Printer drivers removal  

Hi guys can someone please help me

I have just formated my hard drive and reinstalled windows 7 64 bit.


I am trying to install my printer again but the first install woi=uld not work so i did it again this time it works ok, but now the printer has (Copy 1) after its name ans when i try to remove the (Copy 1) it say there is a printer already with that name, even after i have removed it in printers and devices,
I can remone the device in printers and devices but when i reboot they are all back
So what can i do to remove all the printers and start again please

sam49 said:

Hi guys can someone please help me

I have just formated my hard drive and reinstalled windows 7 64 bit.


I am trying to install my printer again but the first install woi=uld not work so i did it again this time it works ok, but now the printer has (Copy 1) after its name ans when i try to remove the (Copy 1) it say there is a printer already with that name, even after i have removed it in printers and devices,
I can remone the device in printers and devices but when i reboot they are all back
So what can i do to remove all the printers and start again please

Hello Sam
As long as your printer is working properly I would suggest leaving it as is. The more you try to remove or mend this minor problem the more likely that you will make it worse

I tend to agree with Pooch, just name the printer something different (like "Pooch") and move on.

But to answer your question:

Option 1:
Go to Devices & Printers > Highlight any printer > Click on "Print Server Properties" in the top bar > go to the Drivers Tab

Option 2:

1. Start > Administrative Tools > Open Print Management > left pane, click Print Servers > click the applicable print server > click Printers
2. Center pane > right click the printer > in the left pane, click print servers > click applicable Print Server > click Drivers
3. In the center pane, right click the driver and do one of the following:

• To delete only the installed driver files, click Delete
• To remove the entire driver package, click Remove Driver Package

Hope that helps

TVeblen said:

I tend to agree with Pooch, just name the printer something different (like "Pooch") and move on.

sam49 said:

Hi guys i thing i just might just rename it something else the only problem is the first print instalation that failed it was set as the default printer and now i am unable to change it so every time i want to print i have to select the other printer,

Control panel, Hardware and Sound, Devices and Printers right click on the desired Printer and select set as default

sam49 said:

Hi pooch
thanks for the info, but i wish it was that easy the printers have gone into meltdown and it will not let me change the default printer for some reason thats why i wanted to delete them all and start again.

My fault. I should have looked at your My System Specs. I think I looked at Pooch's.

You, like me, have the Home Premium version of W7, and this version does not have the advanced tools like Print Management. Sorry.

In Home Premium the best we can do is Remove the printer and then use Option 1 to remove any duplicate driver. Check Control Panel > Remove Programs and uninstall any applicable printer software you find. But the actual printer driver files remain in the Driver Store (AFAICT).

So once you have removed all instances of the printer, then you can try 2 things:

Shut down the computer > turn on the printer, plug it in > power on the computer.
Windows may find the drivers and install them automatically. (if you know the driver package you installed was wrong then skip this).

Or

Go to Devices & Printers > Add a Printer > Choose Local Printer > (assuming a USB Connection) choose Use an Existing Port > Choose USB001 from the drop down box (or next available USB port) > and you will arrive at Install The Printer Driver.

Couple of options here:

1. Check the available drivers under your printer's Brand > if your exact printer is listed, use that driver.
2. Before you start, explore the CD that came with your printer and find the folder that contains the driver files for W7 > when you get to the Install The Printer Driver part, choose Look For Drivers and navigate to the folder you found on the CD > select all the .sys files listed.

Continue with the normal printer setup.

Be sure to remove and uninstall all instances of the printers after each failed attempt.

Glad to hear it!

Curious: which method was the one that worked?