If you can't get your printer to work with the new Windows 8, there are a few things you can try. As with all new updates, printers and Windows 8 may have compatibility issues. You can resolve these issues by following the steps below.

Before you get too technical, I would recommend looking at your connections first. Every expert will tell you that the cords are secure and everything is plugged in correctly. If that's not the problem, I'd say you might have a driver issue.

Installing the Printer Driver

Many older printers and Windows 8 are not compatible at first. This is because the printer is using a driver that does not recognize the new operating system. A driver literally makes your printer work with your computer. It recognizes Windows commands to get the job done. You may have to look for updates before your printer works.

Check your printer manufacturer's website for updates. Even if your printer is an older version, the manufacturer may have an update for your printer and Windows 8. You will need your printer's model number visible on the front.

HP Printer Driver Location

You can also look at your computer manufacturer's website for drivers for various devices, including your printer. To do this, you'll need your PC's model number, which is usually located on the back or bottom. Finally, it will update your old, non-working printer driver to the latest possible version, which can often include Windows 8 compatibility.

Running in compatibility mode

Another problem I have found with printers and Windows 8 is that even with the correct driver, the driver refuses to install. To get it to work, you may need to convince it that it works with Windows 7. To do this, you will need to run in compatibility mode.

1. Once you find the driver you need, you will need to right-click on the " Settings" for driver
2. Click " Properties" .
3. Go to the tab Compatibility
4. In the second section, you will see a box that says “Run this program in compatibility mode for” with a drop-down list. Make sure the box says Windows 7 even if you have Windows 8
5. Select field
6. Click Apply

Runs on Windows 7 for compatibility

Connecting to a Windows 8 system

You may have more than one computer and need to connect them together. If your printer is already connected to an older machine, you will simply need to connect it to your new Windows 8 PC. To do this, go to the Control Panel on your Windows 8 computer to create a HomeGroup.

Read how to install a printer on Windows 7,8 and 10. All the ways, where to download drivers and the setup process. Full instructions.

Every user thinks that it would be nice to have a printer on hand to print the necessary files. This is one of the most important elements of your home office. Modern technology can work online and locally. Due to this, users have problems installing it. Let's figure out how to install a printer on a Windows laptop with different versions of the operating system.

How to install a printer on Windows 7

The local printer does not allow connection via the Internet. It is installed on one of the PCs. In most cases, local printers are installed at home. In offices, network options are more convenient, to which all users have access. They can send documents for printing. The network participation printer itself is more complex - it keeps statistics and distributes the load between users. Let's look at installing each option.

Installing a Local Printer

It won't take you long to install the printer. We recommend that you first read the instructions from the device. If you don't have it, use the algorithm:

1. Unpack and install the printer in a location convenient for you. Connect it to the PC with a cable via the USB or LPT/COM port.
2. In most cases, the computer will automatically recognize the device and configure it.
3. If you have an Internet connection, the drivers will be installed automatically.
4. After this, you can proceed to detailed configuration of the device. Go to Control Panel, open the Devices and Printers tab, select your device and click Properties.
5. So that other computers on your home network can use the printer. You need to give them access. To do this, select the “Access” tab.
6. Set the checkboxes in the lines: “Sharing this printer”, “rendering print jobs on client computers”.

If the operating system was unable to install the driver on its own, then you will not be able to configure the printer; in this case, you need to know how to install printer drivers on Windows 7. To do this, you can use several options:

• download them from the official website of the device manufacturer;
• install from disk;
• use utilities to search for drivers.

The easiest way is to use the disk that came with the printer. If you purchased a handheld printing device, you will not have this option. Then go to the manufacturer’s official website and find the software in the “Users” or “Technical Support” section.

If you cannot find the required files on the official website, download and install the driver search utility. It will scan your computer and offer to install any missing program files. One of the most effective applications is Driver Pack Solution. After installing the drivers, return to setting up the printer. If you don't need shared access, you can do without it. The device will begin to show up in text editors.

