How to install a printer when lacking the original driver CD

This post will teach you all you need to know about installing your printer’s drivers when you lack the original installation CD.

Obtaining a printer from a friend, a garage sale, or restoring the computer can make it harder to set up the printer back if the original driver's CD is missing. These situations are very common and before we realize it we mind find ourselves in the same situation, with a printer without a driver CD.

In this post, we will show you how to do the installation process if you are lacking the original driver CD. You will need to correctly follow the steps below to complete this process.

Procedure for installing a printer on your computer when lacking the original drivers CD:

Step #1:
Keep the printer connected to the computer via the USB cable during this procedure. This cable shares the data from the computer to the printer in order to get the installation process started, check the picture below.


If you do not have a printer cable, you can purchase one in any local electronic store or online and it Is not expensive.

USB cable

Step #2:
Turn the computer on and wait for it to be fully functional; it needs to be fully operational to recognize a new device has been attached to it. You can now turn your printer on.

Step #3:
Open the Start menu on your computer and click on the Control Panel.

Step #4:
 Now click on Printers and Faxes, or Printing Devices.

printer and devices

Step #5:
 Click on Add Printer. Important note: The Add Printer option on Widnows7 is found in the upper-left side of the window, as shown in the following picture. On WindowsXP, you can find it on the top of the left column.

If you are having trouble finding this option on your OS, please contact us by leaving a comment in the section below this post. We will be able to assist you as soon as possible.

add the printer in the upper right 

Step #6:
The printer wizard will get going, and you must keep clicking on Next. Please let the computer recognize your printer using the Plug and Play system.

plug and play windows

Note: The Plug and Play program will automatically run on Windows7. You will only need to click on the Add Printer option and it will detect the printing device automatically.

Here’s a picture of how this may look like on your Windows7-using computer. This program will detect every printer available for installation, and get your computer working on this immediately.

If this doesn’t happen, please select the printer you want to install. You can always use the “What can I do?” option on Windows help if your computer isn’t recognizing the printer.

Step #7:
If the printer has not been recognized by the computer yet, look for the USB port the printer’s cable is attached to and select it as your connection method. If you are not using a modern printer model, there is another installation process compatible with Windows7 and WindowsXP. This procedure will force you to choose your printer’s brand and model from a listing displayed on the screen.

Step #8:
Select your own printer brand and model from the listing that will appear on screen, click on next and follow all the steps of the procedure. If this method does not work properly, please download the drivers directly from the printer manufacturer’s website. You will be able to install the drivers once you have extracted the files in the zipped folder.

Please keep in mind that, even with all this information, this alternative installation procedure could fail at any moment. If it doesn’t work out for you, remember we are here to help. You will only need to post a comment in the section below this post to contact us. We will get back to you as soon as possible.