Printer Driver Errors – How to Fix

A common printer error is a driver bug or problem of some sort.

The best way to fix that is to reinstall the print driver.

HOWEVER a less known fact is that just removing a printer from your  “Devices and Printers” (Win 7/8) or “Printers and Faxes” (Win XP) does not actually remove the driver from the computer.

To properly remove the printer driver you should enter  “Printer Server Properties” – Drivers Tab and remove the driver from the list of installed printer drivers.

For Windows 7

1. Click the Start Button.
2. Type printui /s /t2 in the search programs and folders box and press enter.
3. This will open the Print Server Properties window and should already be on the Drivers tab.
4. Select the driver you want to remove from the list of installed printer drivers.
5. Click Remove.
6. Select “Remove driver and driver package“.
7. Click OK.
8. Reinstall a fresh copy of your print driver.

For Windows XP

1. Open Printers and Faxes.
2. On the File menu, click Server Properties.
3. Select the Drivers tab.
4. Select the driver you want to remove from the list of installed printer drivers and remove/delete it.
5. Reinstall a fresh copy of your print driver.

This is a much better way to reinstall a print driver because it removes any possibility of an older/original driver causing problems with the replacement driver.

If you have any questions or think you could add to this article please leave a comment.