Installing a network printer and print server

Network printers are connected using the TCP/IP protocol. They have several features - the most important of which is the lack of drivers. The program files are stored on the device itself; you do not need to download them. Let's figure out how to install a network printer in Windows 7. To do this, you just need to follow the instructions:

1. Install and enable the network device.
2. Go through the “Control Panel” to the “Devices and Printers” tab.
3. Select "Add a new printer". The system will offer you 2 options: install local equipment or network equipment. Select the line “Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer.”
4. The system will automatically scan the network and detect the device; all you have to do is confirm its choice.

This printer does not require any setup. The advantage of this option is that you can connect to the printing device from a tablet, netbook or any other device.

How to install a printer on Windows 10

The operating system version 10 has additional settings, so installing devices for it will be slightly different. Let's figure out how to install a printer on Windows 10. This operating system works with all modern devices, as well as local options.

Installing a Local Printer

Old printers that do not have a wireless connection interface will connect to a PC using USB or LPT/COM. You need to connect the printer cable to your computer, and then install the device according to the instructions:

1. Go to the “Start” menu, select the “Settings” section from the list (the “gear” icon).
2. In the “Settings” window that opens, find the “Devices” section. Go to it.
3. On the left side of the window that opens, find the “Printers” line. Click on it.
4. A button will appear on the right side of the window that says: “Add printers and scanners.”
5. The system will automatically begin searching for connected devices. Their names will appear in the window that appears. Select the printer you need, click the Stop button and click Next.
6. The operating system will do the rest for you - download drivers and configure the device.

During installation of a local printer, you may encounter a problem if the automatic service is not able to detect it. In this case, in the options window you will find a blue message “The printer you require is not listed”, and above it there will be an “Update” button. Click under the labels to proceed to manual settings:

1. In the “Find a printer by other options” window, select the first option “My printer is old, I need help finding it.” Click "Next".
2. After this, the system will install a helper utility that will configure your printer to work and detect it.

If the tips given on how to install a local printer did not help, then you need to check the connection of the equipment and replace the wires with new ones. Then download the drivers from the manufacturer’s official website and install them on your PC. Please note that some companies make special software for Windows 10. If there is such an option on the official website, use it.

Connecting a wireless printer

Modern models of office equipment are connected via Wi-Fi, which significantly expands their functionality. To install them, you need to configure the router and then the PC. First, check if your router supports WPS technology. If everything is fine, then you can proceed to setting it up:

1. In the address bar of any browser, enter “192.168.1.1”. In most cases, this will take you to the settings menu. The default login and password to enter this section is admin /admin. If these login details do not suit you, find the instructions from the router or the agreement with your provider (if the router was provided to you from them).
2. After you have entered the menu, you need to find the WPS section and set it to Enable. To restrict access from third-party devices, you can set a PIN code.
3. Now you need to turn on the printer itself and activate the search for a wireless network on it. After the connection is successful, you can proceed to setting up your computer.
4. Open the Start menu and select Settings. Go to the device management menu, select the “Printers” line. Click Add Printer.
5. Most often, a wireless device is not detected the first time. Therefore, when the message “The printer you require is not listed” appears, click on it.
6. From the options provided, select "Add a wireless or network printer." After which the system will automatically begin searching for devices. Drivers will also be downloaded without your participation.

If this does not help, then you need to find information about the IP address of the equipment (indicated in the technical documentation or displayed in the router’s system menu). In this case, from the manual settings list, select “Add a printer by its TCP / IP”. Enter the name or address of the device, put a checkmark next to the phrase “Poll the printer and install drivers automatically.” Click “Next”, the system will do the rest for you.

