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PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT
Can I salvage old printer parts?
Q I have an old HP Photosmart C8180 multifunction printer, but because the heads are worn it no longer provides legible prints. So, it’s ready to be recycled, making way for a new printer. However, this device contains both a LightScribe drive and multi-slot memory card reader. Is it possible to extract these from the printer and reuse either component as a standalone unit? If it is possible, then I guess I’d need some software to use on my Windows 11 PC. Any ideas?
Bryan Richards
A We’re all for reusing stuff, but we think it’s a tall order. There are so many ifs, buts and maybes that we can offer only the broadest of overview advice.
We couldn’t find a service manual for the C8180 (pictured below), so we have no idea if these components can be easily extracted, or whether they’re effectively hardwired into the device. Even if they can be cleanly removed, this product is more than 20 years old. That means the interfaces are likely to be incompatible with anything you’d find on a modern computer motherboard. You’d also likely have to use them ‘naked’, as they probably wouldn't fit into any modern enclosure.
Also, even assuming that HP used common connectors of the day – rather than its own – then the LightScribe drive in particular is likely to have a PATA interface.
Modern motherboards don’t have PATA connectors, though you could could fit an expansion card to add a PATA port to your PC. The StarTech PATA card, for example, costs around £25 (www.snipca.com/45609, pictured right).
The drive’s basic functions might work with the generic drivers built into Windows, but to enable the engraving functionality you’d need to install the LightScribe system software. HP has ended all support for LightScribe, but one enthusiast has kept the software.
