I have an EPSON C80 printer and the USB port broke at the solder pins. I am know using the parallel port for the connection, but would like to fix the USB port. Is this something an amateur can do or do I need to take it to a repair shop.

The USB port on the printer or on the computer??? If you mean the port on the computer a simple fix would be to buy a PCI card with USB ports and install it. You can even upgrade to USB 2 if you want that way. If you mean the USB port in the printer, I don't have a clue.:confused: :D
Probably I would take to someone who works on printers. If the printer was really old, I might try to mess with it myself.;)


Budfred

No, it is on the printer, not the computer. And the printer is only 6 months old. I have 5 kids and when I confronted them, they just gave me the standard reply of "I dunno who did it but it wasn't me! The printer is not old enough for me to go into it without some sort of directions, and since I can still run it through the parallel port (but now of course I have to restart the computer as I switch it between computers), I don't want to spend the money a repair shop.
Your response did give me another question though. Will a USB 2 port on a PCI card provide the additional transfer speed over a regular USB port on any motherboard, even one that is 2 years old and running a Pentium III 500mhz computer?
Thanks!

Without being able to see it, I really couldn't say...how good are you with soldering really small parts on a rather delicate circuit board?


Most printers these days are conisdered disposible, so the likelyhood of finding the part to replace the broken one with is low. You might have better luck with locating a USB connector and soldering wires to it and mounting elsewhere on the printer. If it were mine, I would just stick with the parallel connection.

If you want to keep using the parallel connection, which is probably the best bet, you could simply network your two computers together in order to avoid having to move the connection. If it is only 2 computers and you have network cards in them, it would probably be cheaper than fixing the USB port on the printer anyway. If you don't have network cards, they can generally be found for about $5 each thse days (after rebate).

Also, I suspect the USB 2.0 would work on your system, but I would check the specs before buying.

Good luck,
Budfred

Sometimes I'm a bit slow. I had a router a while back that had a parallel port that I hooked my printer to. On my network, I then could access it any time. The router cratered and I got a new usb printer. The printer was between the 2 computers, so I just would plug the USB port in the computer that needed it.
I totally forgot that I could print from 1 computer to the other's parallel port. Daah!

Thanks!!!