HP laserjet 1012/Vista problem

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Guest

I upgraded my copy of XP to Vista Home Premium just the other day, and am
still trying to finish up. A major problem is that my laserjet 1012 will not
install under Vista. Windows Update says that a driver for the 1012 is
available, but whenever I try to install it I get Error Code 80070103. I
then tried to download the driver from HP directly, but HP does not offer
downloadable drivers for Vista, saying that the driver should already come
with Vista. How can I fix this? Is it possible to remove whatever printer
drivers are on the computer so that Vista cannot detect any possible
"conflicting" drivers? Any insight would be much appreciated.
 
Ipants53,

To remove a printer driver: Control Panel > Hardware and Sound/Printers >
File > Server Properties > Drivers tab > Remove button.

To install a printer: In the same location as above (Printers), click on
the option "Add a Printer." Follow on-screen instructions.

If Vista indeed includes the drivers, the "Add a Printer" function should
ask for the Vista DVD, or hopefully, the driver you found compatible with
your printer and with Vista.

Error code 80070103 means that "Windows has determined that the driver is
not the best one for your printer."

Let us know what happens,

freddy
 
I tried to add the Laserjet 1012 driver using Server Properties.
Unfortunately I couldn't use HP's native Vista 1012 driver (because I can't
download it) so I tried to use the latest XP driver. Driver installed just
fine, but the computer still won't recognize the printer, even after
unplugging and plugging the printer which should cause it to recognize.
 
Ipanta53,

I think we're having some sort of a communication problem:

First, uninstall the XP printer driver you installed (apparently not
compatible with Vista). Follow the instructions on the previous post.

Second, select the "Add new printer" option (not Server Properties) at the
top of the "Printers" page. Follow on-screen instructions.

Third, you can't download a HP supplied Vista printer driver because it's
included on the Vista DVD, according to what you posted.

You must perform these steps before we can determine whether there is a
problem.
 
Ok, so I tried to go back and follow your advice. I got as far as removing
the drivers, but when I tried to use the DVD to get the drivers I realized
that my DVD drive isn't working properly either. I checked under Device
Manager, which gave me a Code 39 for the drive (a Hitachi-LG GMA-4020B).
Microsoft has no ready solutions, and I'm currently trying to see if LG has
any Vista drivers available to download. Any advice?
 
Alright, LG doesn't offer drivers for the GMA4020 on its website; I'm
assuming that this is because it's assumed Windows should at least have a
basic cd-rom driver already. Here's a thought. I have a second computer
networked to my Vista-problem computer; if I opened up the Vista DVD on the
2nd computer, could I manually pull the driver files from the DVD onto a hard
disk, and then have Vista use those files to repair its driver database? If
you think that might work, I'll need some help navigating. Thanks!
 
Freddy,

I followed the article's procedures. When I went to look in the Registry as
per instructions there was no UpperFilters, so I moved on to method 2. I
uninstalled the drive through Device Manager and then scanned for hardware
changes. Vista detected the drive and attempted to install the drivers for
it, but failed again (Code 39). Anything else I can try?
 
Ipants53,

Wow, this is turning into quite a deal. I can only think of one more step
to take to try to get the CD-ROM drive to work. If you have installed any
burning software that came with the drive, uninstall it. Reboot and then see
whether Vista can install the drive. You may need to again remove the drive
from Drive Manager, I just don't know for sure. You can try different
approaches to try to get Vista to recognize the drive (after you uninstall
any burning software).
 
Freddy,

I uninstalled everything I could think of which could be construed as
burning software, with the exception of Windows Media Player. Uninstalled
the drive, attempted to reinstall the drive, and still got a Code 39. Any
more thoughts on the matter? As an aside, given the current situation could
I still boot up using the Vista DVD and do a "clean" install? I wouldn't
mind doing that and avoiding this morass, but I'm not sure if I can do that
with a Vista upgrade disc. Thanks.
 
Ipants53,

Yes you can do a clean install of Vista over Vista. Here is the backup for
that statement, as we all need to prove out statements:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_upgrade_clean.asp

I'm sorry to hear that the end of the rope has been reached. Your CD/DVD
drive is an IDE drive which is supported by Vista, as far as I know. Windows
has been supplying drivers for IDE drives for many years.

