Canon S900 printer driver installation on Win 7  

I have Canon S900 inkjet installed on an XP PC on my win 7 homegroup. Works fine from the XP PC. The Win 7 PC sees the S900 and asks for driver. Downloaded Canon aomwin110ea23us.exe which extracts something somewhere. Cannot locate ANY .inf file on the PC. Win 7 still wants the .inf file to install the printer. Know this is a bit 'unusual' but any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Joe

You should read this other thread I posted last week.

That other thread described my issues trying to get the x86 drivers for a Canon S800 installed as the second driver on an x64 Win7 machine. The S800 was USB-connected to the Win7 machine and was supported out-of-the-box by Win7. However the required x86 drivers were seemingly unavailable from Canon.

I was trying to add the x86 drivers as a second driver for the printer on x64 Win7 so that the x86 WinXP machine (which was also on the home LAN) could print on the S800 hosted by the x64 Win7 machine.

After quite a struggle, I solved the problem. It actually involved THREE separate driver(INF) files and folders. Two of them were on the Win7 installation DVDs, but the third one (which was the primary starting point) apparently didn't make it to Microsoft in time for the Win7 installation DVD production. so this crucial first of three drivers was only available from the Microsoft Updates Catalog site.

So the three needed x86 versions of the three x64 drivers that had been automatically installed in x64 Win7 were my target. Again, two of them were on the 32-bit x86 Win7 installation DVD (just as they were on the 64-bit x64 Win7 installation DVD). But again, the primary first driver was not. And that's what I got from the Microsoft Updates Catalog site.

I then used a program named WinMount to extract the two other x86 drivers from the 32-bit Win7 installation DVD which I had a copy of.


I suggest that you start by determining the hardware ID for the S900 printer, from your WinXP machine. The device ID is the same on Win7 and is a perfect search argument on the Microsoft Updates Catalog site. Right-click on the printer object, select Properties, go to the hardware tab, and work your way through the options to get that hardware ID.

This will tell you the name of the INF file you're hunting for, or if the S900 is like the S800 it may be the first of several driver files you need.

You can then do a search in the Win7 driver repository on your existing Win7 system: C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository. This location holds ALL of the drivers from the Win7 installation DVD, for possible future use (like now).

If the primary S900 driver INF name is in the FileRepository, you can manually point to it. Or, if not, get the primary driver from the Microsoft Updates site.

Then, you start the "add printer/driver" process pointing to this first primary INF file. If it asks for a second driver (it will be expressed as some long coded name, as the screenshots in my other thread demonstrate), repeat the process to get that second INF file somewhere. Rinse-and-repeat even a third possible time (as with my S800). Eventually, you'll be done and the printer will be installed.


Read the other thread. Tell me if you have questions.

Did a little research on my own, because the S900 is obviously very similar to the S800.

Looks like the hardware ID for the S900 is "CanonS900DA58".

And whereas the first/primary driver for my S800 was PRNCA00t.inf, it looks like the first/primary driver for your S900 is PRNCA00r.inf.

And this is available from the Microsoft Updates Catalog web site, at this page (which can be reached by doing a search on either "Canon S900" or "CanonS900DA58").

You push the ADD button to the right of the Win7 line, and then click on the "view basket" icon to go to the download page. Push DOWNLOAD, navigate to a folder you'd like to store it in, and let it go. You'll get a CAB file in that folder, which can be unpacked using WinRAR or similar utility.

The expanded resulting folder will contain both the PRNCA00r.inf as well as the associated \I386 folder with the relevant files. This is the x86 driver, however, and I don't know where or how to find the \AMD64 version (unless it's in one of the other two driver packages I saw on that page). Anyway, this is the x86 primary file.


Then, examining PRNCA00r.inf, it looks like just as with the S800 there are additional core driver dependencies:

{D20EA372-DD35-4950-9ED8-A6335AFE79F0}
{5AB2025F-CAF7-4daa-93A4-B2C4B982D828}
{F5ADF989-4C79-44f9-AC94-9AA8CD5F25EC}
{392502D1-E382-426b-9DA7-1EC765C5A88A}
{318A426A-BD24-4abb-8ED2-835A7C4E2CAD}
{117C7913-9FE6-46e5-898E-00AB1C7DE6A4}
{67E69735-8A97-426a-9408-84CBF9394B20}
{7C5E3C88-9DF2-4ac4-8DBA-1F7D6DF49158}
{23EFE05C-10BC-4510-83D6-73853A2DCDA2}
{5DBCEB69-7DE5-4dd7-8D0E-170471C31135}
{176E2CDE-761E-40df-A3AF-7B8BB59A1968}

I can't find the secondary driver files containing any of these in the DriverRepository, though I thought that's where they'd be (assuming the S900 is supported by Microsoft in Win7... which of course may simply be flat wrong). The fact that PRNCA00r.inf absolutely IS the starting point for the S900, I am guessing that the S900 absolutely is supported.

