From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

HP LJ Pro M404n

The original toner cartridge has come to the end of it's life. For a
while now I've been taking the cartridge out and softly shaking it to
squeeze more pages out of it -- then replacing the cartridge.

It came time to replace the cartridge. I took the old one out, and
double checked it with the new CF258X cartridge and they seem identical.

I slid the new cartridge in and it would NOT go in far enough to allow
the printer cover to close. It seems well seated on both sides of the cartridge, but it protrudes about 1/2 inch -- blocking the closure of
the cover.

I tried several times -- thinking I wasn't holding either the cartridge
or my tongue correctly. No Go.

So, I picked up the old cartridge and slid it back in. SAME PROBLEM!
The cartridge will not slide in far enough to allow the cover to close.
The cartridge protrudes enough to block the cover release push button on
the right side.

In both cases -- with the old and the new cartridge -- it seems to
"snap' into place and it seems well seated on both sides of the
cartridge

I've inspected the interior of the printer -- even using a dental
mirror, and I cannot see any potential obstruction.

I can't believe I'm the only one to encounter this problem, but my
Google Fu fails to find any similar complaint. Search seems powered
more and more by AI, and all I get is hits for the bog-simple cartridge replacement instructions: "Remove the old one. Slide in the new one".

Anyone here ever have this problem?

Tnx in advance, Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | Marvin | W3DHJ.net | linux
38.238N 104.547W | @ jonz.net | Jonesy | FreeBSD
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

In comp.periphs.printers Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote:

HP LJ Pro M404n

The original toner cartridge has come to the end of it's life. For a
while now I've been taking the cartridge out and softly shaking it to
squeeze more pages out of it -- then replacing the cartridge.

It came time to replace the cartridge. I took the old one out, and
double checked it with the new CF258X cartridge and they seem identical.

I slid the new cartridge in and it would NOT go in far enough to allow
the printer cover to close. It seems well seated on both sides of the cartridge, but it protrudes about 1/2 inch -- blocking the closure of
the cover.

I tried several times -- thinking I wasn't holding either the cartridge
or my tongue correctly. No Go.

So, I picked up the old cartridge and slid it back in. SAME PROBLEM!
The cartridge will not slide in far enough to allow the cover to close.
The cartridge protrudes enough to block the cover release push button on
the right side.

In both cases -- with the old and the new cartridge -- it seems to
"snap' into place and it seems well seated on both sides of the
cartridge

I've inspected the interior of the printer -- even using a dental
mirror, and I cannot see any potential obstruction.

I can't believe I'm the only one to encounter this problem, but my
Google Fu fails to find any similar complaint. Search seems powered
more and more by AI, and all I get is hits for the bog-simple cartridge replacement instructions: "Remove the old one. Slide in the new one".

Anyone here ever have this problem?

Well, yes. My next door neighbor came over seeking help with the
same problem. He handed me the new cartridge, sure enough it didn't
go in. After a _lot_ of trying, fiddling and finally looking closely
at both the printer and cartridge it turned out he'd turned the
new cartridge tail-end-to-head. The outer shape of the cartridge
was fairly symmetric and it _almost_ went in the wrong way. I was
fairly embarrassed at not noticing right away. It took me about
ten minutes to realize what was wrong.

Since you've already tried putting the old cartridge back I suspect
you'd have noticed such an error, but only a close inspection of the
dust cover on the drum tipped me off.

In fact, I was trying to see where the drum drive gears were. Never
did figure that out....

hth,

bob prohaska

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:03:36 -0000 (UTC), bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

In comp.periphs.printers Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote:

HP LJ Pro M404n

The original toner cartridge has come to the end of it's life. For a
while now I've been taking the cartridge out and softly shaking it to
squeeze more pages out of it -- then replacing the cartridge.

It came time to replace the cartridge. I took the old one out, and
double checked it with the new CF258X cartridge and they seem identical.

I slid the new cartridge in and it would NOT go in far enough to allow
the printer cover to close. It seems well seated on both sides of the
cartridge, but it protrudes about 1/2 inch -- blocking the closure of
the cover.

I tried several times -- thinking I wasn't holding either the cartridge
or my tongue correctly. No Go.

So, I picked up the old cartridge and slid it back in. SAME PROBLEM!
The cartridge will not slide in far enough to allow the cover to close.
The cartridge protrudes enough to block the cover release push button on
the right side.

In both cases -- with the old and the new cartridge -- it seems to
"snap' into place and it seems well seated on both sides of the
cartridge

I've inspected the interior of the printer -- even using a dental
mirror, and I cannot see any potential obstruction.

I can't believe I'm the only one to encounter this problem, but my
Google Fu fails to find any similar complaint. Search seems powered
more and more by AI, and all I get is hits for the bog-simple cartridge
replacement instructions: "Remove the old one. Slide in the new one".

