Change default printer

[Allen]

I have a weird problem with W7 Home Premium 32-bit. I use two printers,

a laser and a color inkjet. Under XP and Vista I could easily change

printers either within applications or with a printer icon.



Some of my software does not allow me to change printers within the

application, so I need to change the default printer. All I have to do,

according to Help and Support, is to go to Devices and Printers and

select one. According to Devices and Printers, though, I have no

printers at all. Both printers that I actually, really, truly have, and

which function properly are connected via USB. Further, Devices and

Printers says that I don't have to (should say can't) install USB

printers as W7 does that automatically. Today I couldn't print a report

that I needed to take to a medical appointment.



Any suggestions?



Allen

 

[Trev]

"Allen" wrote in message

news:S9ednRXsMJqSiFPWnZ2dnUVZ_hmdnZ2d@giganews.com...

> I have a weird problem with W7 Home Premium 32-bit. I use two printers, a

> laser and a color inkjet. Under XP and Vista I could easily change

> printers either within applications or with a printer icon.

>

> Some of my software does not allow me to change printers within the

> application, so I need to change the default printer. All I have to do,

> according to Help and Support, is to go to Devices and Printers and select

> one. According to Devices and Printers, though, I have no printers at all.

> Both printers that I actually, really, truly have, and which function

> properly are connected via USB. Further, Devices and Printers says that I

> don't have to (should say can't) install USB printers as W7 does that

> automatically. Today I couldn't print a report that I needed to take to a

> medical appointment.

>

> Any suggestions?

>

> Allen



If you have A line of text saying Printers and Faxes In your Devises and

Printers Dialogue. Click the little arrow Head at the beginning of the text

And the menu will drop down. Not it a white arrow head with a very thin

black Outline So you could have missed it.

 

[c_atiel]

If your printers ever showed up in the Devices et Printers section of Vista

SP3 then:

Unplug their USB cords.

Reboot and plug the printers back in one by one and they should reinstall

and reconfigure their USB ports if they were ever correctly installed. If

that does not work you may have to first uninstall the printer drivers, if

they are listed under Programs et Features, reboot and reinstall.

If your printers do not show up in the DetP they are not properly installed.

Icons for network printers which may not even be accessible should still

appear there if they were ever installed.

Vista SP3 does not seem to allow direct printing from an application but

goes through the dialogue box that allows you to choose a printer or wastes

your time making you hit the print button a second time. For example in

Office 2007 hitting the printer icon would directly print a document to the

default printer but in SP3 regardless of what is the default printer I have

to step through that second dialogue box when I hit the printer icon. For

some this is an improvement, for the rest of us an annoyance but less of one

than the UAC of Vista SP2.

 

[Allen]

Trev wrote:

>

> "Allen" wrote in message

> news:S9ednRXsMJqSiFPWnZ2dnUVZ_hmdnZ2d@giganews.com...

>> I have a weird problem with W7 Home Premium 32-bit. I use two

>> printers, a laser and a color inkjet. Under XP and Vista I could

>> easily change printers either within applications or with a printer icon.

>>

>> Some of my software does not allow me to change printers within the

>> application, so I need to change the default printer. All I have to

>> do, according to Help and Support, is to go to Devices and Printers

>> and select one. According to Devices and Printers, though, I have no

>> printers at all. Both printers that I actually, really, truly have,

>> and which function properly are connected via USB. Further, Devices

>> and Printers says that I don't have to (should say can't) install USB

>> printers as W7 does that automatically. Today I couldn't print a

>> report that I needed to take to a medical appointment.

>>

>> Any suggestions?

>>

>> Allen

>

> If you have A line of text saying Printers and Faxes In your Devises and

> Printers Dialogue. Click the little arrow Head at the beginning of the

> text And the menu will drop down. Not it a white arrow head with a very

> thin black Outline So you could have missed it.

I have absolutely nothing--zilch--except a line that says Add a device

Add a printer. No devices of any kind are shown. Strange.

Allen

 

[johnbee]

"Allen" wrote in message

news:S9ednRXsMJqSiFPWnZ2dnUVZ_hmdnZ2d@giganews.com...

> I have a weird problem with W7 Home Premium 32-bit. I use two printers, a

> laser and a color inkjet. Under XP and Vista I could easily change

> printers either within applications or with a printer icon.

>

> Some of my software does not allow me to change printers within the

> application, so I need to change the default printer. All I have to do,

> according to Help and Support, is to go to Devices and Printers and select

> one. According to Devices and Printers, though, I have no printers at all.

> Both printers that I actually, really, truly have, and which function

> properly are connected via USB. Further, Devices and Printers says that I

> don't have to (should say can't) install USB printers as W7 does that

> automatically. Today I couldn't print a report that I needed to take to a

> medical appointment.

>

> Any suggestions?

>

> Allen



I too have two printers, one on a USB port. I too noticed the remark that

USB printers 'do not need to be installed'. However, I ignored it and set

up the printers normally, though the one on the USB connection needed a

little special treatment. You have to tell it which USB port you wish to

configure as a printer port.