install printer

[paul]

I have connected a new lexmark printer and run the disc for installation
software. When the whole disc has installed it auto matically uninstalls and
does not recognise the USB connection. I have tried this many times but the
software just keeps uninstalling without me doing anything but only at the
end of the proccess???

 

[Chuck]

It might help if you had bothered to identify the model of the lexmark
printer.
That aside, the behavior you mention is usually cured by running a stand
alone uninstall utility that lexmark may have available for your particuliar
model or series.
The if all else fails method is to manually edit the registry, removing the
lexmark printer related entries.
This is really a last resort, as a mistake can cause serious problems.
You may also have to uninstall the USB subsystem(controller & port), with
the printer unplugged, reboot, and allow windows to reinstall the USB
subsystem. Understand that this can also cause problems if the keyboard &
mouse are USB devices.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

You did it the wrong way round for starters. You MUST install the software
BEFORE you connect the printer.

Try uninstalling both the printer software from the Control Panel AND the
USB ports from Device Manager. Reboot the PC.

WindowsXP should reinstall the USB ports by itself. Then install the
software and ONLY when it tells you to connect the printer to the PC should
you do so.

http://www.coribright.com/windows/Article_One.htm

 

[Chuck]

In general, I fully agree with you! It seems that P&P and printers don't get
along when it comes to the original driver install. (Scanners can be worse!)

A quibble is that when the drivers install then uninstall (or some app
software for that matter) in the same install cycle, the installer is seeing
something that causes it to continue to the uninstall section.

In January 09, I went through this with my fully updated and stable XP
desktop. Seems that the auto uninstall process did not clean out the
registry properly. The install error log showed errors that were not
documented very well. The next attempt at installing would actually install
the software, then decide that since it was not set to overwrite the
appropriate existing registry entries, immediately jump into the uninstall
sequence, which did not remove them either.
Aborting the install process showed that the drivers and some printer
related apps actually installed, and would at least partially function.

Further research (which I did not do) might disclose that the installers
default behavior was changed somewhat recently (SP-3?), and this kind of
problem might be a result. So far, I've run across this sort of issue with
more than one printer vendor's drivers (win XP), and a current version of a
popular and well thought of backup software application (in Vista (again
fully updated), no less)