Add Network Printer drivers in Windows 7/Server 2008 R2?
- by Matias Nino
I'm running a 64 bit Windows 7 / Windows 2008 R2 workstation that I just installed. I need to add a printer that is shared on the network from a 32bit Windows 2000 print server.
This is an HP LaserJet 5Si printer, the drivers for which HP tells me are automatically built into Windows 7/R2. However, whenever I connect to the printer or try to add it, I get the following screen:
Upon clicking OK, I get this screen asking me to locate the driver:
How can I possibly locate a driver that is SUPPOSED TO BE NATIVELY SUPPORTED on Windows 7/R2? The tough part is that this printer is one of many shared on a server and does not have a direct IP address. Even worse: I have no access to the print server so I cannot put the 64 bit drivers on there.
Any ideas?
UPDATE:
HP doesn't make a Vista driver either. It claims it is natively supported by Vista and 7, which is true because I am able to create a local printer on a fake tcp/ip port and Windows lets me pick the proper driver. However, when adding from the network, Windows does not let me select a driver and demands an INF.
I tried searching the entire sub-structure of the C:\Windows directory and could not find any INF files that contain HP information. The INF might be located somewhere in the Windows installation DVD, but all the files on the DVD are compressed and unrecognizable.
UPDATE #2
I installed the proper printer driver as a local printer (with no printer attached) and it installed. However, this did not change the fact that it STILL asks me to provide drivers when connecting to the networked printer.
