PRINTERS

Microsoft has yet again expanded the ease of use and installation of peripherals in Windows XP. For those already familiar with Windows 2000 printer procedures, there will be little differences other than slight wording changes or merged dialogs and buttons.

There are two main types of printer installations: hot-pluggable and standard. Hot-pluggable refers to newer technologies, such as infrared, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), and Universal Serial Bus (USB). Standard usually refers to serial, parallel, or Centronics connectors. Hot-pluggable printers are the easiest to install.

To ensure accurate detection of hot-pluggable devices, connect them directly to your computer’s main ports, rather than through an external USB or FireWire ‘hub,’ which is designed to expand the amount of ports available. If your printer came with a CD-ROM that supports Windows XP, it is a good idea to attempt to install the driver prior to connecting and powering on the printer for the first time. An even better idea is to download the latest Windows XP driver from the printer manufacturer’s Web site and install it.

Once your printer is connected and powered on, Windows should automatically detect the brand and model of printer, and begin searching for drivers. If Windows does not have a driver in its database, and you have not already installed one, Windows will prompt you for it. You may insert the CD-ROM at the first Found New Hardware screen and Windows will automatically begin searching the entire CD-ROM for it. If the hardware wizard is cancelled mid-way through, or if there is an error, your printer will no longer be detected as a brand new device from then on. It will be listed in Device Manager with a black exclamation point on a yellow field. You should right-click on it and choose Uninstall. This usually allows Windows to start over when you detach and reconnect the printer. There are some instances where this will not work; and in those cases, you should refer to the printer’s documentation and the manufacturer’s technical support channels.

Parallel printers are not usually plug and play (though on very rare occasions, it has been possible). Once you connect one and power it up, you have to manually install the driver for it yourself and hope that Windows can communicate with it. If your printer is very old, then you may have to use the Add Printer Wizard. Navigate to the Start menu > Printers and Faxes. Then choose Add Printer. A wizard will appear that will walk you step-by-step through the installation of your printer. You may choose to install a local printer (connected directly to your machine) or a network printer (set up as a network share). You have the option to disable plug-and-play detection for your printer, and it is a good idea to do so if your printer is not new. After you choose “Local printer,” you will have to select a port that the printer is connected to. If your printer is on a special port (such as infrared), then you will be able to select it here (although most of the time, infrared printers are detected as plug and play). Standard parallel printers on standard PCs will most likely communicate on LPT1 (short for Line PrinTer 1, a now archaic term). There are ways to print to Communications (COM) ports (such as fax drivers and serial connection printers) or even straight to a file. There are many other instances where there can be a special port to print to, such as an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) Writer; or if a USB printer driver has been installed but not added to the Printers folder, then you may see a special USB port here.

If your serial, parallel, or Centronics printer is fairly recent, then it probably came with a CD-ROM or diskettes that you can install from, which will add the printer to the Printers folder (and the Add Printer Wizard list), as well as installing informative printer monitor software and other miscellaneous tools. Again, it is always recommended to download the latest drivers from a manufacturer’s Web site instead of using the included driver disks.