[German]Users of the HP Solution Center are facing an unpleasant experience since January 2021: The software is broken. A window with an f character as well as an I appears – and it is no longer possible to scan on all-in-one printers. The cause is the end of support for Adobe Flash, which let the HP Solution Center to fail.
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The HP Solution Center
HP Solution Center is a printer management program for HP printers developed and released by HP before 2010. The program is still installed on many systems in 2021, as it provides e.g. scanning functions for all-in-one multifunction printers (see the following screenshot).
The problem is that the HP Solution Center relies on Adobe Flash to function. But support for Adobe Flash is scheduled to end at the end of 2020 (the announcement was made back in 2017). And since January 12, 2021, an installed Flash player has stopped working.
The HP Solution Center is broken
I first came across this a few days ago on Twitter in a private conversation. Someone mentioned issues with the HP Solution Center starting in January 2021. Then German blog reader Waldblick left this comment.
HP Scan Jet 3800 has worked smoothly with Solution Center even on WIN 10. Since a Win 10 update in Dec 2020 an image file is prepended "f u. i" when starting Solution Center. Since then, the Solution Center can no longer be started. What can I do to get the old state back?
The strange f and i looks like in the picture here. I had pointed out to the user in my reply to the comment above, that the root cause is the end of Adobe Flash support at the end of 2020.
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In Windows 10 the Adobe Flash Player was automatically updated to the version with the time bomb. With this, Flash Player shut down as planned on January 12, 2021 and this will be removed from Windows 10. This will remove scanning capabilities provided by the HP Solution Center from all-in-one devices/printers.
HP does not provide updated software
The problem is that Hewlett Packard has not released a version of HP Solution Center that no longer relies on Adobe Flash. However, this is not a new behavior from HP.
I then searched a little on the Internet. From HP there is the support article HP Printer – HP Solution Center does not open, which only confirms what I have already written above. User still can continue to print with the integrated Windows printer drivers and, in the case of all-in-one printers use a scan app to scan. The HP Solution Center should be uninstalled – but beware, you probably need the printer and WIA driver to support your printer – so uninstalling may be impossible.
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Hello,
I circumvent this with the freeware iCopy to scan to PDF. Than use the HP bundelt OCR Readiris Pro 11 Version afterwards. Use "C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\DocProc\dpe_ocr.exe"
It tells you, the software is for debuging only, but it works for me. Just open the PDF file created by iCopy and the OCR modul starts working. You can save the new PDF with embeded OCR Text.
But the dpe_ocr forgets settings! So you must always configure that you want PDF file with text and image.
Greetings
Baumann, THANK YOU!!!
I can't believe that I've had this on my computer for all these years, and never knew about it. This will be very, very useful to me!
Wow. This could be a serious problem. I have been scanning with HP1212nf on a 2018 computer, when I installed the printer (which was older). I am now trying to install HP full solution for 1212, 1213, 1214, 1215/1219. It is taking an extremely long period of time. ….like 2 days. I stopped the installation and started over, but if by tonight it is still installing, I will stop it. I am considering copying the program files from an older computer into the older computer I am trying to install it on (refurbished expensive Dell I bought for a daughter years ago). I wonder how the Adobe flash issue will play out with either way I do this.
To scan:
+ HP Scanner and Capture: jpg and pdf with multiple pages. https://www.microsoft.com/es-es/p/hp-scan-and-capture/9wzdncrfhwl0
+ Scanner: jpg, pdf with multiple pages. https://www.microsoft.com/es-es/p/windows-scan/9wzdncrfj3pv
+ HP Scan Extended: jpg and pdf with multiple pages. https://ftp.hp.com/pub/scanners/HPScanExt/HPScanExt.msi
"The HP Solution Center should be uninstalled."
Absolutely not. Even if the program does not work, HP drivers are necessary. Some users have already said that with Windows drivers there are problems such as not recognizing the scanner or when printing.
I downloaded iCopy and it worked good with my current scanner since Adobe Flash is at its end of life. Thanks for the advice. The new version of .Net was installed so no problems at all with my current drivers.
Using a HP Deskjet F4200 Series (scanner and printed with Adobe Reader).
Why isn't it illegal for them NOT to provide software updates, for !@#$% sake!? My 800.00 laser all-in-one professional office printer is under a year old and now obsolete and less than 60% functional. No warning when it was sold, either, and you can bet HP product development was aware.
I will NEVER buy another HP product, ever. Not even printer cartridges. I'm DONE with those highway robbers.
i am also done with HP products i bought two printers and can't use either one the salesman did not mention any problems when i purchased them. A good F you to HP
This is a solvable problem. It saddens me that HP has so little regard for their customers that they didn't bother to solve it.
I know of several solutions:
1. The HP supported answer:
(This is only a partial solution, unfortunately.)
a. You should still be able to print, normally.
b. If your printer is network-connected, then you can check ink levels via the printer's web interface. (If you use a USB cable, you'll have to use the printer's console, instead.)
c. If you only want to scan photos, and you don't need OCR'd document scanning, then you can download and install a free utility from HP called "HP Scan and Capture." It's pretty pathetic, and if you need OCR'd document scanning, you're out of luck. But it is sufficient for some people.
