I'm not familiar with Win 98 (I'm not familiar with XP either ... but what the?) but as always check your cables. There have many anxiety attacks over computer and peripheral performances posted on this forum due to an electrical plug not all the way in the wall or a loose cable connection, or as in my case recently, the electrical sockets used for my printer's electricity are controlled by a wall switch...and of course someone flipped the wrong switch and I thought I had a dead printer...it happens. Now with XP when you print you have to make sure the correct printer or device is highlighted in the print box, its easy to overlook, especially after a few years. This USB hub...I'm assuming is for a laptop? You aren't going over your computer's capacity with everything plugged in? Plug the printer directly to your computer. If you are using a hub that might be the problem ... they do wear out, as we all do. If all of that checks out, well it might be time to upgrade to XP...as you know '98 is no longer supported. I don't know what extent Microsoft interprets "Not Supported". The reason I say this is its time to check your drivers and maybe reinstall them. I have been in driver hell myself. The number of times XP Windows has reported a device or driver was working properly when it wasn't is more than I have fingers and toes and I still have all of them. You can get your original drivers off your basic install disc...so I've heard...if you place it in your multi-drive after your desktop is up. (If you do it before your desktop is up and viewable you might be on your way to reinstalling Windows...that's what Best Buy told me anyway. I'm too lazy to check it out today.) Or you can subscribe to a place like Driver Agent DriverAgent.com). They will do a scan. Sometimes they are wrong and supply you with downloads that don't apply, but in those cases the driver just doesn't install, I've never heard of or had damage from Driver Agent myself. I have gotten many drivers back and up and running through them...mostly my realtek sound drivers after an electrical storm. I'm just too stupid to figure out which driver I need when I go to the manufacturer's site. I get lost in the Intel site...I've even downloaded the wrong drivers and updates from Toshiba ... who told me I needed them through their automatic update service. Drivers are something I don't want to think about...its so confusing, and Windows is less than useless with their driver recommendations. Make sure your cables and plugs are not fried and conducting current and memo groups like they should, check out that hub by plugging the printer directly into your computer and pray that you won't get lost in driver hell..or that your hard drive is failing. marf

When the cartridge carrier returns to it's base position does it do that properly? I ask because I had a Lexmark with similar issues and the fix was to jamb the cartridge carrier hard to the right side so it actually clicked into the resting position. Obviously Canon is not Lexmark but these are the kinds of things you might consider trying. I suspect this has nothing to do with the individual ink cartridges being seated in the carrier. Although it might be prudent to ask if you have recently replaced inks and if you used off brand stuff. The other issue of course is your used only occasionally, printers need to be used or the print heads can and do dry up. This is not the nozzles on the cartridges but the jets themselves. I like to print something, even a small item, weekly or close to that.

There's some ideas being tossed around at the link. Hopefully one of the suggestions will assist you. Here is a link that might be useful: Err 01

Thanks, team! :-) I tried the update this morning, and it didn't do anything. But I think Dees may be onto something. I remember when I moved the printer a bit to get at the connections in back, it made a jerky "on and off" type sound that I think would be compatible with a loose connection. I tried to check the printer-computer connection this morning, but didn't succeed very well. In the process I managed to disconnect one of my monitors, but somehow restored it. With two monitors, the laser printer, my big photo printer, the flatbed photo scanner, and three speakers (yes, I have a long desk--it also holds my ham radio), a lot of wires are plugged into that computer. I'll ask my son--who plugged them all in--to check the connection for me.