Printer Problems and Device Manager

[Chad Harris]

I have one printer and I'm not networked on a single machine. I'm running
Win XP SP2 RC2. There have not been any printing problems with the Beta so
I don't think which version of OS has anything to do with this. All of a
sudden I couldn't print a Word 2003 document (MOS 2003). Thin The job would
just stay in the print que. I could print note pad and Word pad. A couple
hours later, I couldn't print anything. I went through the troubleshooting
steps offered by Help and Support and the MSKBs on printer problems.

I am using an HP Laser Jet 1200 PCL model number C-7044A. It is using
that dot3_HPLJ port. as is the HP Desk Jet whose driver only I installed by
mistake. I don't have an HP deskjet. A test print from the "deskjet"
prints fine through my one printer. I checked the connections and they were
fine. I finally got this fixed after trying to find drivers on any driver
or HPs site and ended up getting HP's printer status and alerts app. I'm
sure drivers are availalbe somewhere on HP's site, but had trouble finding
them.

Finally after showing hidden devices for the 100th time, I was able to hit
properties of the HP LJ printer and install a driver with the hardware
update wizard from that right click context that worked using the what I
guess was a native Windows driver. This had not worked if I either right
clicked the printer in the printer folder and hit the *update my printer
driver wizard.* Here are my questions.

1) I don't see a driver tab anywhere. The only place where I can find a
reference to the driver now is to right click properties on the HP LJ 1200
at control panel under Printers and Faxes when it slides out on the Advanced
Tab. That's the New Driver button which runs the new driver wizard. If I
go to device manager, I have to go to View>Show hidden devices to see
printers. The only printer that shows up is the HP LJ 1200. There is no
driver tab there. If I right click the printer entry there I get the same
dialogue box I get if I right click it from the control panel entry.
Shouldn't I have a driver tab somewhere as with all other devices in Device
Manger? How about a driver tab by right clicking the printer in the
printer's folder on that dialogue box?


2) I have always been told to go to the manufacturer site if posssible to
find a driver update, but I couldn't find it on HP's site. What did I miss?

3) Why doesn't running the update driver wizard from its button work when
you select your make and model? The wizard that worked was to update the
Hardware?

4) By mistake I installed an HP deskjet driver probably from the HP site
and now the HP deskjet icon--a printer I don't have--shows up in my printer
folder. It ponits to the same port as my real printer, and a test print
prints from my real printer. When I try to delete it so that it won't
interfere, it just gives me the message that "the operation has been
cancelled do to restrictions on your computer." I'm the Administrator and I
didn't set any restrictions anywhere, so what does this mean? Is there a
printer permission I need to change somewhere? The deskjet no longer shows
up in device manager.

5) Why do you have to show hidden devices to get Printers to show up at
Device Manager?

TIA,

Chad Harris

 

[Mary Sauer]

--
Mary Sauer MS MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://www.mvps.org/msauer/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

I have one printer and I'm not networked on a single machine. I'm running
Win XP SP2 RC2. There have not been any printing problems with the Beta so
I don't think which version of OS has anything to do with this. All of a
sudden I couldn't print a Word 2003 document (MOS 2003). Thin The job would
just stay in the print que. I could print note pad and Word pad. A couple
hours later, I couldn't print anything. I went through the troubleshooting
steps offered by Help and Support and the MSKBs on printer problems.

I am using an HP Laser Jet 1200 PCL model number C-7044A. It is using
that dot3_HPLJ port. as is the HP Desk Jet whose driver only I installed by
mistake. I don't have an HP deskjet. A test print from the "deskjet"
prints fine through my one printer. I checked the connections and they were
fine. I finally got this fixed after trying to find drivers on any driver
or HPs site and ended up getting HP's printer status and alerts app. I'm
sure drivers are availalbe somewhere on HP's site, but had trouble finding
them.

Finally after showing hidden devices for the 100th time, I was able to hit
properties of the HP LJ printer and install a driver with the hardware
update wizard from that right click context that worked using the what I
guess was a native Windows driver. This had not worked if I either right
clicked the printer in the printer folder and hit the *update my printer
driver wizard.* Here are my questions.

1) I don't see a driver tab anywhere. The only place where I can find a
reference to the driver now is to right click properties on the HP LJ 1200
at control panel under Printers and Faxes when it slides out on the Advanced
Tab. That's the New Driver button which runs the new driver wizard. If I
go to device manager, I have to go to View>Show hidden devices to see
printers. The only printer that shows up is the HP LJ 1200. There is no
driver tab there. If I right click the printer entry there I get the same
dialogue box I get if I right click it from the control panel entry.
Shouldn't I have a driver tab somewhere as with all other devices in Device
Manger? How about a driver tab by right clicking the printer in the
printer's folder on that dialogue box?

The Device Manager doesn't show printer information, it does tell you that in the
dialogue if you click the settings tab. You have to open the printer folders.

2) I have always been told to go to the manufacturer site if posssible to
find a driver update, but I couldn't find it on HP's site. What did I miss?

There is a driver on the HP site, it has a May 23, 2002 timestamp
It is here
http://tinyurl.com/lcmq

3) Why doesn't running the update driver wizard from its button work when
you select your make and model? The wizard that worked was to update the
Hardware?

