Windows 7 driver install: No have disk

carveone

My brother just attached a new (and cheap) USB HP all in one printer to his Windows 7 laptop. Windows 7 looks for drivers, can't find them, looks on Windows Update, gives up. Something like this:



What?! Where did "Have Disk" go to!

(Ok, maybe I should have clicked "What can I do if my device...")

Uhhh. Am I missing something here. I thought Windows 7 was supposed to be easier - this is a bit on the hard side for the average user!

Fixed by the usual hacky method of going to Device Manager / Update Driver / Select folder etc for the two devices with a ? on them - the scanner and the printer.

Yes, I realise that you are "supposed" to use the HP install CD to install the drivers, but HP always screw you and install buckets of garbage along with them.

Even when done the "Update Driver" way, that process still managed to start the setup on the HP CD! I didn't even know that was possible - must be a command in the .inf file for the driver...

Fysh

I'm not sure I've understood your complaint correctly. Or, rather, I think I've understood what your complaint is, but I'm not sure why you think it's a valid complaint.

I know HP have historically been awful for bundling crapware with their driver installs. But, well, it's the price of using an HP printer, unless you want to start mucking about or serve up your printer through a print server (more hassle than it's worth for the average home user). From personal experience of getting my home HP Laserjet to talk to my Win7 machines, it's remarkably straightforward to get it installed and working if you use the install CD. It's also remarkably easy to use the HP Universal Printer driver for most if not all of their machines, though getting it recognised for USB-connected printers is less straightforward than it should be.

If you're deliberately avoiding using the installation media provided by your equipment manufacturer, I'm not sure why you think Microsoft owes you a numpty-proof way to do this. You're effectively saying you know what you're doing - so prove it.

carveone

Fysh wrote: »

I'm not sure I've understood your complaint correctly. Or, rather, I think I've understood what your complaint is, but I'm not sure why you think it's a valid complaint.

Well, in my case I know what I'm doing so I can fix it. I take your point though - if you were an average user you would follow the appropriate procedure. Which I don't myself

I was just puzzled given that in previous versions of Windows, there would generally be a Have Disk option so you could point Windows at the driver, which could very well be sitting on a server share somewhere. I wouldn't have been so surprised except that Windows 7 heads off to the internet to find one on Windows Update when I could point it at a folder - look! It's right there!

Overheal

Samsung ML-Series laser printers are nice. As are the Lexmark all in ones: cheap, reliable, no BS. Never had a problem plugging that thing into Vista. I wish I could have brought it with me back to the states but it was only worth $50. I'd have spent more money shipping it.