I keep getting "Printer driver files missing or not installed" when trying to install HP M2727nf locally or network and the Brother 1440 locally.

Question

Hi,

   I keep having problems trying to add my HP M2727nf printer (either through USB or network) and/or my Brother 1440.  The error message "Printer driver files missing or not installed" keeps coming up.  I've tried uninstalling the printer software, deleting the driver package/driver files, deleting the printer ports.  I have tried creating a USB and COM port (per hp.ca) and I have also tried adding a HP IP Port and it sometimes installs but most of the time it will say the same error.  I just can't get them installed at all.  I had the Brother working but something happened when I tried to install the HP printer.  I'm at a loss.  Other people say that my Vista is messed but I don't want to reinstall the OS as it is kind of a mission critical machine.

It's weird it seems like no printers can be installed at all!

I found a windows technet article about not being able to install a printer but that really doesn't fit my problem and it was also for XP.

Thanks!!

Answer 1

Hi zackaroni,

I would suggest you to run the Fix it Tool from the link below to diagnose and repair problems with the printer.

Troubleshoot printer problems

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Troubleshoot-printer-problems

Now try installing the drivers and check if you’re able to install the printer driver successfully.

Sometimes, incompatible drivers or the drivers for the previous windows version cause the registry entries to eventually corrupt. You will need to remove the printer driver entries from the registry, restart, then add the appropriate vista printer driver.

1.      Click on Start -> in the start search type regedit and hit Ok.

2.      Select the folders HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> ControlSet001 -> Control –          > Print -> ;Environments -> Windows NT x86 -> Drivers -> Version 3

3.      Now delete any folder entries related to the print driver you previously installed.

4.      Now instead of Environments click on the Printers folder and remove the offending

          printer folder entries from here as well.

5.      Exit the Registry Editor.

6.      Restart.

Note: The above steps deals with system registry modification. Some serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756Add or remove a printer

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Add-or-remove-a-printer

I would also suggest you to download the drivers for your printer from the link below.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=3377076&prodTypeId=18972&prodSeriesId=3377075&swLang=8&taskId=135&swEnvOID=2093

Post your results back after trying the steps below.

Mouneshwar R – Microsoft Support

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