Printer Drivers

[RC]

Picked up an HP LaserJet 2420 for my home office. My laptop didn't have the proper driver so I went to HP.com and downloaded the driver. The instructions on installing the driver told me to click on the downloaded file then follow the onscreen instructions. When I click on the file it opens up the program to unzip. I unzip all the files and that's it, no onscreen instructions. So I try to install the driver manually going to settings, printer and add a printer. (I tried it manually because when the computer goes thru the automatic search it finds nothing) When I get to the screen that lists all the printer drivers I choose HP then go down a very long list looking for a driver in the 2400 series. Nothing listed. What do I need to do to get this driver installed? Thanks

 

[mcgyver210]

Re: Printer Drivers

Did you try any of these?:

HP 2420 Printer Series Drivers

If so need more info:

Do you have a plain 2420 or one of the ones with a initial also?

Which OS are you using & are you running 32 or 64 bit?


Also if your PC doesn't even find the printer in a printer search are you sure the printer is making connection?

Are you using USB, Network (Cat 5) etc?

 

[RC]

Re: Printer Drivers

Yes, that is where I went to download the driver. The printer is just a 2420, no initials. Running XP 32 bit. The printer is connected via usb and yes it is making a connection. One of the options on that site is to let the site find what type of printer you have. I did that and it found the 2420. Thanks

 

[mcgyver210]

Re: Printer Drivers

Yes, that is where I went to download the driver. The printer is just a 2420, no initials. Running XP 32 bit. The printer is connected via usb and yes it is making a connection. One of the options on that site is to let the site find what type of printer you have. I did that and it found the 2420. Thanks

OK I don't have anything running XP so I wont be much help for XP OS. Now I tried the Win7 without really installing & it seemed to be going fine.

One thing I remember about XP was I always had to perform a Fresh ReBoot before trying to install new stuff.

Sorry I couldn't help sounds like you are on right track for a good install.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Printer Drivers

Sounds like it's unzipping in your temp files and windows doesn't know where to find it. Download it and save it to a named subdirectory on your hard drive. I use "downloads" and have a "driver" subdirectory under that. It's up to you where you want to put it, just remember where it is. After you unzip it in the directory, you can launch from the .exe file or let windows find it when you go back to do the install from control panel.

 

[oldsh_t]

Re: Printer Drivers

I went to the site that mcgyver210 has posted and downloaeded all 3 drivers that were there to see what's up and if I can install any of them. could not install!! There is no install exe file with any of them. It will have to be done through XP finding and installing it. you will not be able to do it manually.

The instructions they give are pretty vague for a new instilatition:

Add the printer if it hasn't been installed yet.
Click Add New Printer
Follow the instructions of the Add Printer Wizard.

Now if you wanted to use their Universal Drive, there is a manual install exe file in those. Extract the download to an empty folder and you will see the "Install" icon. Se pic bellow. You could try one of those and I am sure it may just work for you. If you try and it does not work don't worry it will not effect anything on your computer. It will just never be used!!

 

[RC]

Re: Printer Drivers

Thanks I will try that. What I've been trying is exactly what happened to you! Glad to know it's not me being a little dense!

 

[NYBo]

Re: Printer Drivers

In the "add printer" wizard, select the "have disk" option, and browse to the folder where the driver files were unzipped. There should be an .inf file in that folder.

 

[i386]

Re: Printer Drivers

When I get to the screen that lists all the printer drivers I choose HP then go down a very long list looking for a driver in the 2400 series. Nothing listed. What do I need to do to get this driver installed? Thanks

At this point all you had to do was click the "Have Disk" button and browse to the folder you where unzipped the driver to.

 

[RC]

Re: Printer Drivers

No, did that and it did not work. Have tried every angle. Tried the universal driver last night and that did not work either.

 

[i386]

Re: Printer Drivers

No, did that and it did not work. Have tried every angle. Tried the universal driver last night and that did not work either.

Ok...

Go into the device manager and remove any yellow question marks that were caused by having that printer plugged in but no driver.

Immediately following that, unplug the printer from your computer.


The driver that you download from HP will work one of 2 ways.

Way 1. It's just a driver that gets unzipped in a folder. If you look at the files that get unzipped you will NOT find a setup program.

