In most cases, when buying a printer, they give drivers for it. If you lost them or scratched the disk, and you need to use the device urgently, then you need to look for a way out of the situation. Many users are starting to wonder how to install a printer without a disk. This is more than real, and there is nothing complicated. The main thing is to be patient and have a USB cable at your disposal.

Some general information

The fact is that most users, even if they are not beginners, naively believe that installation without a special disk is impossible, but this is a fundamentally wrong point of view. Moreover, there are several methods you can use. The easiest is to use the Internet, if available. You need to go to the official website of the developer of your printer and find the latest drivers for it. After that, download them to your computer. And so on the printer in the future is not difficult, then you yourself will figure it out. You just need to follow the instructions and at the end restart your computer. Now let's talk about how to install the printer using one of the methods discussed below. Everything about everything will take no more than 10 minutes.

without disc for Windows XP

Let's go to the Start menu. If you are using the Windows XP operating system, then you need to go to the "Control Panel" and select "Printers and other hardware". A new window will appear in front of you, here we need the “Printers and Faxes” tab. At the next stage, you need to go to the "Printing Tasks", "Add Printer Wizard" section. In the window that appears, you need to start the installation, for this, just click on the "Install Printer" item. After that, the process will go on, maybe you will still need to click on “Install a local printer”, if the system suggests it. Since installing a Canon or HP printer is quite simple, and the process is completely similar, you should not have any problems with this. Now let's see how these steps are performed for other operating systems.

How to install a printer: Windows 8, Vista and 7

We go to "Start", here on the right side of the window that opens you will see a tab called "Devices and Printers", which is what we need. We go on it and see the button "Install Printer". After that, the process is similar to the one described above, with the only difference being that there is an option for wireless installation. To do this, you must have either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Since installing a printer on a laptop in this way is an order of magnitude easier, it is recommended to use it. First you need to select the printer connection port, and then its model and go further. You need to come up with a name for the device, after which the installation will start automatically. To check if everything worked out, print a test page. If everything is fine, congratulations - you know how to install a Canon, HP or any other printer without the necessary software.

Another good method

As already noted, if for some reason the method that we described above does not suit you, then use the alternative option. To do this, go to the developer's website. It can be Canon, HP, Epson and so on. You need to find a page where the latest versions of drivers suitable for your device are posted. As a rule, they are located on the support tab, where it is recommended that you proceed. Now it remains only to find the right driver and install it. There is one small nuance here: it is necessary to take into account the bit depth (bit depth) of the system. So, there are drivers for x32 (x86) and x64 systems. To find out what you need, right-click on "My Computer", then "Properties" and there you will see the information you need. Since it is not difficult to install drivers on the printer further, just follow the installer instructions. Restart your computer and you're done.

A little about how to install the driver from the disk

Some users, especially beginners, cannot deal with the disk. In principle, this is quite normal, since there is a bunch of additional software that you are unlikely to use, you can not install it. After you insert the disc into the drive, it will start and you will be prompted to select a package that will automatically install. You have the choice of partial or full installation. It is recommended to give preference to the first option, and now we will tell you why. The fact is that by installing the entire package, you will have a lot of extra programs that you will hardly ever use. This is both an instruction for use, and a utility that allows you to view photos, by the way, not the most convenient, etc. Do not forget to connect the printer and then start it, only after that the installation will be completed. Reboot your system and you're good to go.

About installing HP printers

It is worth considering the process of installing a device from this manufacturer. This is due to the fact that there are several important points that can lead to a dead end. In principle, how to install a printer without a disk is understandable, but sometimes, even with an HP driver, this is very difficult to do. At the first stages, everything is done by simply pressing the “Next” button. When you are prompted to select the type of connection, check the box next to "On the network, network, wireless network". This is necessary only when the installer itself did not find the parameters it needed. Please note that the name may differ depending on the driver. It happens that you need the printer to be available on several computers in the office. To implement this, you should turn on the device, then the software will detect it, and everything will be configured automatically. If the web search was successful, then everything was done correctly. In the event that the printer cannot be found, it is recommended that you perform an advanced search using the IP address assigned to the device. This is where we end. It remains only to reboot the system, and you can work. If something went wrong, it is best to contact the support service on the official website of the developer. Since it may not be possible to install the HP printer for other reasons, it is necessary to print a log file or send an error report to the developers.

A few more alternative methods

We have already covered several good ways above, which are effective in any case. However, if for some reason they do not suit you, then there are several more options for solving the problem. Proceed as follows. Connect the USB cable to the printer and plug it into the port. The search for the printer will begin. Then click "The printer I want is not in the list of found". A new dialog box will open in front of you, in which there will be several illustrative examples of how to register the device address. When you do this, then click "Next". It happens that the program issues the following: “Driver missing” or “Could not find driver”. Do not panic. In this case, it is recommended to first click "OK", and then specify the correct path to search for the file. Of course, you must first download it from the Internet. The required package extension must be .inf. Now print a test page and check if the device works.

What else do you need to know?

Do not forget that some printer drivers are installed with the operating system, but this is only if they are included in this build of Windows. In addition, it is recommended not to forget to update them, as this will greatly simplify your life. Since you can install a printer without a disk, it is better to do this using Windows Update, again, this is only for the software that was installed with the OS. In other cases, you need to download a special utility that will display the status of your software on your computer. In simple words, outdated drivers will automatically be updated, but you can do it manually. It happens that everything seems to work, but the printer does not find it. You think that this is due to another "broken" driver, and you start reinstalling it, but the reason is often far from this. If the USB port has been used for a long time, then it is quite possible that it is out of order. It is for this simple reason that it is recommended to first try to change the socket, and only then reinstall anything.

Conclusion

A lot of information has been written in this article that will be useful to you if you do not have an installation disk. Even if there is one, then read this material, because sooner or later it may come in handy for you. I would like to note that you should disable the antivirus during the installation of drivers, but this can not always be done, but only when it blocks content. Well, that's all for this topic. You now know how to properly install the printer and make it work even in the absence of software. As you can see, there is absolutely nothing complicated here. Take a few minutes of your time, and everything will definitely work in the best possible way.