The printer driver is not available

The error “The printer driver is not available” means the driver installed in the printer is not supported or is out of date. It can also mean that the driver is corrupted and is not recognized by the computer.

If your computer can't recognize or work with the driver, you will not be able to access the printer and use it to print jobs. This problem is very common in the world of printing and can be solved with a few adjustments here and there.. Take a look at the solutions listed below.

Solution 1: uninstall the printer

There are mainly two main solutions that you can use to counter the error “The printer driver is not available”. Or you can uninstall the printer, all related software and then install it on the system. Or this, or you can review all available drivers and select the right one for your device.

We will uninstall the printer and all related software and then try to connect it. This, at the same time, will install the default drivers.

1. Press Windows + R, type »control» in the dialog box and press Enter. Once in the control panel, make sure the View by option: Large icons is selected. Now click on Devices and Printers.

1. All printers will be listed here. Right click on the printer causing the problem and select »Remove Device«.

1. Now press Windows + R again and type »devmgmt. msc «. Go to the category »Print Queues«, right-click on your printer and select »Uninstall device«. This may not be present after removing the printer from the control panel, so you don't have to worry if you don't have it.

1. Now press Windows + R, type »appwiz. cpl »in the dialog box and hit Enter. All apps will be listed here. Right click on all your printing applications and select »Uninstall«.

2. After performing all the above steps, disconnect the printer from your computer if connecting via USB connection, or disconnect it from the router if you use a wireless connection. Turn off your computer, printer and router. Disconnect the power supply from all of them.

3. After waiting a few 10 minutes, reconnect everything and turn on all modules. Connect the printer with the computer using a USB cable initially. Wait for it to be detected and let it install the necessary drivers.

1. Now go back to the control panel, right-click on the device and select »Set as default printer«. Now try printing a test page and see if the problem is solved.

Solution 2: manual reinstallation of the latest drivers

If the above solution doesn't work, we will try to update the printer drivers manually. There are also some cases where the printer works perfectly but due to a Windows update it breaks. Updated Windows drivers can be problematic and may not work on all systems. This case was particularly observed with HP printers. One way to counter this problem is to update the selected driver manually by downloading it from the manufacturer's website and then disable Windows Update to update the driver.

before continuing, be sure to navigate to the manufacturer's website and download the specific drivers intended for your hardware in an accessible location.

1. Press Windows + R to start Run Type »devmgmt.msc» in the dialog box and hit Enter. This will start your computer's device manager.

2. Examine all hardware, open the submenu »Print queues«, right click on your printer hardware and select »Update Driver«.

1. Now Windows will open a dialog box asking you which way you want to update your driver. Select the second option (Search my computer for driver software) and continue.

Select the driver file you downloaded using the browse button when it appears and update accordingly.

Note: In some cases, The printer may not be visible in Device Manager. In that situation, just run the installer and the driver will install automatically.

1. Check if the printer is working properly at this time. If so, go to the official Microsoft website and download the package »wushowhide.diagcab«.

1. Run the package and click Next.

1. Now select Hide updates from the given option.

1. Now select the printer update (if appropriate) and continue. Now Windows Update will not automatically update the printer drivers until you tell it to..