Anyway to install a Printer Without a Printer Cable

AddRAM said:

Then again, there might not be any Windows 10 drivers/software for your scanner, let us know how it goes.

Well, that's what I was thinking as well, and is one of the things that prompted the return to W7

ICIT2LOL said:

Then again, there might not be any Windows 10 drivers/software for your scanner

Good point did occur to me but unless I got it wrong it worked in 10 yet not when the OP came back to 7 where it had been working before. Now that smacks of 10 "interference"

Maybe I explained it badly...

• When running Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium the printer and scanner worked flawlessly using an USB cable
• After we upgraded to Windows 10, the printer itself still worked fine, but the scanner did not, a condition we did not notice until the time for rollback had come and gone
• Now, after an install of Windows 7 32 bit Home Premium, the printer seems to not recognize it when, as part of the install, we connect the USB cable to the computer

AddRAM said:

I just gotta ask, Why did you update, ( I`m not gonna say upgrade ) it to 10 ???

I'm blameless on this one. My wife, knowing that the quote upgrade unquote was free, and getting tired of the incessant Microsoft nags updated on her own. Which, of course leaves me (and this forum) to deal with the fallout. I've already marked threads about this issue as 'solved' on the Windows 10 forum, and on the Installation & Setup subforum here. Hopefully, those threads do not need to be reopened since I have managed to get Windows 7 successfully installed.

Baddog22556 said:

When doing major upgrades, or minor ones for that fact, it is major to do a full system image backup
first. I tried W10 3 times but kept going back to restore W7 image and had no problems at all.
In all my years I still can not seem to emphasize enough the importance of a full clone or image
backup prior doing anything or at least weekly just in case.

That, of course is only helpful going forward. My wife upgraded on her own without consulting me, and initially seemed quite proud that she'd managed to do it on her own. She and I have already had the conversation about what a mistake it was.

ICIT2LOL said:

I still think you need to wipe that drive - sorry but in my mind it is the only way to make sure you have cleared the drive completely and securely.

As horrible as the thought is, you might be right. Or not. I refuse to believe that the printer cable port on the back of the HP 4500 decided to malfunction at exactly the same time that I reinstalled Windows 7. I'm not a big believer in coincidence. So I'm left with the thought that Windows 10 did something to the printer, or to the computer. Since I reformatted the HDD, my belief is that 10 screwed up the printer somehow that left the printer cable port dysfunctional. But I allow that my failure to do a total wipe of the drive may have compromised something on the reinstall of 7. I dunno. The prospect of reinstalling all those drivers and updates is daunting. But the prospect of buying another printer and finding out that I have the same connection problem is equally scary.

ICIT2LOL said:

Is there any chance of getting a wifi adaptor and trying that because that link I sent re the driver for the printer should have fixed it good and proper.

Unless I'm mistaken, even installing a wireless printer requires at least some initial wired connection. I'm assuming that it's necessary for the driver, otherwise why would the troubleshooting diagnostics tell me that I'm missing the printer driver? That issue wouldn't go away simply by purchasing a wireless adapter. If it would, then I could simply install the printer wirelessly to our laptop, then set it up as a network printer, making it accessible to both computers.,

ICIT2LOL said:

even installing a wireless printer requires at least some initial wired connection

Well have set up a few now and just recently too and never needed the cable for that - all you need are the drivers for the printer - and the wifi card if you purchase one. It could be different in your case but I am thinking that would be most unusual.
The driver for the printer has to be installed of course and it would include any software for a wifi connection and the printers I installed with wifi were HP's.

Apparently with HP printers you need the USB cable to get the driver. I downloaded the basic software (meaning driver only) for the HP 4500 to the laptop I'm using now and started the install. I was never prompted to choose whether it would be a wired or wireless setup - it just told me at some point to plug in the USB cable. After I did, just like with the Lenovo tower, nothing happened. The install did not continue. The word 'Next' never became un-grayed. When I checked the box to skip that step, the printer was installed on the laptop, but it was non-functional, because it had no driver.

According to HP Printer Specifications for HP Officejet 4500 All-in-One Printer Series | HP® Customer Support

The model you listed in the OP doesn't have wired or wireless capability,