Dealing with HP printer driver errors is no fun, especially because driver errors will make your printer come to a screeching halt. Fortunately, there are a lot of great ways to solve HP printer driver errors, so you've always got a way to resolve the issue. Let's go over some of the common causes of driver errors and what you can do to fix them.

What are Drivers, and How do they Work?

Drivers are essentially bits of software that are used in communication between a hardware device and your operating system. Your operating system takes the information it receives from the driver to run tasks related to your hardware. This is why whenever you update your operating system, your drivers will often become outdated.

Also, installing new hardware might mean running a Windows Update. Your operating system also has to keep up with your hardware, so if you haven't updated Windows in a long time, you may need to do that. Windows Update will check your system to see if it can find new drivers for your computer. After that, if you so choose, you can install drivers. Here's how to do this:

1. Click the “Start” button, then go to “All Programs”, and click “Windows Update.”

2. You should see the text “Check for updates” in the left pane. Click it.

3. Always click on “View available updates.” That way, you can see what drivers are missing and check to see if there are any updated drivers available. The OS will prompt you if there are drivers available You'll see a list of drivers, so just click on the drivers you would like to install, and then click “Install.” You might have to enter a password at this point if you need help.

Manual Updates for Drivers

Try printing a test page. If this fixed your problem, then you're home free. If not, you might have to try some other methods. You can also try to update drivers manually. This is a little more in-depth, and requires some work and attention, but it's not too hard to do. Here's how you can update drivers manually.

1. You'll need to access Device Manager, so just click “Start”, and then navigate over to the “Control Panel”. Then, go to “System Maintenance” and click “Device Manager.” Here's where you might have to enter a password again.

2. Once you've opened up Device Manager, find whichever printer it is you need to update and double-click on it.

3. See the “Driver” tab? Click on it, then click “Update Driver.”

A Simpler Method: Driver Update Software

Of course, this is assuming that you already have the driver you need installed on your system. It's very likely that you'll have to look on the manufacturer's website to find the driver that you need. That's because most hardware demands very specific drivers.

This can all be very time-consuming. The easiest way, I've found, to update printer drivers is to simply run powerful driver update software. The right driver update software will get your drivers working updated and back in action right away.

You may also want to run an antivirus and antimalware software. That's because there are specific viruses, trojans, and malware that can corrupt your drivers. A registry cleaner isn't a bad idea, as well.

Regardless of whatever method you take to update printer drivers, remember that driver update software can prevent problems from occurring in the future. That's because it runs a systematic scan of your computer. Grab and install driver update software to fix and prevent printer driver errors.



Source by David Gaines