HP LaserJet 1012: It's Just NOT Being Recognized......

[T. Hulot]

Hello.

I'm having an enormous amount of trouble getting my HP LaserJet 1012
laser printer recognized by Vista Home Premium.

Here's what's going on: This is the second time I've installed Vista
Home Premium. (It's a legit copy, full version, not upgrade.)

The first time, I had some trouble getting the laser printer
recognized, but eventually I got it working.

This time, though, nothing I do works. I unplug it, replug it, use
the Add Printer feature, and there is no listing for the LaserJet
1012. There was the last time I did this.

I tried using the LaserJet 1015 option, which did install the printer,
BUT...Vista began searching for a generic driver, and couldn't find
it. I couldn't get the printer to work.

Here's the most frustrating part: I downloaded all of the updates via
Windows Update. After I did that, and rebooted, I found five more
updates to download.

I downloaded and installed four of the five new updates. Only one
failed to install.

Guess which update that was...the update for the HP LaserJet 1012!

I couldn't believe it. I really need to get this printer up and
running.

Can anyone please brainstorm with me? Why is this one update--the
only one that failed to install--not installing, when it's the one I
need the most?

What is preventing this printer from being installed? I realize it's
not certified Vista-compatible, but it DID work the last time I
installed Vista.

(I had to format and reinstall because Zone Alarm screwed up my system
to the point where starting over was a more practical solution. In
retrospect, that may have been a wrong decision.)

Thank you very much!

 

[David A. Lessnau]

If I remember correctly, I couldn't run the actual HP driver software since
it faults almost immediately under Vista. Instead, I just turned on the
printer and Vista looked for the drivers. It couldn't find any on its own,
so I pointed it to HP's install CD. Vista then went through the motions of
trying to get things installed, but failed at some point (I think it was due
to the spooler). I then went into Device Manager, opened the "IEEE 1284.4
compatible printer" structure and right-clicked on the identically named
device underneath. I told it to Update the Driver Software and it did the
rest on its own.

Dave

 

[Bill Yanaire]

Don't use the Add Printer feature. Put the CD in the drive (if you have the
HP software on CD) then run setup. Make sure NOT to connect the printer.
Once the drivers are installed you might come up with a spooler stop issue.
If this is the case, you need to start the spooling service. I had to start
the spooling service twice. Once your drivers have been installed, you can
then power up your printer, and make the connection. It should work. I
have the same printer and had a bit of trouble, but it now works.

Hope that helps.

 

[huwyngr]

Since HP has no VISTA driver tfor the 1012 ty installing from the HP CD
as suggested but hold down SHIFT while inserting the CD into the player
and closing it -- hold SHIFT down until it stops whirring; that stops
Autorun from running.

Then find the startup file -- either Setup.exe or autorun.exe probably
-- right mouse click on it and select Compatibility Mode. Select Run in
Compatibility Mode / XP with SP2 and [x] Run as Administrator and OK
your way out and double click on that startup file if necessary to
start the installation.

Keep your fingers crossed and do remember not to have the USB cable
plugged into the PC until the Installation tells you to or you get to
[Finish]

Good luck!