Question About Installing Drivers for New/Replacement Printer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Marilyn E. Burford
  • Start date Start date
M

Marilyn E. Burford

I have a 5 yr. old Dell, with just two USB ports, running Win ME, with
both ports currently in use. My low-end 5 yr. old Canon printer uses one
of them. I have a new Canon photo printer I want to replace it with using
that same USB port. Since we are talking about two separate models, and
the Canon currently installed is not my default printer (I have an old dot
matrix for everyday stuff) do I need to uninstall the drivers for the
older canon printer before installing any for the new one??? If I can, I
would like to leave the drivers for the other printer in place for now for
reasons there's no point in going into right now.


Thanks. - Marilyn B.
 
Marilyn said:
I have a 5 yr. old Dell, with just two USB ports, running Win ME, with
both ports currently in use. My low-end 5 yr. old Canon printer uses one
of them. I have a new Canon photo printer I want to replace it with using
that same USB port. Since we are talking about two separate models, and
the Canon currently installed is not my default printer (I have an old dot
matrix for everyday stuff) do I need to uninstall the drivers for the
older canon printer before installing any for the new one??? If I can, I
would like to leave the drivers for the other printer in place for now for
reasons there's no point in going into right now.


Thanks. - Marilyn B.
Click to expand...
You shouldn't have to uninstall drivers for the old printer.
You might want to consider getting a USB 2.0 PCI card fitted. They are
not expensive. One that provides two extra USB 2.0 sockets on the rear
of the PC, and four on the front mounted on a plate that slots into a
floppy drive bay panel costs about US$20. 15 minutes to install.
This assumes that the Dell PC does have a spare PCI slot on the
motherboard, and you have a spare floppy drive bay. Another option is
to get a USB hub to give you more USB 1.1 ports.
 
No immediate need to remove the drivers. You may want to delete the printer
later and it will prompt you as to whether you want to delete the drivers or
not (if they are no longer being used by other printers.

I agree with Fredericks comments. Check out whether or not the printer
supports USB 2.0. If it does, then definitely get a USB 2.0 PCI card (they
are dirt cheap). You'll see a remarkable difference. You'll also be ready
for things like an external drive or scanner that may *require* USB 2.0.....
 
Hank Arnold said:
I agree with Fredericks comments. Check out whether or not the printer
supports USB 2.0. If it does, then definitely get a USB 2.0 PCI card (they
are dirt cheap). You'll see a remarkable difference. You'll also be ready
for things like an external drive or scanner that may *require* USB 2.0.....
Click to expand...

Are there such things? I thought most/all products would happily run on
a 1.1 USB if thats all the connection that's available.
 
[email protected] said:
Are there such things? I thought most/all products would happily run on a
1.1 USB if thats all the connection that's available.
Click to expand...

On a printer I doubt if he would see ANY difference using USB2 vs. USB1.1.
The only printer I own where it makes a difference is my wide-format Epson
7600.

Tom
 
Tom said:
On a printer I doubt if he would see ANY difference using USB2 vs. USB1.1.
The only printer I own where it makes a difference is my wide-format Epson
7600.

Tom
Click to expand...
Probably correct. You will see a big difference however if you attach an
external drive/memory stick/card reader etc. You could get PCI USB 1.1
expansion cards when I last looked - but the ones I have seen were the
same price as the USB 2.0 cards, which makes the choice a no-brainer.
 
Frederick said:
Probably correct. You will see a big difference however if you attach an
external drive/memory stick/card reader etc. You could get PCI USB 1.1
expansion cards when I last looked - but the ones I have seen were the
same price as the USB 2.0 cards, which makes the choice a no-brainer.
Click to expand...


Well, yeah, but that wasn't the point of the thread.
 
I have a USB 2.0 external drive that will not work unless it is connected to
a USB 2.0 port. You can be sure that any device that works on 1.1 will work
on 2.0, but not the opposite....
 
I agree.... I only made the point to make sure that they look at the specs
first.... Otherwise we'll start another "I am upset at how limited my Dell
<fill in the blank> product is!" thread..... ;-)
 
If printer drivers are written properly, and have good installation
tools, they should not step on one another. That's a lot of "ifs" when
it comes to computers.

I would attempt to load the new driver(s) and see if they work
correctly, but be very careful to follow the printer driver instructions
exactly, in terms of when the printer is attached to the system, if
you have to reboot your computer and when. If all goes well and the new
printer seems to be working correctly, I'd leave the older printer
driver as it was. That should allow the printer to reconnect with it
any time you might happen to be using it. So, leave the older drivers
alone, unless they cause probolems, in which case, remove the old ones
and the new ones and reinstall.
 
Yes, most computers can accept a USB 2.0 card (PCI format) which from
what I have seen, can have up to 4 connectors on the card and sometimes
offers an extension cable with extras.

Art
 
Done deal. Hooked up/installed everything awhile ago. Went without a hitch
and seems fine hooked up to the USB 1.0 port. Good initial impression of
the Canon PhotoPrint software. The couple of photos I've printed just to
test things (don't want to waste too much ink) are a huge improvement over
what the old, basic, printer was
putting out.

Thanks for all the input/responses received

MB
 
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