If your printer was connected to the computer when you installed Windows, Setup should have set it up for you. If you connect it afterward, you’ll need to set it up by using the hardware wizards.

Installing a USB Printer via Automated Installation

These days, most consumer printers connect to your computer via USB. Normally, Windows’ automated procedures take care of installing USB printers for you, although you may need to intervene at some points. Here’s an example of the steps you’ll probably follow:

1. Set the printer up and connect its power cord.

2. Connect the printer to your computer’s USB port.

3. If the printer has an on/off switch, turn it on. Windows notices the printer and launches the Add Printer Wizard.

4. What happens next depends on the printer and on Windows’ configuration:

• The wizard may simply install the printer, displaying a balloon in the notification area to let you know that it is doing so, as shown here. Go to the end of this list.

• With other printers, you may see a screen which tells you that Windows needs to install driver software for your Generic IEEE 1284.4 printing support. This message appears for some USB-connected printers, because IEEE 1284.4 is a USB standard. Click the Locate and Install Driver Software button, and then authenticate yourself to User Account Control.

5. If Windows can find a driver for the printer, it installs the driver automatically. If not, it prompts you for the driver, .

6. If you have the disc, insert it, and then either click the Next button or wait while AutoPlay identifies the disc and restarts the installation process. The wizard displays the Please Select the Best Match for Your Hardware from the List Below screen . If you don’t have the disc, click the “I Don’t Have the Disc. Show Me Other Options” button, and follow through the procedure for searching for a suitable driver.

Make Sure the Driver Is Digitally Signed

After you select a driver on the Please Select the Best Match for Your Hardware from the List Below screen of the Add Printer Wizard, make sure that the This Driver Is Digitally Signed readout appears.

A digital signature is an encrypted identifier placed on a file using a digital certificate that’s unique to the company, organization, or individual who holds it. A digital signature lets you be sure that the driver has come from the holder shown rather than from someone masquerading as them. A digital signature doesn’t prevent the driver from containing poorly written or even malevolent code, but it does provide an audit trail about where the code came from.

7.In the list box, select the make and model. In some cases your choice may be among different languages for the same printer model; if so, make sure you choose the language you want.

8. Click the Next button. The wizard displays the Installing Driver Software screen while it installs the software. It then displays the Driver Software Installation dialog box shown here, telling you that the software has been successfully installed.

9. Click the OK button. Windows closes the Driver Software Installation dialog box, and the printer appears in the Printers window.

Other Times You May Need to Run the Add Printer Wizard Manually

Even though Windows adds USB printers automatically when you connect them, you may need to run the Add Printer Wizard manually to add a printer.

• You may want to add a new printer configuration for a printer that Windows already knows about. See the section “Creating Multiple Entries for the Same Printer,” later in this article.

• You may want to add an entry for a printer to which your computer won’t actually connect, so that you can print documents to files formatted for that type of printer and then print the files later, perhaps from another computer.

Installing a Parallel Printer Manually

When installing a printer that connects to your computer via the parallel port, you’ll normally need to install it manually. However, depending on your computer’s hardware, Windows may also notice when you connect a parallel printer and start the installation automatically; if so, follow the procedure described in the previous section. To install a printer by running the Add Printer Wizard manually, take the following steps:

1. In the Printers window, click the Add a Printer button on the toolbar. Windows starts the Add Printer Wizard, which displays the Choose a Local or Network Printer screen.

2. Click the Add a Local Printer button. The wizard displays the Choose a Printer Port screen .

3.Make sure the Use an Existing Port option button is selected, and then select the port in the drop-down list.

• The default setting is LPT1, which is typically the port for the parallel port on your computer. If your computer has multiple parallel ports, you may need to use LTP2 or LPT3 instead.

• The COM ports COM1, COM2, and so on are serial ports. Very few printers connect to serial ports, because they are very slow.

• The FILE port is for printing to a file. See the section “Printing to a File,” later in this article.

• The XPSPort port is for printing to an XML Paper Specification file. See the section “Printing to an XPS File,” later in this article.

4.Click the Next button. The wizard displays the Install the Printer Driver screen.

5. To use a driver that Windows includes, select the printer’s manufacturer in the Manufacturer list box, select the printer model in the Printers list box, and then go to step 7. If your printer doesn’t appear in the Printers list box and your computer is connected to the Internet, click the Windows Update button to check the Windows Update site for a driver.

6. To provide a driver that you have for example, on a CD or a floppy disc, follow these steps:

• Click the Have Disk button. The wizard displays the Install from Disk dialog box, as shown here.

• In the Copy Manufacturer’s Files From text box, enter the path and filename of the driver file. You can type in this information, but usually it’s easier to click the Browse button and use the resulting Locate File dialog box a common Open dialog box to select the file, and then click the Open button. The wizard closes the Locate File dialog box and enters the path and filename in the text box in the Install from Disk dialog box.

• Click the OK button. The wizard closes the Install from Disk dialog box and displays the Install the Printer Driver screen, which lists the printer for which the driver is designed.

7. Click the Next button. The wizard displays the Type a Printer Name screen .

8.In the Printer Name text box, adjust the default name that the wizard suggests for the printer. Keep the name relatively short, because some programs have problems with printer names that are longer than 31 characters. If you share this printer with other computers, those 31 characters must include your computer’s name.

9. Select the Set As the Default Printer check box if you want to use this printer as your computer’s default printer.

screen telling you that you’ve successfully added the printer.

11. If you want to print a test page on the printer to make sure the printer driver is working, click the Print a Test Page button. The wizard sends a test page to the printer and displays a dialog box such as the one shown here. Click the Close button if the page prints correctly; if it doesn’t, click the Troubleshoot Printer Problems link, and then follow through the troubleshooter that the wizard displays.

12. After printing a test page, or if you decide not to, click the Finish button. The Add Printer Wizard closes, and the printer you added appears in the Printers window.