Can't Install Printer

[McGinty]

Hi all

Can anybody come up with any suggestions here. I have an HP Deskjet 3745 printer (Ok it's a cheapie but it suits my needs ). Anyway, for the last couple of days it has refused to print, just putting documents in a queue. So I decided to uninstall it and then reinstall, which I have done 3 or 4 times when I have had problems. However, this time it won't install. It gets as far as "may take a few moments for set-up to detect the printer" and then it stops.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Mc

[thaimite]

It sounds as though your orignal problem was a failed printer Queue. To solve that you should only have bneeded to delete the printer queues.

You may get some more info here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946737

HP printers seem to give a lot of problems with failed installs. I had a simialr problem with my HP and the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301) helped me out. I also had to delete all the files from the original install.

The other thing you could try is to make a back up of the registry and then to delete all references in the registry to the printer. I would NOT recommend this other than a VERY last resort unless you are confident in what you are doing.

If you decide to take this option MAKE A BACKUP FIRST

Edited September 17, 2009 by thaimite

[Beacher]

If it connects by USB port, try a different one -- sounds like it just can't find the printer. (I find that USB ports can be a little flaky and just stop responding sometimes.)

It's poor little brain might also be scrambled momentarily, and there may be a sequence of keys you press to reset the device. (Try a Google search for that.)

Edited September 17, 2009 by Beacher

[ianwuk]

Try a different cable as well as USB port. Sounds like you are installing it manually. Most HP printers come with their own installation procedure that starts when the CD is inserted. Try that

Ian

[McGinty]

Thanks for your suggestions, guys. I'm actually doing it from the HP Deskjet printer installation disc, and like I said before it just gets to 'set-up detecting printer' and then it stops.

Mc

[metisdead]

Perhaps a visit to HP Support website, look up your printer and download new driver software and try again?

[ianwuk]

If you are using Vista check the new hardware found icon that appears in the system tray. Sometimes it is waiting for input from you but the only way to realise this (and deal with it) is by clicking on that icon. Sometimes you have to be patient as it can take a fair few minutes to sort everything out. Last resort is to install the printer manually using the Add New Hardware wizard or through Device Manager.

Ian