Anyone here ever have this problem?

Well, yes. My next door neighbor came over seeking help with the
same problem. He handed me the new cartridge, sure enough it didn't
go in. After a _lot_ of trying, fiddling and finally looking closely
at both the printer and cartridge it turned out he'd turned the
new cartridge tail-end-to-head. The outer shape of the cartridge
was fairly symmetric and it _almost_ went in the wrong way. I was
fairly embarrassed at not noticing right away. It took me about
ten minutes to realize what was wrong.

Since you've already tried putting the old cartridge back I suspect
you'd have noticed such an error, but only a close inspection of the
dust cover on the drum tipped me off.

In fact, I was trying to see where the drum drive gears were. Never
did figure that out....

hth,
bob prohaska

Thank you for your reply! And, yes, I know I'm holding both cartridges right-side-up. I just need another 1/2" to 3/4" of more 'insert' to
have the cartridge(s) in proper position.

The M504n has an almost throw-away price at Amazon. Maybe getting a new
one will put my printing back in play, and at the same time yeild a
reason for the current problem. Fixing the not-so-very old one would
give us a spare here for when the next SNAFU comes.

But I'd really like to beat this one into submission.

Tnx!
Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | Marvin | W3DHJ.net | linux
38.238N 104.547W | @ jonz.net | Jonesy | FreeBSD
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:03:36 -0000 (UTC), bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

In comp.periphs.printers Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote:

HP LJ Pro M404n

The original toner cartridge has come to the end of it's life. For a
while now I've been taking the cartridge out and softly shaking it to
squeeze more pages out of it -- then replacing the cartridge.

It came time to replace the cartridge. I took the old one out, and
double checked it with the new CF258X cartridge and they seem identical. >>>
I slid the new cartridge in and it would NOT go in far enough to allow
the printer cover to close. It seems well seated on both sides of the
cartridge, but it protrudes about 1/2 inch -- blocking the closure of
the cover.

I tried several times -- thinking I wasn't holding either the cartridge
or my tongue correctly. No Go.

So, I picked up the old cartridge and slid it back in. SAME PROBLEM!
The cartridge will not slide in far enough to allow the cover to close.
The cartridge protrudes enough to block the cover release push button on >>> the right side.

In both cases -- with the old and the new cartridge -- it seems to
"snap' into place and it seems well seated on both sides of the
cartridge

I've inspected the interior of the printer -- even using a dental
mirror, and I cannot see any potential obstruction.

I can't believe I'm the only one to encounter this problem, but my
Google Fu fails to find any similar complaint. Search seems powered
more and more by AI, and all I get is hits for the bog-simple cartridge
replacement instructions: "Remove the old one. Slide in the new one".

Anyone here ever have this problem?

Well, yes. My next door neighbor came over seeking help with the
same problem. He handed me the new cartridge, sure enough it didn't
go in. After a _lot_ of trying, fiddling and finally looking closely
at both the printer and cartridge it turned out he'd turned the
new cartridge tail-end-to-head. The outer shape of the cartridge
was fairly symmetric and it _almost_ went in the wrong way. I was
fairly embarrassed at not noticing right away. It took me about
ten minutes to realize what was wrong.

Since you've already tried putting the old cartridge back I suspect
you'd have noticed such an error, but only a close inspection of the
dust cover on the drum tipped me off.

In fact, I was trying to see where the drum drive gears were. Never
did figure that out....

hth,
bob prohaska

Thank you for your reply! And, yes, I know I'm holding both cartridges right-side-up. I just need another 1/2" to 3/4" of more 'insert' to
have the cartridge(s) in proper position.

I was referring to fore-and-aft orientation, not vertical. Likely you're
right and I'm being pedantic. In the case of my neighbor's printer there
were no orientation markings of any kind on the cartridge, printer or instructions. Inserted trailing-edge-first his cartridge did exactly
what you're describing. Here's a Youtube video that mentions what you're describing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7kGuCzmUx0
which mentions troubles closing the cover. Apparently
one has to insert the cartridge horizontally and then
press down vertically at the end of insertion stroke.
Your new cartridge might be a tighter fit.

The M504n has an almost throw-away price at Amazon. Maybe getting a new
one will put my printing back in play, and at the same time yeild a
reason for the current problem. Fixing the not-so-very old one would
give us a spare here for when the next SNAFU comes.

That's rewarding HP for selling a hard-to-use product.
Personally, I'd try to avoid that.

But I'd really like to beat this one into submission.

I'm of the same mind, and tend to favor Brother printers.
HP has run its reputation into the ground imho. These days
there are many excellent alternatives.

