Same printer installing multiple times

Question

I use a laptop and therefore I don't always have my printer plugged in.  Everytime I plug in my printer to use, Vista finds it as a brand  printer and installs it all over again.  I have had several copies of my printer on here at a time.  How can I stop this from happening because it is very annoying.

Thanks!

Answer 1

ehailey said:

I use a laptop and therefore I don't always have my printer plugged in.  Everytime I plug in my printer to use, Vista finds it as a brand  printer and installs it all over again.  I have had several copies of my printer on here at a time.  How can I stop this from happening because it is very annoying.

Thanks!

Hello ehaily,

When a device is connected to a new port for the first time the device driver is retrieved from the system and then installed. It may not make a whole lot of sense but it does occur. However, this should really be a "behind the scenes" process, and you should not see multiple entries when you go to Control Panel > Printers.

Thus, I'd like to point you to information I provided on another post found here: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistahardware/thread/e796c318-86fe-4a3e-8fff-a736334166b5. If you are comfortable with the troubleshooting it will walk you through manually removing the printer from the system. Once complete you could then download the "current" software package from your printer manufactures support website.

ßsod

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If it matters... back it up.

Answer 2

Hi ehailey,

Can you please provide us with a little more information?  I have provided some questions below that I would like for you to answer so that we can better assist you.

  What is the exact make and model of your printer?

  How did you originally install the drivers?

HP may have an install for your printer that includes software and the driver.  Installing the complete software/driver package may help resolve the issue.  If you need help finding what is right for your specific printer, please answer the questions above and we will see if we can find them for you.  Thank you.

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Shane

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Answer 3

My laptop is an HP and the all-in-one printer was bought after the laptop and is also an hp.  I never have a problem with printing, it just keeps reinstalling the printer.  No matter which copy I use, I can always print.

Answer 4

The only reason I can see Windows doing this is because the device does not support USB serial number. Old devices may not support this, and its not a requirement to support this either for new products. I work for a printer IHV and I've only seen this behavour on devices that don't support this feature.

Answer 5

A solution was found at this forum. Is this an HP printer? You don't mention . . .

http://www.vistaheads.com/forums/microsoft-public-windows-vista-general/169099-cant-install-printer-0x000006be-error.html

MT