First of all, determine the extent of oxidation on the aluminum surface. If it is determined that the surface is in relatively good shape, i.e. light oxidation, then skip this step and move on to polishing with Flitz.
Q: how long can a usb printer cable be? I am trying to connect a HP laserjet 2840 to my iMac with a USB 2.0 cable that is 25ft long. The computer does not recongnize the printer or that it is connected when I plug them both in. The same 25ft cable works fine when connected to my other HP P1006 printer. The HP 2840 works fine when I use a shorter usb cable.
Given that reliable parallel port operation limits one to a cable length of no more than 15 feet, network print servers make a lot more sense. Incidentally, a seemingly slow parallel port can be a victim of an overly long cable -- this malady can also affect network print servers that drive their printers via a parallel port. To understand why, you need to know a little bit about how the Centronics interface operates.