I recommend you start by pointing to PRNCA00r.inf first, and then see what the next driver name (one of the long names above) it asks for next. Then hunt that one down, repeat the attempt, maybe get a third, hunt it down, etc.

dsperber said:

{D20EA372-DD35-4950-9ED8-A6335AFE79F0}

This one appears to be the next "core" driver that would be required.

And it appears that this corresponds to PRNCA001.inf.

However PRNCA001.inf is not in the Win7 FileRepository (at least it's not in mine). So perhaps it is distributed by Canon in the file you say you ran initially. You should search the \Windows\System32 folder for "PRNCA001.inf" after running that file Canon claims is important.

If I could look at the actual PRNCA001.inf we could find the name of what very likely is the next "core" driver we also will need. Unfortunately, I can't find PRNCA001.inf. Internet reports are that it is part of Canon-provided driver packages for other printers, but I can't find it as relevant to the S900. And yet...

Also, I'm still a bit stumped by the inability to find the \AMD64 versions of the files. The Microsoft Updates site only yields the \I386 version it appears... but I may just not be going about it properly.


Incidentally, I looked deeper at the EXE file from Canon that you mentioned, and I don't think this is the primary driver for Win7. It looks like a functional extension of capability for the printer, but is apparently installed using a SETUP.EXE. This has nothing to do with INF files and the primary driver.

And, it seems that Microsoft and Canon both say the S900 IS supported out-of-the-box by Win7, both x86 and x64. I don't know why it's not automatically installed when you plug it in with the USB cable?


Anyway, some progress. Looks like PRNCA00r.inf is the first, and PRNCA001.inf is the second... if I interpret things properly.

Joeblot said:

I have Canon S900 inkjet installed on an XP PC on my win 7 homegroup. Works fine from the XP PC. The Win 7 PC sees the S900 and asks for driver.

Why don't you just let Win7 do what it wants? Take the recommended path that lets it check with the Microsoft Updates site to find what it needs by itself, to get the primary PRNCA00r.inf and then everything else that follows.

Then it should be able to get everything else it needs, from the Win7 installation DVD itself. Let it check all the sub-folders, and it should find what it's looking for (although I can't).

This printer is supposedly just as supported by Win7 as my S800 is, and that installed perfectly and automatically by itself... though it is now know not all drivers it needed were on the Win7 installation DVD, but rather one was obtained from "the cloud".

NOTE: for my S800 only 1 out of 3 drivers came from the cloud. 2 out of 3 were actually on the installation DVD. In the case of your S900 it appears that at least 2 drivers are both NOT on the DVD. That's PRNCA00r.inf and PRNCA001.inf. For sure, neither of these is on the DVD... and perhaps even more are missing from the DVD but must be obtained from the cloud.

I've now reported this defect for the S900 drivers to Microsoft, using the case number I'd opened with them two weeks ago when I requested their help to get my S800 installed.

Obviously, somebody in the Win7 driver team at Microsoft dropped the ball here when it came to the S900. That's my opinion. The installation DVD is simply defective, when it comes to the S900. Yes, theoretically there IS support built into Win7 for both S800 and S900 printers, but whereas Microsoft successfully "fractionalized" drivers for the S800 they apparently FAILED to do the same job for the S900.

In my opinion there is not supposed to be a 300MB PRNCA001 folder in Win7. That was the Vista name of the "complete driver package for ALL Canon printers". There were no fractions... just everything from Canon in one place: PRNCA001. And it was a 300MB folder. And PRNCA001.inf included definitions for all Canon printers, including primary, secondary, and tertiary drivers. Everything was in one INF and in one \I386 or \AMD64 folder for DLLs and GPDs... for ALL CANON PRINTERS.

For Win7 they apparently decided to break up PRNCA001, into fractional subsets perhaps for classes or categories of Canon printers. That's why there is no one single PRNCA001 any longer on Win7. Instead, there are "fractionalized" pieces of what once was PRNCA001 in Vista.

Hence, the S800 turns out to now be PRNCA00t (primary driver) which needs PRNCA00x (secondary driver) which needs PRNCA00y (tertiary driver). PRNCA00x and PRNCA00y are on the installation DVD, and also in \System32\DriverStore\FileRepository, and PRNCA00t is on the Microsoft Updates web site. So when you plug an S800 into a Win7 machine, it all works magically and the the web site is searched (because the printer's hardware ID is not found in the local DriverStore) to reveal PRNCA00t. The installtion of PRNCA00t leads to the additional required drivers, but they're found locally in the DriverStore. Success. S800 installed through this 3-step process.

