Source
r/sysadmin•
Heteronymous

HP MFP software: HP, why you write such JUNK software ?

<rant>HP, why is your software such a stinking hot mess ?
HP MFP device. Download the latest software from HP. Oh WAIT: It wants to extract to the user temp directory and run from there. FFS, really ?? Smacks of malware much ? Why yes it does. Anybody with decent software restrictions will block that nonsense, as happened here.

SO I run the software on a PC without such valuable safeguards, and copy out the extracted folder contents.
NEXT FAIL ? "api-ms-win-core-file-l1-2-0.dll" source file not found.
On every single PC (current Windows 10, latest build, fully patched). Run a repair on Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 which is already installed.
HP installer still fails. Reinstall Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 from full download from Microsoft. HP still fail.

On a temporary basis get users going with the built-in abilities of Win 10 so they can at least print.

What a ridiculous mess, thanks for not much, HP. </rant>

Posted Oct 2, 2019, 1:29 PM UTC · edited

46
stevewm•

This is why for MFP machines I don't bother with the actual software. Get the basic driver for the printing part, and then setup scan to network folder/email on the MFP itself. No software needed.

3
HeteronymousOP•

Agreed. Just not what's wanted in this instance (a small office).

The HP software "works" if I (temporarily) disable software restrictions, and run it (logged in as) an admin. This from the company (that once ?) tried/s to sell itself as "enterprise" level.

1
jkarovskayaSr. Sysadmin•

Blame Meg Whitman & her ilk who don't care about engineering excellence

2
douglasac10•

I've maintained that, particularly for their printing products, HP stands for Horrible Products.

A couple of years back it took one month to the day for them to send a tech out to look at a faulty printer. And that was with me calling them every few days pestering them, annoying them on Twitter regularly and in the end, making three complaints.

EDIT: and the time a client had a HP inkjet printer, installed the 15MB basic driver, found out the heads needed cleaning... and this function was apparently deemed "advanced" and required the full 300MB driver that downloaded at a glacial speed because HP's FTP server was having a go slow day.

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HeteronymousOP•

Horrible Products, that's great - thank-you :-)

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HeteronymousOP•

The software "worked" after disabling software restrictions, logging in as a local admin, running their craptastic "troubleshooting" software - which prompted to download a piece of software from, wait for it http://h20180.www2.hp.com

Which timed out. LMAO. C'mon HP, still up to the bizarro-land, makes sense to NO-one but some weird crew at HP, URL shuffle-o-rama ??? Reminds of (over a decade ago) as a once HP-certified tech I had to chase down URLs for product support that had horrifically (bad, stupid) URLS like that, which often failed to respond. HP's internal site maintenance was pathetic then, it appears to be no less pathetic now.

Oh HP, guess you never did or will get your bloated corporate mess sorted out.

Anywho, ran their uninstaller, ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/printers/redxpqclean/karnakredx_wsd_pqclean.exe

Re-ran the bloated installer and it worked.

That "karnakred" really should be renamed "canard-big-fail-fix" - canard, that's what I thought of right away.

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