What happens if you get a code 39 after a clean install?
 
Freddy,

I went back and did a little research into the problem, and then went into
the registry as per the instructions you sent and deleted the LowerFilters
entry for the DVD drive. Restarted the computer, and now I have my DVD drive
back.

I then went to Printers/Add a Printer. I tried to manually select the
driver for the Laserjet 1012 from the Vista DVD, but could not find the inf
file for Vista drivers. I again checked to see if there was a 1012 driver
already in the Vista library, but could only find one for the LaserJet 1015.
I used that driver to add a printer, but it still will not work. Any ideas
 
Ipants53,

Fantastic! You got the CD-Drive recognized. I thought you had previously
determined that you had no "LowerFilters" entry for the drive in Registry.
Good news. Lucky you went back to check.

Concerning the .inf file for the printer. Sometimes it's already on the
hard drive in C:\\Windows\inf. Direct the installer to that location to see
whether it finds the file. Sometimes you need to direct the installer to
look around at different likely locations if the file is not found in
C:\\Windows\inf.

Look around in locations that make sense, like don't look in Documents and
such. Also, look around on the Vista CD for the .inf file. It could be
there somewhere. Don't give up. You are making progress by being
persistent. I don't precisely where it's located, or I'd tell you. It's
gotta be there somewhere. Find it.

Also, don't forget to remove the incorrect driver you installed before
installing the proper one. You're making progress. That's good. Consider
putting it away until later. It's getting late.
 
Yeah, I'm going to give up for the night. Here are my thoughts, though. I
checked Windows Update again, and realized that the driver offered there is a
DOT4 driver for the 1012. If I recall correctly, DOT4 involves parallel
connections whereas I have my 1012 connected through USB, so maybe that was a
dead end from the start.

Furthermore I did a bit of reading at HP and found that in most cases XP
drivers for the Laserjets can be used with no problems in Vista, so if the
1015 driver bundled with Vista doesn't work, I could use a stock XP 1012
driver. So all is well and good, except for one problem. Whenever I plug in
my printer, I hear the "USB device connected" noise on my computer but the
computer fails to initialize any kind of driver installation or
recognization. Do you know how I could trigger an install, beyond unplugging
the device and replugging it in?

I've already tried manually adding the printer using Add New Printer, but
the added printer (added on the USB001 port) just gives errors when it tries
to print a test.

The joys of upgrading.
 
Ipants53,

Good morning. It's hard making observations from a distance about this
situation. What I would do, though, is remove the drivers you have installed
and then start over. I'd leave the printer turned on, so that Windows can
detect new hardware, and reboot. The object in doing that is to see whether
Windows will find the new hardware and proceed to find drivers. I'd do this
one last time just to make sure of what happens. Windows may ask for the
Vista DVD, it may search your hard drive, it may look on the Internet. I
just don't know, but you need to be satisfied and confident as to how that
procedure works.

Another approach: While installing the WinXP drivers, is there a way to use
Compatibility Mode (WinXP SP-2) to do this? I'm not familiar with using that
mode while installing a printer. Look around to determine whether you can do
that, since you think that WinXP drivers could work. Compatibility mode
sometimes works, but not always.

Another approach: Go ahead and install the DOT 4 drivers for the 1012. You
have nothing to loose and everything to gain. I'm not familiar with the
printer or with its drivers. You can always remove the drivers should the
installation do nothing. It's worth a try.

Another approach: Contact HP tech support. They should be able to resolve
this situation, you'd think. They have an on-line process for providing help
while connected via the Internet. They download a little two-way applet
which permits two-way communications between you and them.

These are just some ideas for your consideration. Post back as to the
results.
 
Freddy,

I think we've gotten as far as we can on this end, so I'm going to contact
HP tech support to see if they can figure it out. Thanks for all the help!
 
Ipants53,

OK, buddy. I enjoyed working on this one. Let us know how HP does. I'll
be checking back.
 
"Buddy" my ass! You didn't do a damn thing for this guy, or for the
evidently growing mass of formerly happy 1012 users.
 
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