Do you see printer driver unavailable error on your computer? This article includes information about all kinds of driver-related problems that affect your printer if Printer driver unavailable | How to download printer drivers?
What exactly is printer driver?
- A driver is a necessary file that a computer requires to communicate with the device. In easy words, a driver is like a soul that is required to run the printer. Each printer has different drivers.
- The driver must be installed the right way and for the right model.
- The driver is an essential component of the operating system that keeps running the peripherals smoothly and properly.
- Drivers are required before you get any of the accessories that you buy externally connected with your computer.
- Without drivers, the computer will malfunction or stop responding whenever you connect the external device. You MUST install drivers of the device before you connect it to your computer.
Is the printer driver unavailable? How do I get drivers for my printer:
- Did you purchase a brand-new printer? You must have got a CD with it.
- That CD has all the necessary drivers to run your printer smoothly.
- In case the CD is there but you do not have a DVD or CD drive on your laptop or PC, you can download drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
- For CD, go to the CD folder and run setup.exe. Click next and follow instructions according to the setup.
- For the Internet, open the manufacturer’s website, Open the HP support page, provide serial or product id, and download the available drivers for the operating system.
- Above points are oversimplified but we will learn them step by step in the next section of our article
Got CD? Follow these instructions if you have a DVD drive in your pc
- Put CD in DVD writer and open the AutoPlay
- Some pc might have AutoPlay disabled.
- In case AutoPlay is disabled you need to go to folder root of CD drive and need to open the file named Setup.exe or autorun.exe
- In case the AutoPlay is on, you need to run setup when windows prompt you
- When the setup is open, you must agree on all the license agreements that it offers to you.
- If the setup asks you to install additional unnecessary software, you must decline that.
- Click next till you see a progress bar filling up
- When the setup is done you will see a button finish
- In case the setup does not complete as intended and ends up with an error
- Connect printer when the setup prompts
- Use original cable
- Run setup for the printer you have bought if you have got multiple setups in your CD
- Follow all instructions in setup and read understand them very carefully
- Once the setup is complete, try to print a test page off the printer.
- If your printer still does not work, try to contact the manufacturer about the issue.
How to get drivers from the Internet:
- Check the model number of the printer
- If you recently upgraded to windows 10 you might also need to use this method
- Check the OS you are running
- If you are running Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 or 10, confirm it by going to properties of my computer
- If you are using macOS then confirm the version of mac installed on your pc
- Go to the manufacturer’s support site and add all the info when asked.
- Once you add the info the appropriate drivers for the printer and OS will be available in front of you.
- You must download the appropriate drivers and install it according to the steps given above in our article
- When you will complete the download, you might get an antivirus warning about viruses or malware. if you are not able to verify the file you need to check if you downloaded the file from the right place.
- Once installed your printer should be up and running
- If your problem still exists, you might need to contact the manufacturer of your printer.
Please watch this video for better understanding :