If there is a problem with the driver, your computer will be unable to recognize the device and thus, will be unable to use the device until the problem is resolved. To help you with that, we have prepared a dedicated guide for printer driver problems. Today, we will be specifically focusing on printer driver unavailable error that frequently occur in Windows computers. But, you should also try the solutions given here to counter other problems related to printer drivers.
How To Fix Printer Driver is Unavailable
Before we try to fix the problem, let’s try to understand why it occurs in the first place and what are the reasons behind it. Initially, the occurrence of the error on your Windows 10 computer suggests either a damaged printer driver or simply the absence of the driver altogether. It can be caused by a lot of reasons such as a recent Windows update, installation of a problematic 3rd party software, problems with your hard drive, etc. In order to resolve the problem quickly and permanently, you will have to factor in these reasons and try each of the solutions we are offering here. This way, you can get rid of the problem right away, and also make sure that it does not appear again on your computer. Here’s how you can fix printer driver unavailable errors on your Windows computer or laptop.
#1. Update Your Printer’s Driver
As the root cause of the problem is the driver of your printer, you should first try to check if there is a problem with the driver itself. For that, you can directly try to update printer drivers on your computer. Updating the driver might be the best course of action as newer versions of the software are always better and designed to eliminate the problems caused by the previous versions. To update your Printer’s drivers, follow these instructions.
Open the control panel in your computer by searching “Control Panel” in the search bar and opening the top result.
Here, you will find various categories of programs and settings on your computer. Click on the view by options and select “Large icons” to see even more detailed categories.
Now, you can easily find the “Device Manager” option in the list. Click on it to access the device manager.
From here, you can control and manage pretty much every driver for your Windows system. As the drivers are categorized in this window, it is pretty easy to find the driver that you are looking for. In the list, try to find the “Print queues” category as it contains printer drivers. Expand the section and select the printer that is causing the error. Now, simply click on the “Update driver” option. For best results, follow the first option to download and install the drivers automatically. After the driver update, restart your computer for the driver to install completely.
#2. Check Windows Update
As you may already know, there is a lot of variety available in the market when it comes to computer accessories. This is also true for printers as there are a lot of brands that offer many different printers that are commonly used in the industry. Each of these printers operates on a dedicated software or driver provided by the manufacturer. Now, a windows update can possibly cause incompatibility with these programs after an update. But in most cases, such errors are quickly diagnosed by the Microsoft team or are reported by the users. Thus, Microsoft provides another set of updates for the users that are facing the problems as a remote solution. If you are also facing the problem since your last Windows update, check the following solution.
Installing and managing the updates on Windows has been made very easy since the launch of Windows 8. To access the update section, simply press “Windows + I” to access system settings. In this window, select the “Update and Security” section.
This is the dedicated section in Windows 10 for update and security options. Here, select the “Windows Update” option in the quick access menu on the left side. Now, simply click on the “Check for updates” button and wait while your computer looks for the available updates. If new updates are found, you will be prompted to download and install updates right here. Even if you do not find any updates, keep checking this section frequently as you might receive a delayed update later on.
#3. Try The SFC Command
Even though the drivers and other important files of your operating system are installed in a secure folder on a separate drive, they are still operating from the same hard drive as all of your other files. And as you know, hard drives can be easily affected, even without any physical damage whatsoever. The majority of hard drives generate bad sectors, which cause the files to be corrupt or unreadable. You can easily check the status of your hard drive by using the SFC command in the command prompt. It basically activates a tool that scans your hard drive completely and looks for potential errors, and tries to resolve them automatically. If the damage is not severe, the tool can easily fix your hard drive in a few minutes. Here’s how you can use the SFC command.
