Windows 10: windows 10 shows printer installed but 'drivers unavailable'

windows 10 shows printer installed but 'drivers unavailable'. Have downloaded drivers, but no change

:)

 

Printer driver unavailable after printer install in windows 10

Hi,

I would suggest reinstalling the printer's legacy drivers.

Here are the complete steps to do so,

1. Press Windows+R and type in control printers

2. Right click the printer with the issue and choose properties

3. Go to the web services tab, save and copy the IP address under troubleshooting information as a reference to the printer's IP address

4. Close the window and right click the same printer

5. Choose to remove device

6. Go to start/search and type in hdwwiz.exe and open the application

7. Choose the option "Install the hardware that I manually select from a list

8. Locate printer and choose next

9. Choose to create a new port and choose standard tcp/ip port

10. On the hostname type in the IP address from the printer that you've saved from step 3

11. Choose the option "Replace the current driver"

12. Choose printer name

13. Choose the option "Share this printer so that others on your network can find and use it.

14. Let the printer install for 5 minutes

 

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

Hello Chris,

The error that you received might be due to the incompatibility of the driver or the driver has been corrupted. To help you out with your concern, we suggest that you install the driver in compatibility mode and check if the issue persists. You may refer
to the steps provided by Vinodh_Kumar V on January 16, 2016 which can be found on this
thread.

Let us know the outcome and if you need further assistance.