Why is my HP Toolbox not working?

Can anyone help with my HP Deskjet cartridge problem - was OK until power restored after cut?

• My hp deskjet 959c has never given me any problems although it's over 5 years old, but it's not heavily used. It's been happily using (bought-in) refilled cartridges for 3-4 years. The latest colour cartridge has been in place for a month, with light usage, and was working fine until the other day when the mains power was switched off for around 30 mins. The printer is always left on, and when the power came back on the cartridge light was flashing. There are two positional indicators for each cartridge, one for "ink low" and one for "cartridge problem, wrongly installed, wrong type, etc" - this latter one was being indicated for the colour cartridge. Even so, I lightly pressed the head to check ink flow - fine. The toolbox utility shows 90% full, so it's not a resetting issue. I've wiped the heads, tried different cables. No joy. Any ideas? There have been power cuts before and the printer has been fine, but I can't believe this is a coincidence.

• Answer:

  It is hard to believe this is a coincidence, but it may be. I would restore your printers default settings. If this doesn't work, hold your power button down for 30 seconds. Leave it off for 30 minutes, turn it back on. Do your ink cartridges have a microchip in them. If they do it could be due to the power affecting the microchip. You easiest option is to buy a NEW ink cartridge and move on from there. Also, if you refill your ink cartridges, it is only recommended that you have each cartridge refilled three times (actually it is not recommended at all, but you know what I mean). Your ink cartridge has a disposable printhead on it (built-in), so the printhead is pretty worn out after three refills. It was never made to withstand refills, only single use. The other reason is because after more than three refills, the ink cartridges begin to weaken due to wear and tear (and only made for single use), therefore after three refills, they are not as stable and have exploded inside printers. So, my suggestion would be- buy a new ink cartridge and start over. This is going to be the fastest and easiest way to solve your problem.