To use the SFC command in your command prompt, you will have to use the command prompt with administrative access. For that, you can simply search “CMD” in the search bar. Here, you will find additional options, including “Run as administrator”. Click on it and run the command prompt. Once you are in the command prompt, you should see “system32” before the empty space available for commands. In the empty space, simply type SFC/SCANNOW and press enter. For convenience, you can copy the command from here and right-click on the command prompt to paste it. Once you click enter, the command will be executed. Depending upon the speed of your hard drive as well as your computer in general, it might take between 10 minutes to a half-hour period to finish the scan. Also, the scanning period is longer for larger capacity drives. Meanwhile, you will be able to see the scanning progress as well as the status of your drive once the scan is completed in the command prompt window. If it detects any damaged files, it will attempt to fix the files by itself. This should resolve the driver problem for your printer if it was caused by damaged driver files.
#4. Manually Update Printer Drivers
If the above solutions did not fix the problem for you, you need to attempt updating the drivers manually. Sometimes, the drivers released by the printer manufacturer are not accessible by Windows OS and hence, you will have to download the drivers manually from the support page on the manufacturer’s website. While a lot of manufacturers offer the drivers in executable files, which offer simple installation methods, some drivers need to be manually updated from the device manager after you download them. While the process differs slightly for some drivers, here’s the most common method to update printer drivers manually.
Open the official website of your printer’s manufacturer and download the latest driver files from the support section. You might have to enter the model number and series of your printer to get the correct drivers. Once you have the drivers saved on your hard drive, open the device manager on your computer. In the device manager, head over to the “Print queues” and expand. Select the printer that is generating the error and click on the “Update Driver” option. Now, you will find 2 options in the next window. Select the 2nd option to install the driver manually. Now, a new window will open. Here, you will have to locate the driver that you just installed. Select the driver file and click on the “Open” option in the lower right section of the window. Now, the device manager will identify the driver and install it in your system. If the driver already exists, it will be updated. Once the driver is installed, your system will be able to recognize the printer and offer compatibility without any issues.
#5. Use 3rd Party Driver Update Programs
Similar to many other programs in the Windows OS, there are alternative options available for complicated processes like downloading and installing driver updates and managing system settings. You will find many different options on the internet that are specifically designed to look for various drivers for your hardware and keep them up to date at all times. While most of these programs are premium, you can get a trial period on the majority of them to get the results that you desire. Such programs can easily detect the hardware connected to your system like printers, scanners, webcams, etc. and find the drivers and other related software automatically. Not only that, but these programs also download and install the drivers for you within just a couple of clicks. The overall user interface is designed to be user friendly and suitable for all users. Therefore, you will definitely find it easier to use such a program to resolve the issue with your printer. You should invest in a premium version of the program if you frequently face such issues with multiple devices.
#6. Reset Printer
If none of the solutions provided above has worked out for you so far, it is highly possible that there is a problem with your printer, and you need to make changes within the printer itself. While replacing the printer right away seems to be the most plausible and quicker option, we will recommend you try to reconnect the printer to your system. It is basically a simple process of completely removing the traces of your printer from your computer and reconnecting it as a fresh device. Here’s how to do that.
Turn off your printer and disconnect it from the computer. Now, open the search bar on your computer and search for “Add or remove” programs. Click on the first option for the add or remove section. Here, you will see all the installed programs on your computer. Now, search for the driver of your computer and uninstall it from here. Once the process is finished, just restart your computer and connect it to the printer. Turn on the printer. The computer will now detect it as a new device. Similar to other peripherals, your system will also try to install the drivers for the printer automatically. If not, you can try to install the drivers provided with the device. It could be with the CD or USB drive provided by the manufacturer. Now, your computer will work perfectly with the given printer.
Conclusion
The printer is more than just an essential device in places like offices, hospitals, shops, and other commercial establishments. Without a printer, it is impossible to generate any receipt or print an important document. Therefore, you should follow the maintenance procedure for your printer to keep it in perfect working condition. But, you might still face problems on the software side due to driver issues. Fortunately, that can be easily resolved by following the simple set of solutions provided in this guide. While following the solutions, make sure you carefully follow each step so that the solution will be effective. If you are facing any trouble, you can get in touch with us via the comment section below. Comment * Name * Email * Website
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