The main problem is very poor support for document scanning.
2. Bypass Solution Center.
It turns out that Solution Center doesn't actually run the scanner. Instead, it just front-ends the "HP Scanning" program which runs the scanner, and HP Scanning doesn't need Flash Player. It's only Solution Center which needs Flash Player.
The HP Scanning "splash screen" is probably familiar to you:
https://sealevel.info/HP_Scanning_splash_screen.png
It is possible to run "HP Scanning" without Solution Center. A guy calling himself "Wstack" figured out how, and I wrote a little program to make it easy; instructions are here:
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Setup-Software-Drivers/HP-Solution-Center-Not-Working-probably-flash-issue/m-p/7989395/highlight/true#M218193
or here:
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/HP-Solution-Center-does-not-work/m-p/7988833/highlight/true#M243160
But if you have a ScanJet scanner, rather than an all-in-one OfficeJet printer, my program won't work, as is. If you want to me to fix it to work with your ScanJet, I'll need you to gather some information for me:
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/HP-Solution-Center-does-not-work/m-p/7989502/highlight/true#M243194
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/HP-Solution-Center-does-not-work/m-p/7990212/highlight/true#M243241
3. Lie to Flash Player about the date.
If you still have Flash Player installed, but it won't work because of Adobe's time bomb, then you can probably get HP Solution Center to work by faking the date. You can either use a tool like RunAsDate, or you can just run Solution Center from a little .bat script which does the following:
a. Save the current date, and temporarily set to system date to before the Flash Player expiry.
b. Start HP Solution Center.
c. Wait about two seconds.
d. Restore the system date to the correct date.
Here are detailed instructions, from "JRBC":
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/HP-Solution-Center-does-not-work/m-p/7988833/highlight/true#M243160
4. Install a version of Flash Player which works.
Some people have apparently managed to get an old version of Flash Player to work. The trick is to find one which is old enough to not include Adobe's time bomb, but new enough to still work on your copy of Windows (presumably Win10).
A better approach is to use a patched version of FlashPlayer. Someone calling himself "darktohka" has created a program to easily make the needed patch. Here're the links you'll need…
a. FlashPatch (patcher program):
https://github.com/darktohka/FlashPatch/releases/latest
b. A version of FlashPlayer to patch:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210112063313/http://fpdownload.adobe.com/get/flashplayer/pdc/32.0.0.465/install_flash_player.exe
c. Instructions:
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Setup-Software-Drivers/HP-Solution-Center-Not-Working-probably-flash-issue/m-p/7966043/highlight/true#M215731
(Warning: if you still sometimes use Internet Explorer (or some other web browser which supports FlashPlayer), then you should disable that support in the web browser, because running Flash web content in a buggy FlashPlayer makes you vulnerable to virus/trojan attacks.)
Dave
http://web.archive.org/web/20200718192527/https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html
I use an unpatched/unmodded Flash Player v32.0.0.363 from the archived link, which does NOT have the time bomb problem, especially on a friend's very old HP computer running XP Media Center edition.
The link that Dave Burton provided in step 4c. was helpful:
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Setup-Software-Drivers/HP-Solution-Center-Not-Working-probably-flash-issue/m-p/7966043/highlight/true#M215731
On the HP forum I found a link to an app "Run as date":
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/run_as_date.html
I downloaded it and found the program "HP Solution Center" on my computer location:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\Hpqdirec.exe"
File name:
Hpqdirec.exe
In the "Run as date" window, I set the date to 12/1/2020, then I hit RUN, the program opened "HP Solution Center" and I was able to scan a doc to pdf to my computer.
HP Solution Center not working and cannot be fixed. Already wasted an hour on it when HP could have notified me their product is permanently broken. Last HP for me.
I've packaged my little program to bypass Solution Center for scanning (approach #2 above), along with instructions, into a .zip file, here:
https://geeksalive.com/no_solution_center.zip
For convenience, I've also included in that .zip file an "Alternative_approach" folder, corresponding to approach #4 above. It has instructions and files for installing v32.0.0.371 ActiveX Flash Player, which is apparently the last version without the timebomb.
Thank you so much. This worked for me your brilliant!!
Thank you Dave Burton, you are a prince amongst men! I badly needed my HP Solution Center to work, and you made it happen – bless you!
I have an HP C3100 printer +scanner and had the same problem once Flash was removed. What I did was to dig out the original HP installation software and let it run an install again. It had the effect of installing Flash into the HP folders so Solutions Centre worked properly again. This Flash is invisible to any browsers, which do not support Flash anyway and Flash does not appear in Control Panel.
Problem resolved.
I installed and use Run as date but only with Solution centre. This works perfectly and it doesn't change my system date.
I'm too afraid to do anything on my own.
I can print and scan from printer, but I don't have the other options I used
to have via the solution center. I'll save this page and maybe one day have
time to figure it out. I need something easy.
I don't have money to buy a new printer.
Dave Burton, thanks so much. You've done what HP couldn't be bothered to do. The only way I could bring this up before was to run a test scan from HPPSDR. Never really worried about ink levels as they are displayed on the machine.
