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Apr 29, 2023 / By / in Articles
Printer is not recognized by the PC
When you buy a new inkjet printer or even a laser printer, you have chosen the device based on its performance and reliability. A printer is installed relatively quickly. However, before you can print, the correct connection must be chosen. With a PC, you can choose between USB and WLAN. However, optimal detection does not always take place. Therefore, we would like to briefly explain to you below why your printer may not be recognized.
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During the initial setup, every printer needs a suitable printer driver that is tailored precisely to the operating system used. A new printer is usually supplied with a CD or even DVD containing various printer programs and, of course, the driver.
Please note, however, that the printers are usually in stock for a long time and that the drivers on the CD are therefore often out of date. If your printer is not correctly recognized after a driver installation and does not respond to your print job, you should try to get the latest driver. You can find this primarily on the support page of the respective printer manufacturer.
If your printer is not recognized by the PC, we recommend that you check the connection step by step. Of course, the printer must be connected to a 230 volt socket and switched on. So press the power button to see if the printer responds. At least a signal light or the printer display must appear.
If your PC does not respond to the printer, you should restart your PC and printer. In most cases, the printer is then initialized and recognized by the computer. Ideally, you would connect your PC to the printer using a USB cable.
This is the easiest and safest way to check that the printer is working properly. To be on the safe side, you should not use a USB hub, as these components often lose their connection.
In some cases, however, the supplied USB printer cable can also be defective. Many of these cables are very filigree. Cable breaks are not uncommon. You can determine whether there is such a cable break by bending and twisting it slightly. In this case, you need to replace the USB cable.
Many use a laptop and therefore want to print from it too. A printer is connected in a similar way to a PC. Again, you can use a USB cable to connect the printer. With some manufacturers, special printer programs are supplied, such as the HP Solution Center. This program does not always work properly. Some users have therefore reported in relevant forums that the program interferes with the printer.
Even when a new driver was installed, the HP laptop could no longer print. In part, this is a faulty printer installation in which special cleaning programs have deleted important entries. For this reason, the printer should be completely deleted via the control panel of the operating system and then reinstalled.
It is important that you do not connect the USB cable to the printer until the HP software instructs you to do so. Basically the same problems can arise as with a PC. The only difference between the laptops is their mobility.
If you are using the new Windows 10 operating system, the connected printer may not be recognized. Again, you should take the following steps:
Of course, you can also set up your printer manually under Windows 10. To do this, proceed as follows:
Your printer should then be recognized by Windows 10.
Instead of Windows 10, many still use the tried and tested Windows 7 as the operating system, even if it has not been supported for too long. The setup is done in a similar way to Windows 10. However, the Windows 7 database is not as up-to-date as it is under Windows 10. This is why it is best to install the printer manually using the driver CD supplied or with a current driver from the Internet.
Of course, we don't want to let you down as a Mac user. If you have a Macintosh with Mac OS, there is usually a problem with a device driver if the printer is not recognized. Proceed as follows:
The printer is not always properly recognized by your Mac. You should therefore reset the printer system despite the latest software. To do this, you have to delete the installed printer as follows:
A USB printer cable usually corresponds to the current USB 2.0 standard. A standard a socket is used for the PC side and a standard B socket for the printer. It should be noted that not only your printer is connected to the USB ports of a PC, but also your keyboard, mouse, external hard drive and other external devices . A USB port is even required to transfer photos from your digital camera. As mentioned earlier, a broken cable can result in the printer not being recognized. It is interesting that there are different USB standards. These have different transmission speeds:
In the printer sector, the USB 1.1 to 3.0 standards play a decisive role. Fortunately, the ports are backwards compatible. However, this also means that a fast printer with USB 3.0 on a USB 1.1 port only achieves the slow transfer speed. Due to such incompatibility may cause disconnections come.
If the printer is not recognized at a USB port and the operating system even outputs an error message, you should use a different USB cable or a different USB port on your PC. Even if they look the same, there can still be differences in the type of connection.
Unclean driver installations often lead to the printer being declared as an unknown device. Use a good uninstaller and uninstall all printer software and drivers. Only then should you install the new printer driver and check whether it is recognized via the USB port.
So far we have mainly dealt with the wired printer connection. However, most inkjet and laser printers and their multifunctional models also support wireless WLAN connection. With this connection option, you can print much more flexibly, especially since the printer does not necessarily have to be in the immediate vicinity of the PC. However, it can be quite frustrating when the wireless printer is not recognized. A wireless printer requires a wireless connection to your wireless router.
Incidentally, Windows 10 automatically detects a wireless printer. Of course, this has to be switched on. Then proceed as follows:
If the printer was not found, go to the option “The printer I want is not in the list”. You can now set up your printer manually. Click on the item "Bluetooth, wireless or network printer". You can also install your wireless printer by entering the TCP / IP address. You can find out this address from your wireless router. Be sure to install the supplied printer software and drivers. If necessary, update them via the Internet.
Before you can use your wireless printer, you need the right wireless encryption. This is usually located on the back of your wireless router. Enter the letter-number combination when installing your printer. This ensures that no unauthorized person has access to your printer. If a wireless printer is not recognized or does not respond to print jobs, the following problems may have occurred:
As a rule, however, it is hardly difficult to operate a WLAN printer wirelessly with the PC.
The Fritzbox is a router from the German company AVM. The provider has become known for its modern WLAN routers. The Fritzbox offers a fast and stable WLAN connection between the integrated WLAN end devices. You can not only operate your PC here, but also your wireless printer.
It is interesting that you can not only connect a modern WLAN printer, but also a conventional inkjet or laser printer via the integrated USB interface. You therefore have to connect your printer directly to the Fritbox using a USB cable and still have wireless access to this printer from anywhere. Most modern printers can be automatically connected to a Fritzbox . Here, too, you should select a WLAN printer as printer via the control panel and enter the WLAN security key. But it is also possible to configure the printer manually via the deadline box. Follow these steps:
You can then search for your printer via the control panel. Now enter the WiFi password. After that, the wireless printer should have a stable connection to your system.
Some printers are used on corporate networks. If the printer cannot be found in the network, there is either an error in the network connection or the printer driver is missing.
Connect your printer to the LAN port on the network using the LAN cable. With modern printers, you can now print out a test report that shows whether a network connection has been established. If necessary, enter the network address of your printer manually. The prerequisite is that the network administrator has given access to a new network device. In order to optimally register the printer in the network, you should make a note of the MAC address and the IP address. Assign a fixed IP address in the DHCPv4 server. You may have to restart the printer again. Then it should be in the network.
Only in rare cases is a printer connected via the traditional LPT port. This parallel interface is also known as the Centronics interface. It represents the first functioning printer interface in the PC area. Many older laser printers still have this connection. But even old ink jets are still equipped with an LPT connection.
Compared to the modern USB and WLAN solutions, the LPT port can be seen as very reliable. It is only in rare cases that the connected printer is not recognized. This is only the case if there is mechanical damage to the cable. The plug connections are relatively large, so that individual pins can bend if improperly used. These parallel printer cables are still available from specialist retailers for older printers.
In some cases, a printer is not recognized because faulty printer or toner cartridges are preventing it from functioning. In this case, you should replace these consumables. By the way, here at Copiac you can get the right printer and toner cartridges for almost all printer models at affordable prices.
In addition to the originals, we would also like to recommend our compatible models. This enables the printing costs to be minimized enormously. Likewise, the manufacturer's warranty for your printer is not affected in any way.
Apr 29, 2023 by Copiac Team
Apr 29, 2023 by Copiac Team
