Hi,
I have the exact same problem and nothing seems to be damaged. The problem just suddenly occurred one day without any changes in cartridges (they are genuine HP BTW).
What really annoys me:
I also cannot do anything with the other functions including fax and scan without the color cartridge despite the manual stating I should be able to even print grayscale with just the black cartridge.
When I remove the color cartridge, it keeps asking me to install the color cartridge, not allowing me to pass the screen.
How can I use this printer without the color cartridge?