Set up to share a printer on a network

If you were unable to connect a network printer according to the instructions above, you can create a home network to include the device in it. In this case, several devices, including smartphones and tablets, can interact with one printer at once. Setting the default printer in Windows 10 for multiple devices is simple:

1. Open the “System” folder in the “Start” menu, select the “” utility in it.
2. Set the window's viewing mode to "Small Icons". Almost at the very end of the list, find “Network and Sharing Center”. Open this section.
3. In the window that opens, on the left, find “Change sharing settings.”
4. In the list that appears, find the phrase “File and Printer Sharing.” Position the marker to enable it. Save your changes.
5. Use the arrow to return to the previous window. In the lower left corner, find the words “Homegroup”. In the window that opens, click on the “Create homegroup” button.
6. Choose which files will be shared. It is required for printers. Click Next.
7. To connect devices, the system will generate a password, which can be written down or requested each time on the host computer (to do this, just open the “Home Group” again).

After you have created a homegroup, you can install the printer again and use it from any PC or laptop on your local network.

Now you know how to install a printer on the most popular versions of the Windows operating system. This is not a complicated procedure that any user can handle. Share the information you receive with your friends, leave comments. If you're having trouble using your printers or computers, we'll be happy to find solutions.

For full operation of the printer, you need to install additional software - drivers. Usually, they come complete with the device, on a special boot disk. Without them, the computer will not detect the connected device. Of course, we are not talking about devices that are automatically recognized by the system. I would like to note right away that you need to read the entire article, since there are complex and simpler ways to install drivers and therefore you need to read the article to the end. Almost at the very end of the article there is information on how to install a printer driver automatically, keep this in mind. When the question arises of how to install a printer without a disk, inexperienced users think that it is very difficult. But in fact, this procedure can be mastered in 15-30 minutes. Let's check if this is true.

There are two main ways to install a printer without a boot disk, namely, download the necessary drivers from the Internet

• Using basic Windows Update tools;
• Independently, knowing the device identification code or using the printer model.

The first method is perfect for simple printer models (only printing and scanning documents, without additional settings), because Windows Update installs a basic driver package.

The second method allows you to download the latest version of the software, so after installing them, the user will have access to absolutely all the functions of the printer, including more “advanced” ones.

In addition, the reason for installing drivers may be not only their complete absence, but also a malfunction of the device itself. Sometimes, using one driver or another, the printer refuses to print documents, and all because the driver you installed was not suitable for your device. This is, of course, one of the reasons why the printer may not work correctly, but as you understand, it’s not for nothing that we are talking about this right now. After all, below we will tell you how to download your driver to your computer, but if you are in a hurry, you may have difficulties. Therefore, proceed step by step.

If you have previously studied this issue somewhere and none of the methods were successful, then you can try downloading the drivers again. This article is universal - here we will tell you how to do it in different versions of Windows.

Therefore, before installing a printer without a disk, you must:

1. Disconnect the device connected to the computer;

2. Go to the “Start” menu - “Control Panel” - “Devices and Printers” or “View devices and printers”;

3. Here you will need to find the line “Install a printer” or “Add a printer” in the top panel;

4. The Add Printer Wizard will open, select “Add a local printer” from the options provided and click “next” (for Windows 7). If you have Windows 8 or 10, then at the bottom click “The printer you need is not in the list” - and then select “Add a local or network printer with manually specified parameters” and click “Next”.

5. The Wizard for Installing Printers and Other Equipment will prompt you to select a port, leave the default parameters (LPT1, but in some cases you need to select DOT4_001) and go to the next step;

6. Click on the “Windows Update” button and wait for the available drivers to update;

7. A list of printer manufacturers and main models will be loaded. May take from 5 to 30 minutes. Find the manufacturer on the left and the printer model on the right. Then click “Next”. In this case, we chose the HP brand and the LaserJet 1022 model.

8. The installation wizard will ask you to come up with a name for the device (leave the default name or create your own), click “Next”;

9. Wait for the installation to complete;

10. The “Use general settings” window will open, here you need to select the “No sharing of this printer” option and click “Next” (the window will appear if Windows 7 is installed). If you have Windows 10, then you will see a window where you need to click “Finish” (the same window will appear later in Windows 7).

