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

Does this mean I only have to install the printer drivers once if I connect the printer into the same USB port? I have 3 HP deskjet 2050 All-In-One printer in 3 different locations. I have tried installing the drivers over and over, creating multiple instances and renaming them but I get it to work for one one time but not the next. I have not tried using the same USB port over for the different printers.

Thoughts?

Bob B

Answer 3

The solution that has worked for me in the year since I posted this original question is to plug the usb cable into the same port each time.  As long as I do that it does not reinstall the software.

Answer 4

From all that I have read in this channel, it is a USB problem.  But, it is not limited to plugging the USB cable into the laptop directly.  I also have experienced the same issue at home with my personal laptop, which is a Dell and the printer is a Konica-Minolta.  So, it's not an HP issue.  I have also experienced the same issue with a customer's laptop at my work.  The customer's laptop is on a docking station.  Each time the user ejects the laptop from the docking station and reconnects it, a new copy of the printer is installed; totally confusing the customer as to which printer is the one to use.  The  common factors are USB and Vista.  I have yet to find an acceptable solution to this problem.  Has anyone else?  We shouldn't have to delete prior copies of printers or modify the registry either.

Answer 5

Bsod

I have a new machine with Vista Ultimate 64 bit, does this method work on this machine as well.  System continually reinstalls printer and makes the copy the deafualt.

Rockit