Windows 10: Printer: status 'Driver is Unavailable', yet it works! - but it is preventing me from...

I have a Canon MP480 printer connected to my Windows 10 machine. Devices and Printers shows the status of 'Driver is Unavailable', yet the device works fine, printing text or images, and it also works as a scanner. This only becomes a problem when I wish to share it with another Windows computer, as the setup there fails on the inability of this machine to download the driver from the printer's host computer.I am reluctant to try reinstalling the driver on the host machine, in case that leads to me not being able to use the printer there, either. Are there any other steps I can take to try to

:)

 

printer driver is unavailable

Hi Robert,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

I regret the inconvenience caused to you. We will be glad to assist you with this issue.

It would be grateful if you can reply to this question in order to assist you further:

• How exactly did you try to download the drivers?
• Did you try to check if the printer driver's are shown in the device manager?

Let's try the following steps and check if it helps:

Step 1: Run Hardware and device Troubleshooter.

• Type troubleshooting in the search bar and select it.
• Select View all on the top left corner.
• Click Hardware and device
  troubleshooter.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to run the troubleshooter.
• Check if issue persists.

Step 2: I suggest you to visit the manufacturer website of the printer and download and install the latest drivers and check if it helps.

Let us know the status of the issue. We will be glad to assist you further.

Thank you.

 

Unable to install HP Printer. Status shows as “Driver is unavailable”.

Microsoft is aware of an issue that may cause some models of HP printers to get into an unusable state in which the Status shows as “Driver is unavailable.”
This situation typically occurs after attempting to uninstall the printer and its driver.

While not a comprehensive list, some of the known model series that are affected by this issue include:

· HP DeskJet 4670

· HP ENVY 5000

· HP ENVY 5660

· HP ENVY PHOTO 7800

· HP OfficeJet 3830

· HP OfficeJet 5740

· HP OfficeJet PRO 8600

· HP OfficeJet 8730

When you install the current version of the driver for these devices, it also installs a file called a “Null Print” driver.
When the device is uninstalled, the “Null Print” driver remains.
The file is not really a printer driver, but when the device is re-added, Windows sees this file as the printer driver, and thus doesn’t seek the actual driver.

Microsoft is aware that HP is working on new drivers to address the issue.
In the meantime, here are some steps to check if you are affected by this issue and to resolve this problem:

1. In the Search box on the taskbar, type
cmd. Right-click the Command Prompt desktop app in the search results and select
Run as administrator.

2. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press ENTER:

pnputil /enum-drivers






3. Scroll through the drivers in the list and look for an entry with an ‘Original Name’ of
nullprint.inf. If you don’t see a driver with this name, you are likely not affected by this issue, and you should instead try the troubleshooting steps at
Fix printer connection and printing problems in Windows 10.

4. Make note of the ‘Published Name’ for the
nullprint.inf entry in step 3. You’ll need it in the next step.

5. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command, replacing <published name> with the name you made note of in Step 4.
Then press ENTER.

pnputil /delete-driver <published name>

6. Now remove and re-add your HP printer.
With the nullprint.inf driver removed, Windows should automatically search for and install the proper printer driver.

 

Printer driver unavailable Windows 10

My Canon MG71500 printer works perfectly from my ipad but not from my (new) laptop which has windows 10. It did work then stopped. The computer locates the printer but says driver unavailable, but Device Manager tells me I have the correct driver for the
printer. Any suggestions please. Ronski