I have just installed run as date app..its simple, works perfectly, and completely restores HP solution centre
I googled,and found an exe of flash version 32…went straight in,and now the program works justhttps://archive.org/details/flashplayer_old like it should.
What if I've already installed the Windows Update that removes FlashPlayer, with claims that update cannot be uninstalled? Can I still reinstall the older version without the installation being blocked?
I would not do that – read Microsoft's information on Flash removal in Windows 8.1/Windows 10
I have a HP Scanjet G2710 and encountered the same problem that HP solution centre does not work. I used my "Windows Fax and Scan" and scanned my documents very easily.
Downloads NAPS2 ( https://www.naps2.com/ ) A little bit of setup to do for different scan profiles, and you can scan to PDF, or Picture, and also email as PDF. Very simple, extremely functional
I have a laser jet g2710. The same problem. Hp solution center doesn't work anymore . I did the same as Mostafa. Went to devises and printers, entered the hp scanner icon, and voila!!
There was a fairly elegant solution posted which did not require any downloading; launching the hpiscnapp.exe app in C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin allows pictures to be scanned and saved. However, these can't be scanned or saved as documents (pdf files). Anyone know of a similar solution for scanning documents?
Thank you!! Congrats from Brazil!
Hi
I had the same issue with the solution center and my HP scanjet 2400 so I checked some of the solutions here and this is my experiment. These four ways worked for me!
1st method: as Keith Kreft says, there is a file called hpiscnapp.exe in this directory C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Digital Imaging\bin . It's actually part of the solution center which doesn't need flash player to run. If you launch this app you can scan and adjust colors, size and finally save it in format of pdf or jpg but I wasn't able to change scan resolution unfortunately.
2nd method: as mostafa says I was able to use "windows fax and scan" which is a built-in app which comes with windows. It was able to scan and unlike method 1, I was able to change resolution but I wasn't able to adjust image after scan like color tone, gamma or sharpness. If you want additional adjustment you probably need another software to do that.
3rd method: as Baumann says, I was able to use the iCopy app. This also works like method 2 and you can choose resolution but not any change after scan. you can scan multiple pages, scan image, pdf
4th method: as Dave Burton says you can use the "HP scan and capture" app. It works but like iCopy and windows fax and scan, you can't adjust after scan.
So this is the summary: using method 1, you're able to scan and adjust after scan but not changing resolution, using method 2, 3 and 4 you are able to change resolution but not adjust after scan.
I tried "HP scan Extended" and the scanner started to scan but I wasn't able to save the file.
"run as date" app didn't work for me unfortunately, I hoped it would work!
I didn't try methods like installing flash so I don't know about it.
I have a HP Photosmart All In One C6150 Printer.
My solution center has also stopped working. HP
Has stopped making the ink cartridges the printer uses.
I ordered remanufactured ink from LD Products. I wasn't having any luck with the remanufactured ink so decided it could be a software problem. Evidently in my efforts to get the remanufactured ink to work by uninstalling and reinstalling the software I lost the flash player. I don't have the the CD but do have the download saved. Was wondering if I changed the date and reinstalled if flash would reinstall so I could scan old pictures to computer and documents to PDF files.
This printer is old but has always been great. Printing pictures documents envelopes and etc. Really enjoyed scanning old photos to preserve them. I have read the different fixes and will try to see if I can figure them out. This might not be the correct place to ask if anyone has any answers to my ink problem. Scan doctor says hp ink but internal test page says non HP supply. It knows.
HP stops making the ink but programs printer to not work with remanufactured ink. I have looked at printers and frankly have no idea which one to buy. Hate to throw printer out but if I can't get ink that will work it is useless. Thank you. I hope I will hear from someone and hope I can find this page again.
Really, HP used to be a brand to swear by. I used to use Solution Centre with an all in one printer and it was excellent. I would mostly scan documents as searchable pdfs for backups or so that I could get rid of the paper originals. This worked really well until I bought a new HP 6978. I was expecting the same functionality with the new printer but, boy, have I been disappointed! They have a new app called Smart, but it is not much good. It seems very unintuitive. I can't use it to scan to a searchable pdf despite having all the software available including IRIS ocr. One can only scan to a basic pdf or an image.
There is a utility called HP scan which can only be reached through the printer app and which allows one to scan to a rich text file or just a text file, but not a searchable pdf.
I have turned to 3rd party software, but it isn't very convenient. I have tried naps2 and tesseract. The latter does very good ocr, but is a command line program, so rather a slog to use.
And then of course there is their ink policy. I keep getting nasty messages about refilled or counterfeit cartridges. Some 3rd party cartridges I bought wouldn't work despite winding back the firmware etc. Apparently HP had rendered them useless with a software update. Their business model is typical business short-termism. By fixating on short-term profits they are losing long-term customers including me.
This is awesome since I had spent hours trying to find a way to make the scanning work.
Has anyone found any solutions to aligning the cartridges? I just replaced them and the printing alignment is terrible, everything looks 3D but I do not know how to fix it without the solution center