I have two computers, one with Windows 7 64-bit, and one with XP 32-bit.
If I plug my HP Color Laserjet 2550L into either computer, it works fine from that computer. But if I go to the other computer and try to install it over the network, it tells me it can't find a driver for it...even though the printer was previously installed on it!
How the heck does this work? Is it impossible for these two computers to share a printer?
You could obtain the printer's IP and install it via tcp/ip method.
Start > Device and Printers
Click "Add a Printer" from tool bar
Select "Add a Network, .... Printer"
Abandone the search by clicking "The pringer that i want isn't listed".
Select "Add a printer using tcp/ip address or Hostname", Next.
From there you just in the IP address and wait for the system to find.
....
For the drivers, you will need to select the Have disk and browse to your CD/DVD.
I don't have any problem seeing the printer on the other machine. The problem is with the last line of your post: When I click on the printer I want to install over the network, it tells me that it will automatically install a driver.
But when I continue, it says that "The server for the printer does not have the correct printer driver installed", and allows me to search for the driver.
When I direct it to the driver, it keeps saying "Windows cannot locate a suitable driver."
It seems to be a conflict based on the fact that one machine is running Windows 7 64-bit, and the other is XP 32-bit.
Beyond that, I don't know what to do.
Well if the issue is with 64Bit or the driver, than you need to deal with that. If you nor the vendor don't have a suitable driver for 64Bit, and nothing else works, what can you do?
The way i described is for insalling a printer over the network, assumably with working drivers.
But I have the appropriate drivers. If I plug the printer into a USB port on the Windows 7 64-bit computer, it functions fine. If I plug the printer into a USB port on the Windows XP 32-bit computer, it functions fine.
I just can't install it over the network on either machine.
Hmmm, so what you are saying is that it wants the x64 bit drivers to be installed on thex32 machine? I've only ever networked network printers that connect to the network via ethernet, so have no experience of your exact problem. However, I am aware that HP now do a universal print driver. Have you tried using that instead?
Yes, I've tried the universal driver, but still get that "Windows cannot locate a suitable driver." message.
Have also tried talking to HP tech support, but their Indians offered no help.
Right now I have the printer attached to the Win 7 machine, and I have the XP 32-bit drivers on a temp folder on the XP-32 machine. When I try to install the printer on the XP machine, it says it can't find the drivers. I point it to the folder with the XP 32-bit drivers, extracted and including the inf file, freshly downloaded from the HP support site, and it just gives the same message: "Windows cannot locate a suitable driver."
But if I plug the printer into this same XP machine...no problem, it works great, no drivers required.
What happens if the printer is plugged into the XP machine and shared there? Can you print from the Windows 7 machine? I did read your original post but am not 100% sure from it if you have tried it both ways.
The only time I ever got a similar issue to yours was when I was using a remote desktop, but that quite clearly is not an issue here.
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