The next thing to do is to remove the newly installed device. To do this, right-click on the printer icon that appears and select “Remove device” in the context menu (the installed drivers will remain).

After these steps, you will be able to connect the printer to your computer. When you connect the printer, you need to wait a little for the computer to automatically recognize the printer and perform the installation. Then you can print any document to verify that the driver is installed.

How to do this on Windows 7:

Official sites

If you do not have a disk with printer drivers, you can download them from the manufacturer’s official website. To do this, it is enough to know the brand and model of the printer. You can find them in the documentation, on the case or back of the device. If you do not understand the instructions below, you can download the required driver on our website without any fears (all drivers are virus-free).

Open any browser and enter in the search bar: “HP LaserJet p1102 printer driver download.” In this article I will look for drivers for the above-mentioned device, but you need to indicate your model.

As a rule, the link to the official website of the developer will be on the first page of the search, at the very top. But this does not always happen and therefore you need to be careful. To avoid downloading malware instead of drivers, make sure that you actually went to the official website of the developer. To do this, pay attention to the site link in the search engine. There should not be anything “extra” (the address will be something like this: “hp.com” or “samsung.com”, etc.

If you doubt the authenticity of the site you found, you can enter only the name of the printer company without the model and other information. And from the main page, go to the “drivers and other software” section.

Advantages of downloading drivers from the official website:

1. Security (drivers have a digital signature, no built-in malicious code);
2. The developer posts only the latest, “fresh” versions of drivers on the site.

As soon as you get to the desired page (“Drivers and other files”, “Software”, “Software”, “Downloads”, as well as “drivers” on the English version of the site), you just need to enter the model of your printer and search.

In addition, some sites allow you to automatically determine the device model and the necessary drivers, for example, there may be a “Detect Product” button. So, if we are on the HP website, we click “Product Search” and in our case, varieties of this model appear. We need to select the desired model by left-clicking.

Once the necessary drivers are found, you will need to provide information about the version of your operating system and the system bit depth. If this window does not appear, then simply click on the link or button to download drivers.

A situation may also arise that the site will offer to download a driver version to choose from:

1. Basic - to access the basic capabilities of the device;
2. Advanced - for access to additional functions.

You don’t have to worry about which version you download, the main thing is to indicate the correct bit size of your system (discussed above).

Once the download is complete, you need to run the downloaded file and follow the instructions of the installation wizard.

Windows Update

The Windows operating system by default contains all the main drivers for the most popular peripheral devices. Including for printers and scanners. To do this, connect the device to the computer and wait a few minutes. If the automatic printer installation attempt does not succeed, you must do the following:

1. Open “Control Panel”;

2. Find “Hardware and Sound”;

3. Left-click on “Devices and Printers”;

4. A new window will appear with icons of connected devices. Find the image of your computer or laptop (in my case it's a laptop) and right-click on it. In the context menu that opens, click on the line “Windows Update”.

5. After this, a window will open where you need to click “Check for updates” in the menu on the right. It should start automatically searching for available updates for all your devices. We must tell you that it is advisable to have fast Internet, as this procedure may take 10-30 minutes.

6. Now you need to wait for Windows to download the found updates automatically;

7. After the search is completed and all found updates are downloaded and installed on your computer or laptop, you need to restart the device.

After restarting the computer, the printer should work. If after rebooting the computer still does not see the device, the root of the problem may not be in the drivers. Try connecting the printer to a different USB input.

Determining the Printer ID

Each device that connects to a computer has a unique identification code. If you know the hardware ID, then you can download the driver you need without any problems. If the instructions described above did not help you and you do not understand, how to install a printer without a disk, you need to find out its identification code. I recommend using this option in the most extreme cases, and if you downloaded the drivers from the official website, you can skip this option.

So, to find out the ID:

1. Right-click on the computer and select “Properties”, then on the left click “Device Manager”;

2. In the window that opens, find your printer. Right-click on the desired line and in the menu that appears, click on “Properties”;

3. A dialog box will open where you need to go to the “Details” tab. Next, in the “Property” line, select “Equipment ID”.