Way 2. It's a "full-featured" driver. When you unzip this type, it may start running a setup program OR you may have to browse to the folder and launch it your self. It will be named setup.exe or install.exe or something like that.


Printer install using Way 1:

Now that you removed those entries from the device manager your computer will think this is the first time it's ever seen the printer and will ask you for the driver.... Plug the printer into your computer. Windows should recognize a new device. When prompted, use the have disk option to point to the folder where you unzipped the driver to.


Printer install using Way 2:

Launch the setup program and DO NOT plug the printer in to your computer until instructed to.




If you goof up, go back and remove those opject(s) from the device manager, then unplug the printer from the computer before you take another swing at it.


I cannot stress enough how important it is to make the computer think it's the first time it's ever seen the device. It is equally important that you download the correct driver for your printer and operating system. I normally prefer to install the driver only packages and not the full version drivers because the latter will normally install additional software that I don't want such as printer toolboxes, print monitors, etc...

 

[RC]

Re: Printer Drivers

Thanks for the help i386 but when I go to the device manager there are no yellow question marks and none of the items listed refers to printers or drivers for printers.

 

[oldsh_t]

Re: Printer Drivers

Thanks for the help i386 but when I go to the device manager there are no yellow question marks and none of the items listed refers to printers or drivers for printers.

This may be a very dumb question, and please don't take it the wrong way, but when you plug this printer into the computer is it turned on? If it's plugged in to the usb only and not powered on Windows will not see it. You should be able to see it in the Device manager as not working??

 

[i386]

Re: Printer Drivers

Thanks for the help i386 but when I go to the device manager there are no yellow question marks and none of the items listed refers to printers or drivers for printers.

I think the key problem here is that your computer isn't seeing the printer. Having the correct driver contributes nothing to this problem UNTIL the computer sees the printer.

So...

In your Printers Folder, if there are any new erroneous printers installed due to working on this issue, you need to remove them and start over.

Until you can Windows to recognize there is a new device connected you're not going to move forward with this issue.

Another trick you can try is to use a different USB port than the one you've been using. A clean reboot between attempts doesn't hurt either.

One last thing I can think of would be to plug the printer into a different computer and see if that computer sees it just to rule out having a bad printer.

Good luck!

 

[RC]

Re: Printer Drivers

My laptop is definately seeing the new printer. Throughout these attempts the little "found hardware" balloon has opened up in the bottom right corner identifying the printer as an hp 2420. It just won't find the driver as it goes thru the plug and play process or when I try to load it manually.

 

[i386]

Re: Printer Drivers

Alright, here's a different way to address the problem. We'll add the driver to the list if drivers your computer has.

Go to your printers folder. Click File -> Server Properties.
Click the Drivers Tab.

Remove any 2420 drivers (if any) you see listed there. Now add the driver you downloaded. Just click add and follow through. You'll need to point it to the folder where you unzipped the drivers. Once complete it will be in the driver list.

Now, when the printer is found it may install the driver automatically or if it asks for the driver you should no longer have to use the Have Disk option. It will be in the list of drivers under HP.


I recommend using the HP LaserJet 2420 PCL 5e driver from HP. The file you download from HP should be called "lj2400seriespcl5winvista2k2003xp2008.exe". By drfault, it will extract to "C:\HP LJ2400series PCL5 Driver" though you have the option of changing that if you like.

 

[oldsh_t]

Re: Printer Drivers

Go to your printers folder. Click File -> Server Properties.
Click the Drivers Tab.

Remove any 2420 drivers (if any) you see listed there. Now add the driver you downloaded. Just click add and follow through. You'll need to point it to the folder where you unzipped the drivers. Once complete it will be in the driver list.

Well this worked for me!! I now have that driver on my computer!! Let's just hope it works for "RC"

Just seems wierd that the computer recognizes and installs the new hardware but it does not show up in "Device Manager" as a problem??

 

[RC]

Re: Printer Drivers

IT WORKS! Thanks i386 for all your help and not giving up on my problem. Much appreciated!

Rob

 

[i386]

Re: Printer Drivers

Glad it works! It's unusual to have to go to such trouble to get a printer working.

That last method is useful when you have the "customer's" computer but not their printer. Usually their printer will automagically work when they plug it in.

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Printer Drivers

Nice tip i386!!
I will put that one in the bank for use all the time.

AK Chappy