Good luck,

bob

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

On 2026-03-01, bp@www.zefox.net <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:

HP has run its reputation into the ground imho. These days
there are many excellent alternatives.

Printers these days are a very sad story, with only one reasonable
segment: Black and White lasers, of which there are many decent
incarnations. At my office, I have 3 that are basically the same print mechanism sold under 3 different brand names, but unfortunately with incompatible cartridges:

- Xerox Phaser
- Samsung
- Brother

The Brother sells the toner cartridge without the transfer roller/drum,
and then the drum assembly is sold separately.
The only bad thing is that is does not have a "cancel" button.

The Xerox and the Samsung have little to disstinguish them from each
other. My Xerox is a network printer, while my Samsung (and the Brother)
were bought as USB printers, but I got a little ethernet/USB print
server box to front the Brother one.

Color inkjets are an ugly mess, where I don't like any of them at all.
The "ecotank" versions have a habit of clogging up the nozzles if not
used for just a couple of weeks, and there is no good way to get to them
to clean them. The cartridge versions nowadays have the same problem,
except for older versions where the nozzle is on the cartridge.
In any case, they sell the printer at a loss (so the build quality
is very low) and thus have to make the cartridges unique and expensive.

Color lasers are basically to expensive to operate to make them viable
for personal use. A full set of "High Capacity" toner cartridges for
the Canon at the office is close to $500.
--
Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 03:23:06 -0000 (UTC), bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:03:36 -0000 (UTC), bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

In comp.periphs.printers Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote: >>>> HP LJ Pro M404n

The original toner cartridge has come to the end of it's life. For a
while now I've been taking the cartridge out and softly shaking it to
squeeze more pages out of it -- then replacing the cartridge.

It came time to replace the cartridge. I took the old one out, and
double checked it with the new CF258X cartridge and they seem identical. >>>>
I slid the new cartridge in and it would NOT go in far enough to allow >>>> the printer cover to close. It seems well seated on both sides of the >>>> cartridge, but it protrudes about 1/2 inch -- blocking the closure of
the cover.

I tried several times -- thinking I wasn't holding either the cartridge >>>> or my tongue correctly. No Go.

So, I picked up the old cartridge and slid it back in. SAME PROBLEM!
The cartridge will not slide in far enough to allow the cover to close. >>>> The cartridge protrudes enough to block the cover release push button on >>>> the right side.

In both cases -- with the old and the new cartridge -- it seems to
"snap' into place and it seems well seated on both sides of the
cartridge

I've inspected the interior of the printer -- even using a dental
mirror, and I cannot see any potential obstruction.

I can't believe I'm the only one to encounter this problem, but my
Google Fu fails to find any similar complaint. Search seems powered
more and more by AI, and all I get is hits for the bog-simple cartridge >>>> replacement instructions: "Remove the old one. Slide in the new one".

Anyone here ever have this problem?

Well, yes. My next door neighbor came over seeking help with the
same problem. He handed me the new cartridge, sure enough it didn't
go in. After a _lot_ of trying, fiddling and finally looking closely
at both the printer and cartridge it turned out he'd turned the
new cartridge tail-end-to-head. The outer shape of the cartridge
was fairly symmetric and it _almost_ went in the wrong way. I was
fairly embarrassed at not noticing right away. It took me about
ten minutes to realize what was wrong.

Since you've already tried putting the old cartridge back I suspect
you'd have noticed such an error, but only a close inspection of the
dust cover on the drum tipped me off.

In fact, I was trying to see where the drum drive gears were. Never
did figure that out....

Thank you for your reply! And, yes, I know I'm holding both cartridges
right-side-up. I just need another 1/2" to 3/4" of more 'insert' to
have the cartridge(s) in proper position.

I was referring to fore-and-aft orientation, not vertical. Likely you're right and I'm being pedantic. In the case of my neighbor's printer there
were no orientation markings of any kind on the cartridge, printer or instructions. Inserted trailing-edge-first his cartridge did exactly
what you're describing. Here's a Youtube video that mentions what you're describing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7kGuCzmUx0
which mentions troubles closing the cover. Apparently
one has to insert the cartridge horizontally and then
press down vertically at the end of insertion stroke.
Your new cartridge might be a tighter fit.

The M504n has an almost throw-away price at Amazon. Maybe getting a new
one will put my printing back in play, and at the same time yeild a
reason for the current problem. Fixing the not-so-very old one would
give us a spare here for when the next SNAFU comes.

That's rewarding HP for selling a hard-to-use product.
Personally, I'd try to avoid that.

But I'd really like to beat this one into submission.

I'm of the same mind, and tend to favor Brother printers.
HP has run its reputation into the ground imho. These days
there are many excellent alternatives.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Your description, plus the YouTube
demonstration solved my problem! I feel like an idiot!