In contrast, the S900 doesn't install at all. And that's because while the hardware ID for the S900 is found on the Microsoft Updates site and leads to downloading the primary PRNCA00r driver, the use of PRNCA00r needs a secondary driver which is NOT ON THE WIN7 INSTALLATION DVD!!! Hence it's also not in the DriverStore on the \System32 directory of the installed Win7. Nor is it on the Microsoft Updates web site.

In my opinion, the Microsoft Win7 driver team screwed up here... and simply forgot to place the appropriate "fractionalized" drivers for the S900 on the installation DVD, as they'd done for the S800!! That's the only conclusion one can draw. They SHOULD be on the installation DVD or on the Microsoft Updates web site, in which case the install for the S900 would work, but instead they're in none of the above.

I don't know if the drivers for the S900 which were originally contained inside of PRNCA001 in Vista (along with all drivers for all Canon printers) would have ended up in two or three fractions (as was the case with the S800). But apparently at least two fractions were planned by the Win7 driver team and are required: PRNCA00r (which IS available on the web site) and PRNCA00??? (which is available NOWHERE!!!).

I've now reported this to Microsoft as a defect. Hopefully they may actually correct it, by finding the "missing fractional driver parts" for the S900 which are needed and putting them on the updates web site.

I plan to call Canon to report this as well.


Nevertheless, the workaround is to simply use the original drivers for the S900 for Vista, which are in the single huge PRNCA001 driver folder that exists in Vista for ALL Canon printers.

You can access it from the same \Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository in an installed Vista system (of the same x86 or x64 architecture as your Win7 system has), or you can obtain it from a Vista installation DVD of the correct architecture (using WinMount to expand INSTALL.WIM).

When starting the driver install from the primary Win7 fraction for the S900, PRNCA00r.inf (which you CAN get from the Microsoft Updates Catalog web site, although Win7 itself should automatically find it there as well when you first plug the S900 into the USB port), there will be a request for a second driver.

At this point you should navigate to where you placed your extracted copy of the PRNCA001 driver folder from Vista. The second driver will be found there, along with any other needed drivers (since in Vista they were ALL in PRNCA001).

Your S900 should now be installed completely.

Case closed.

I haven't dropped off, I just paused to try to install another printer (HP Color Laserjet 2500L) on the same XP PC on the network (works fine locally) and have run into the SAME problem with it. Win 7 finds printer, have downloaded win 7 driver from HP, but Win 7 cannot find the downloaded driver after being directed to the download (and unzipped) directory!! I'm still working and greatly appreciate all your help but it will take me a while as I'm a Win 7 newbie....

Joeblot said:

I haven't dropped off, I just paused to try to install another printer (HP Color Laserjet 2500L) on the same XP PC on the network (works fine locally) and have run into the SAME problem with it. Win 7 finds printer, have downloaded win 7 driver from HP, but Win 7 cannot find the downloaded driver after being directed to the download (and unzipped) directory!! I'm still working and greatly appreciate all your help but it will take me a while as I'm a Win 7 newbie....

The HP printer drivers for the 2500L are of the "Universal Printer Driver" variety. These are not installed using the standard old INF approach.

If you run the EXE from HP, it expands into a directory. In that directory there is an INSTALL.EXE which will either auto-run if you leave that checkbox option checked (from running the EXE, on the dialog window that appears) or you can run it manually later, if you have to abort the initial sequence for some reason.

This INSTALL.EXE begins an HP-provided installation wizard for the proper drivers for the printer you navigate to. Have the printer powered on when you start this whole process. If Windows wants to find the drivers and auto-install, just either let it try and fail, or cancel it. The HP INSTALL.EXE will do the job.

It'll ask you for either a locally attached printer or a network printer. I assume the 2500L is a USB-attached printer (like my 2605dn), so choose locally attached. Then check the USB001 port on the next screen of the wizard.

It should then present a list of one or several printer names, and your 2500L should be in the list. Select it, click OK, and the INSTALL.EXE will take it from there... doing everything needed to add your printer.

Should finish successfully.

These "universal printer drivers" from HP are the latest thing. Certainly is a bit non-standard (including the warnings from Win7 that you shouldn't specify "local printer" for USB printers... which is obviously very confusing and misleading).

Hope this works for you. It certainly did for me just today as I'm reinstalling Win7 on a machine that has a 2605dn attached to it via USB. I installed both the PS600 and PCL6 versions of the "universal printer driver" using the above method, and I now have both printer objects working perfectly.