I finally got the HP printer to work.
Seriously: I was ready to take the printer out to the range and unload a shotgun on the thing. Yes, I would have brought my video camera for that.
Upon review, I discovered that I bought the printer back in August. That’s too far back for a quick exchange at the store. So before I loaded up the shotgun, I thought I’d try to plug it directly into a computer one more time.
Instead of a Windows 7 computer, I chose a Windows Vista system.
HP software has big issues with Windows 7. For example, I’ve never been able to install the Stupid HP Printer Driver (it’s real name) on any Windows 7 computer. I tried compatibility mode, I tried sneaking around behind the program’s back. Nothing worked.
Because I don’t have the HP Stupid HP Printer Driver Installation Disc, I just plugged the Color LaserJet into my Windows Vista computer. I observed the USB connection pop-up. I waited. Eventually thing thing was done — a clean installation.
The sample page printed just fine. The printer is up and running.
The printer is being shared on the network, so once again it’s a “network printer,” though the Vista PC it’s connected to must be turned on for anyone else on the network to use it.
I’m not completely satisfied with the results. I bought the Color LaserJet to be a network printer, to be hooked directly into the router for sharing by all my computers. But I’ll live with the workaround.
You know, back in the early 1980s everyone had to write their own printer drivers. I remember doing so several times. Printing was part of the program, not part of the operating system.
WordPerfect used to come with several printer diskettes, from which you had to install your own printer driver. Every program was like that.
When Windows took over as the PC’s operating system, it also became the printer master. You set up your printer once, you were done with it. That worked great!
Now along comes HP with its own Stupid HP Printer Driver. Why the hell can’t they leave well enough alone?
Idiots.
Well at least you didn’t shoot it! but a shame you have to use Vista instead of Windows 7. It is strange they haven’t rewritten the drivers for Windows 7 it’s been out a year now. I bought an old XP machine to record my guitar onto, because Windows 7 does not record properly using a Sound Blaster 4, I am using technology from 2003 and it works great, they just haven’t bothered sorting out the latency issue, I may end up having to buy a PC with Vista on it when the XP updates run out, because the sound card and software work on that as well.
Comment by chiefnoobie — December 6, 2010 @ 3:40 pm
There is nothing wrong with older technology, if it works!
Comment by admin — December 6, 2010 @ 4:02 pm