4. A value will appear in the window below, which will be the printer identification code (if there are several values, you must select the first one);

5. Copy the ID. Go to the official website of your printer manufacturer and enter the copied identification number into the search. You can also use search engines to find the driver you need using the hardware ID. But don’t forget that our website has all the drivers for existing printers. All that remains is to download the found driver.

Remember that you need to download drivers only from official resources. It's absolutely free and as safe as possible.

Installing drivers automatically

To ensure that this problem never bothers you again and drivers for any external devices are installed automatically, just change the basic Windows settings. For this:

1. Go back to the “Devices and Printers” menu (we told you how to get here above) through the control panel. Right-click on the “Computer” icon and select “Device installation options” in the context menu that appears;

2. A dialog box will open where you need to select “Yes (recommended)” (recommended default settings) and click “Save”;

Now, after connecting a new device, Windows will automatically search for and install the necessary drivers from its own database or using the Internet connection.

Hello.

I think the benefits of having a printer configured on a local network are obvious to everyone. Simple example:

If access to the printer is not configured, then you need to first transfer files to the PC to which the printer is connected (using a flash drive, disk, over a network, etc.) and only then print them (in fact, to print 1 file, you need to make a dozen “ unnecessary" actions);

If the network and printer are configured, then on any PC on the network in any of the editors you can click one button “Print" and the file will be sent to the printer!

Comfortable? Comfortable! This article will tell you how to set up a printer to work over a network in Windows 7, 8...

STEP 1 - Setting up the computer to which the printer is connected (or how to “share” the printer for all PCs on the network).

To be able to use the printer on any PC on the network, you must correctly configure the computer to which it is connected.

To do this, go to the Windows Control Panel, to the section: Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center.

In the window that opens, you need to open three tabs one by one (Fig. 2, 3, 4). In each of them you need to check the boxes: enable file and printer sharing, disable password protection.

Rice. 2. public access parameters - expanded “private (current profile)” tab

Rice. 3. expanded “guest or public” tab

Rice. 4. expanded “all networks” tab

Here select your printer, right-click on it (right mouse button) and select the “ Printer properties". In properties, go to the “Access” section and check the box next to “ Share this printer"(see Fig. 5).

If access to this printer is open, then any user on your local network can print on it. The printer will not be available only in certain cases: if the PC is turned off, in sleep mode, etc.

Rice. 5. Sharing the printer for public access over the network.

You also need to go to the “Security” tab, then select the user group “Everyone” and allow printing (see Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Now printing on a printer is available to everyone!

STEP 2 - How to connect a printer over a network and print to it

Now you can proceed to setting up computers that are on the same local network as the PC to which the printer is connected.

The first step is to launch a regular explorer. At the very bottom left, all PCs connected to your local network should be displayed (relevant for Windows 7, 8).

In general, click on the PC to which the printer is connected and if in step 1 (see above) the PC was configured correctly, you will see the shared printer. Actually, right-click on it and select the connection function in the pop-up context menu. Typically, connection takes no more than 30-60 seconds. (automatic connection and driver configuration occurs).

Then select the connected printer, right-click on it and enable the option “ Use as default«.

Rice. 8. use network printer as default

Now, in whatever editor you are in (Word, notepad, and others), when you click the “Print” button, the network printer will be automatically selected and you will only need to confirm printing. The setup is complete!

If when connecting printer an error appears on the network

For example, a common error when connecting a printer is the standard “Windows cannot connect to the printer…. "and some error code is issued (such as 0x00000002) - see fig. 9.

It is impossible to consider all the variety of errors in one article - but I will give one simple piece of advice that often helps me get rid of such errors.

That's all. By the way, if the printer does not print, I recommend reading this article:

As always, thank you in advance for any additions to the article! Good luck!

It happens more and more often that old, reliable and completely working equipment, such as a printer or scanner, can no longer be connected to a new computer due to the lack of drivers for it. What to do: throw it away, buy a new one (of unknown quality)? In this article we will tell you how you can connect any such “outdated” device to a computer running a new operating system (Windows 7, 8, 10).