Don't know for sure except when Windows has updates, it probably updates drivers
also.

4) By mistake I installed an HP deskjet driver probably from the HP site
and now the HP deskjet icon--a printer I don't have--shows up in my printer
folder. It ponits to the same port as my real printer, and a test print
prints from my real printer. When I try to delete it so that it won't
interfere, it just gives me the message that "the operation has been
cancelled do to restrictions on your computer." I'm the Administrator and I
didn't set any restrictions anywhere, so what does this mean? Is there a
printer permission I need to change somewhere? The deskjet no longer shows
up in device manager.

Might try this site
How to clean up printer drivers
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/CleanPrinterDrivers.htm

5) Why do you have to show hidden devices to get Printers to show up at
Device Manager?

I suspect it is because you can't alter printer information in the Device Manager
anyway.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Drivers for printers do NOT show up in Device Manager.

They show up in the Control Panel, Printers & Faxes... from the Toolbar,
select File, Server Properties.... look in the Drivers tab.

 

[Chad Harris]

Mary and Cori--

I have some questions. I want to put my burning question up at the top and
would really appreciate someone taking a swing at them--especially the first
on replacing drivers for different devices--should the old one be
uninstalled first. That can create a unweildy problem if you do that with a
mouse driver--although people say blithely you can navigate with a keyboard,
I can find plenty of tasks they can't do without a mouse.

1) Do you all and do the driver mavens or hardware mavens recommend always
uninstalling the previous driver (I'm not talking about the usefullness of
rollback at times) when you want to update a new driver???? Does this vary
from the type of driver? How about the ones frequently updated--printer,
sound, and for gamers who want to hop on the latest G-Force video drivers??
I worry about a conflict between the old and new driver. But I know you are
invited if you are networking (in KBs to install other printer drivers that
you find out that someone on the network may need depending on the printer
they're used so there doesn't seem to be a conflict of having *more than one
driver for a particular printer in that situation."

This and the question of uninstalling an old application that is somewhat
analagous always vexes the heck out of me. It seems that drivers don't
demand that you uninstall the old driver. I also understand drivers can
corrupt--there isn't very much written about this as important as it seems
and given the fact that MSFT preaches at meetings that 80% of Windows
crashes and BSOD's where there will be a problem booting are hardware
related and the vast majority of these are specifically driver induced.


2) When I mistakenly installed a driver for HP Desk jet--a printer I don't
have I got the desk jet icon in the printer folder. If I test print desk
jet (it's pointing to or referencing the same port as the real laser jet I
have) it prints fine via the laser jet.

3) If I right click and try to delete the driver or the icon for the printer
I don't have, it won't let me giving me the message that the Administrator
set it up that way. I have full Administrative privileges. Do I need to
tweak a checkmark somewhere on a permissions security tab for printers that
I'm not finding? I can look around for this but if all permissions are
granted there I'm still stuck. It's not affecting anything but I don't know
why I can't delete the printer entry for a deskjet I don't have.

4) On ports--is there a specific reason to use a Dot 4_001 Port (where my
real and fictional printer both point) and the LP1, LP2, and LP3 ports I've
used before and are listed on the Ports tab of the printer's folder? Also
since my printer isn't a post-script printer--when you run the wizards MSFT
assumes you know so I had to look the definition up, what do Post Script
fonts do and what's the significance of Post Script printers?? Are these
older type printers?

*Device Manager Can Access Printers Folder and Printer Driver Updates* and
has a wizard you can't access by going to the printer's folder on the
control panel that may fix you--it did me. It's the Hardware Update Wizard
from right clicking your printer that you unhide in Device Manager , and as
far as I can tell it is different from any Wizard available from the
printers folder or Hardware applet on the Control Panel. You can only get
to it in device manager--possibly there is some run command that will go
directly to it the way some run commands will access control panel applets.

The Device Manager *will show the printer and some printer information* but
it needs to be *unhidden,* There is driver replacement access in a Windows
XP OS and 1) Typing "devmgmt.msc" in the run box or hitting the Windows and
Pause Break keys and getting to Device Manager and then going to View>*Show
hidden devices* Then you can right click printer>properties>settings
tab>printers folder button, From there you can right click the printer in
the printer's folder and add from the "new driver button" and get the new
drivers wizard.and that will take you to the same printers folder
destination as via the Control Panel. I tried that and the Control Panel
several times and nothing.

But there is a different wizard and *that wizard* has a different name and
that's the route that got me fixed. It is also a *different wizard* from
the Hardware Update Control Panel's Wizard.

*This Wizard fixed me.* You go to device manager>View>Show Hidden
Devices>and instead of Printers right click the particular printer you're
trying to update. Then left click the Update Driver entry on the right
click context menu. You'll get a Wizard called "Hardware Udate Wizard."
You can radio button to "update driver automatically" or ironically radio
button Advanced and get the same list as from Control Panel there that
didn't ever work for me picking my HP Printer. The top automatically choice
from this wizard is the only thing that finally fixed me including trying to
download a new driver or running any other wizard. The Advanced Choice
wouldn't fix me even selecting my exact HP printer from the list.

Thanks,

Chad Harris

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