

1. I feel your pain.
2. The scanner attempts to send scans to the PC via SMB.
3. Desktop 5.5 has apparently severely restricted or locked out communication via SMB.
4. The "workgroup" on our MLS computer was something other than WORKGROUP or LOCALUNIT.
5. Printing worked fine.
6. I could connect my laptop to the scanner, and scanning to desktop (scanning to a folder) worked fine (after going through the Scan Setup Wizard, of course).
7. I could not get my laptop and the MLS computer to see each other when connected via ethernet cable.
8. The fault lies with Desktop 5.5 settings/lockdown, not with HP (as evidenced by item # 6 above.
9. I think that if I could get my laptop to see the shared folder on MLS then the scanner should be able to see it also, but I didn't succeed in getting my laptop to see the shared folder that the Scan Setup Wizard created on the MLS computer. Apparently you were more successful:

rpyne wrote:However, I am not certain that it is the firewall because I was able to connect my laptop to the network and write files to the shared folder.

10. The fix is beyond my expertise, therefore I will forbear.

RussellHltn wrote:Yes, but what protocol? SMB? FTP? What user account does it use to connect?

It uses SMB because the path it creates is in the form of:
\\LU-XXXXXX\ScanFolderName

It uses the domain/workgroup of LU-XXXXXX and the CLERK account.

jbh001 wrote:Our FM group recently replaced our aging copier with an HP M3027x so I thought I trying connecting it to our MLS computer to see for myself. Here's what I learned:

Out of curiosity, what is the firmware version in your HP M3027x?

rpyne wrote:Out of curiosity, what is the firmware version in your HP M3027x?

Datecode was 2007-something. It wasn't the same date as what is currently available for download from HP, but it is the same version number as that update (48.051.1) which leads me to believe that the firmware update didn't apply to my specific model number (even though I couldn't find what that model number was).

I tried running the Scan Setup Wizard first, and it didn't ask for a firmware update. I did run into the "firmware update required" message when I accidentally ran the Scan Setup Wizard when neither computer was connected to the scanner.

We just moved to a new office that has an HP Laserjet M3027 MFP and I am trying to get it set up but it would appear scan to folder is not a capability of the 3027. That seems to be reserved for the 3035. From the UserGuide under Scan to Folder:

NOTE: This device feature is supported for the HP LaserJet M3035 MFP models only.

If you were somehow able to get this working on the 3027, I would be very interested in learning how so I can get it working on mine! My firmware version is 20071211 48.051.1

crislapi wrote:If you were somehow able to get this working on the 3027, I would be very interested in learning how so I can get it working on mine! My firmware version is 20071211 48.051.1

I got it to work! I found the following two links very useful:
Updated scan to folder software (the one that comes on the CD works, but it doesn't allow you to remove test setups. The new version does)
Removing scan to desktop folders

In the end, my main problem was paths. The software sets up a path similar to "\\Comp_name\scan_folder" while the actual path was "\\Comp_name\My Documents\scan_folder". The first is the path that results when the folder is shared. This is done automatically by the newer software but seemed to not occur with the older one. You can share manually by rt clicking on the folder and selecting "Sharing and Security". Make sure you give the share full permissions.

If the folder is not shared, then the copier cannot connect to the folder because the path doesn't exist.

There may or may not be an issue with the Sophos firewall. I set this up on a non-MLS computer so Sophos was not an issue. The computer it is on is running Windows XP Prop sp3.

My minor gripe is that once the share is setup, you cannot edit it as there is no web interface on the M3027 for scan to folder under digital sending. There is also no option to set a default scan name. However, I'm just glad to have it working!

crislapi wrote:There may or may not be an issue with the Sophos firewall. I set this up on a non-MLS computer so Sophos was not an issue. The computer it is on is running Windows XP Prop sp3.

There most definitely is an issue with the Sophos firewall. I tried all sorts of things to get our stake's administrative computer to work with Scan to Desktop and failed every time.

But when I installed it on my laptop it worked the first time -- it was very straightforward. We don't scan very often, so just having my laptop available is fine. It would be better if we could get the admin computer to work, but it wasn't worth spending any more time on.

aebrown wrote:There most definitely is an issue with the Sophos firewall.

Probably just as well. I have issues with sharing things out from a MLS computer running XP. It opens up the C drive to anyone on the local network who knows how.

I believe Win7 is better in that regard.

Check the Sophos Firewall. It by default blocks MANY ports and shares. The STS should know how to give himself access to the Sophos Firewall to reconfigure to allow the ports to access the needed shares. We do this all the time with Family History Center setups for scanning and printing over the newtwork. Which is Blocked by default in FHC.

I had a lot of trouble setting this up but managed to get it to work. It turned out to be a pretty simple process once I figured out what was wrong. I had to update the firmware on the M3027x because the installed version didn't support the scan to folder option. After using HP wizard to setup the shared folder it still wasn't working. I had to give the Clerk user Full Control on the Security tab of the shared folder properties. Everyone had full access on the sharing permissions but it didn't work until I made this change. I didn't have to change anything in the firewall but I did have to disable simple file sharing as part of the wizard setup process.

If this is WinXP, anyone who knows the clerk password and "the secret" can now access the entire C drive of the MLS computer.