In short, the situation is resolved as follows: a virtual computer is installed on our computer, with Windows XP (or another under which this equipment can work correctly), drivers are installed, and interaction is configured.

As an example, let's try to analyze step by step the connection of the Canon LBP-800 printer and the Genius ColorPage-HR6X scanner. The printer is connected to the computer using LPT, so it is advisable that the computer be equipped with the following port:

Motherboard with lpt port

If there is no such port, find out if it is possible to add it inside the system unit using a PCI-LPT card:

Let's add the missing LPT port to the computer using this board

Various USB-LPT adapters most likely will not work normally (therefore, laptop users in this case cannot count on success):

Connecting USB devices, such as the Genius ColorPage-HR6X scanner, to the virtual machine will not cause any problems.

1. Which virtual machine should I choose?

• Windows Virtual PC (XP Mode)- included in Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, does not work well with the LPT port. After updating to Windows 8 or 10, it stops working, all data from it is lost, because Microsoft decided so).

Oracle VM VirtualBox— free, has a Russian interface, does not support working with LPT, is a little buggy, and can sometimes freeze and turn off for unknown reasons.

• VMware Player- free, no Russian interface, latest versions work only on 64-bit operating systems.

2. Setting up a virtual machine

Of all the many programs, we chose VMware Player, so we will base our review on this example.

2.1. Download and install the virtual machine creation program.

2.2. We launch the program and create a virtual computer in it.

2.2.1. Create a New Virtual Machine.

2.2.2. We select the method of installing Windows: either from a disk drive, or from an image file, or later (for example, from a ready-made VMware disk image file).

2.2.3. Select the name and location of the system.

2.2.4. For the XP “virtual”, 10 GB of space is enough and, for convenience, it consists of one file.

2.2.5. Let's review the hardware of the virtual machine.

2.2.6. All the default values ​​are fine for us, we just need to add an LPT port.

2.2.7. Select “Parallel Port” (LPT), click Next -> Next -> Finish.

2.2.8. In order to add a shared folder for exchanging information between computers, click the “Edit virtual machine settings” button:

2.2.9. Go to the Options tab, find the “Shared Folders” item, set the switch to the “Always enabled” position and check the “Map as a network drive in Windows guests” checkbox.

2.3. Install on a Windows XP virtual machine.

We launch the virtual machine, install Windows and the necessary software package.

We will most likely need only those with which we will print (or scan) here, for example: the Microsoft Office suite of office programs for recognizing scanned text, XnView to facilitate the process of scanning images.

3. Connecting an LPT device

In order to install an LPT device, like our Canon LBP-800 printer, you need to download its driver from the manufacturer's website, or insert the installation disk into the drive, and, following the manufacturer's recommendations, install it in our virtual machine.

9. Install the printer driver and check its functionality.

4. Connecting a USB device

In order to connect our Genius ColorPage-HR6X scanner (as well as any other USB device: printer, flash drive, webcam, etc.), you need to right-click on the icon of this device in the drop-down menu and click “ Connect (Diskonnect from host)"

After discovering a new device, install a driver for it, according to the recommendations of the manufacturer of this equipment.

5. Work

To print a file, you need to do the following: copy it to the exchange folder, launch a virtual computer, open this file in it, print it.

To scan something you need to: launch a virtual computer, launch a scanning program, scan (recognize text if necessary), copy the results of the work to the exchange folder. Now the results of the work can be used on the main computer.

6. Conclusions

Now old devices that are not supported by manufacturers are given a new life, and we save some money and nerves. After all, new equipment is not always better than old! True, all operations will now have to spend a little more time.

The Genius ColorPage-HR6X scanner driver for Windows 7 and older does not exist and, accordingly, it will not work on our main computer.

But for a VMware virtual machine, connecting and normal operation of outdated devices is a completely feasible task.