It is actually easier to slide the cartridge in wrong-way-round than in
the correct orientation. And, as you described, there are NO insertion
guides or clues anywhere on the cartridge.

Good luck,

Heh, it wasn't luck I needed; it was a slap upside my head with
a clue-stick. You have my sincerest gratitude for sticking with
me on this problem!

A belated Happy New Year to you!
Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | Marvin | W3DHJ.net | linux
38.238N 104.547W | @ jonz.net | Jonesy | FreeBSD
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.periphs.printers

In comp.periphs.printers Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote:

On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 03:23:06 -0000 (UTC), bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:03:36 -0000 (UTC), bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

In comp.periphs.printers Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote: >>>>> HP LJ Pro M404n

The original toner cartridge has come to the end of it's life. For a >>>>> while now I've been taking the cartridge out and softly shaking it to >>>>> squeeze more pages out of it -- then replacing the cartridge.

It came time to replace the cartridge. I took the old one out, and
double checked it with the new CF258X cartridge and they seem identical. >>>>>
I slid the new cartridge in and it would NOT go in far enough to allow >>>>> the printer cover to close. It seems well seated on both sides of the >>>>> cartridge, but it protrudes about 1/2 inch -- blocking the closure of >>>>> the cover.

I tried several times -- thinking I wasn't holding either the cartridge >>>>> or my tongue correctly. No Go.

So, I picked up the old cartridge and slid it back in. SAME PROBLEM! >>>>> The cartridge will not slide in far enough to allow the cover to close. >>>>> The cartridge protrudes enough to block the cover release push button on >>>>> the right side.

In both cases -- with the old and the new cartridge -- it seems to
"snap' into place and it seems well seated on both sides of the
cartridge

I've inspected the interior of the printer -- even using a dental
mirror, and I cannot see any potential obstruction.

I can't believe I'm the only one to encounter this problem, but my
Google Fu fails to find any similar complaint. Search seems powered >>>>> more and more by AI, and all I get is hits for the bog-simple cartridge >>>>> replacement instructions: "Remove the old one. Slide in the new one". >>>>>
Anyone here ever have this problem?

Well, yes. My next door neighbor came over seeking help with the
same problem. He handed me the new cartridge, sure enough it didn't
go in. After a _lot_ of trying, fiddling and finally looking closely
at both the printer and cartridge it turned out he'd turned the
new cartridge tail-end-to-head. The outer shape of the cartridge
was fairly symmetric and it _almost_ went in the wrong way. I was
fairly embarrassed at not noticing right away. It took me about
ten minutes to realize what was wrong.

Since you've already tried putting the old cartridge back I suspect
you'd have noticed such an error, but only a close inspection of the
dust cover on the drum tipped me off.

In fact, I was trying to see where the drum drive gears were. Never
did figure that out....

Thank you for your reply! And, yes, I know I'm holding both cartridges
right-side-up. I just need another 1/2" to 3/4" of more 'insert' to
have the cartridge(s) in proper position.

I was referring to fore-and-aft orientation, not vertical. Likely you're
right and I'm being pedantic. In the case of my neighbor's printer there
were no orientation markings of any kind on the cartridge, printer or
instructions. Inserted trailing-edge-first his cartridge did exactly
what you're describing. Here's a Youtube video that mentions what you're
describing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7kGuCzmUx0
which mentions troubles closing the cover. Apparently
one has to insert the cartridge horizontally and then
press down vertically at the end of insertion stroke.
Your new cartridge might be a tighter fit.

The M504n has an almost throw-away price at Amazon. Maybe getting a new >>> one will put my printing back in play, and at the same time yeild a
reason for the current problem. Fixing the not-so-very old one would
give us a spare here for when the next SNAFU comes.

That's rewarding HP for selling a hard-to-use product.
Personally, I'd try to avoid that.

But I'd really like to beat this one into submission.

I'm of the same mind, and tend to favor Brother printers.
HP has run its reputation into the ground imho. These days
there are many excellent alternatives.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Your description, plus the YouTube
demonstration solved my problem! I feel like an idiot!

I felt the same way. However, I did have the consolation
of being handed the cartridge in the wrong orientation.
On the other hand, It was handed to me by a retired physician.

Fortunately, he wasn't a surgeon 8-)

It is actually easier to slide the cartridge in wrong-way-round than in
the correct orientation. And, as you described, there are NO insertion guides or clues anywhere on the cartridge.

Good luck,

Heh, it wasn't luck I needed; it was a slap upside my head with
a clue-stick. You have my sincerest gratitude for sticking with
me on this problem!

A belated Happy New Year to you!
Jonesy

It was a pleasure to turn my frustration into something useful!

bob prohaska

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2