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REB07

3 Posts

72688

August 7th, 2009 16:00

Dell 1700 laser printer won't install. Name change?

For years, I have used my Dell 1700 laser printer successfully without any problems on various computers, including my current Dell laptop.  When I reformatted hard drive a few days ago and reinstalled operating system (Vista 32), I can't get Dell 1700 to install.  The printer is connected via USB.  The computer used to recognizes it as "Dell 1700" (or something very similar).  Now, the computer recognizes it as "Lexmark InternationalDell Laser Printer," for which there appears to be no drivers in Vista.  Even when I use the Dell 1700 "Drivers and Utilities" CD, I am told that no drivers are found.  Downloading and installing the latest Dell 1700 Vista drivers from the Dell website doesn't help.

Out of frustration, I downloaded a trial copy of Driver Detective.  It said that the driver was missing for "Lexmark InternationalDell Laser Printer" and that this driver is not available.  I also tried, without success, to install on two other computers in the house -- one with Windows 7 and the others with Windows XP.  I experienced the same problem on each computer.

I am quite frustrated.  Wild thought:  Did Windows Update somehow recognize the 1700 by a new name for which there are no available drivers?

 

 

 

     

REB07

3 Posts

August 9th, 2009 06:00

Update.  Through trial and error, I found a solution although it is not elegant.

  1. In Vista, go to Control Panel | Printers.
  2. In empty area below list of printers, right click on mouse pad and choose "Add Printers."
  3. Select "Add a local printer."  This is counterintuitive because the directions say to "use this option only if you don't have a USB printer" and the Dell 1700 is connected to USB port.
  4. Select "Use an existing port."   I chose "USB003 (Virtual printer port for USB)."  I have two other printers connected to the first two USB ports.
  5. Choose Manufacturer = "Dell" and Printers = "Dell Laser Printer 1700 XL (V)"
  6. Without selecting "Windows Update" nor "Have Disk," click on "Next."  Do NOT select "Windows Update" because it freezes computer.  Do NOT select "Have Disk" because, even with original installation disk, it gives message that drivers cannot be found.

I still have no idea about the cause of the installation problem.  Hopefully, if someone else finds themselves in the same predictament, they can use some of the ideas listed above to figure out a solution for themselves.

 

llynster

1.7K Posts

August 10th, 2009 07:00

Be assured, there have been NO name changes to the printer from XP to Vista. Did you download the CORRECT driver from support.dell.com? The default selection when you opened the page would be for XP. You must navigate to the Vista selection and it's a 38MB file. Here's a Driver Link <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

Also, when you updated to Vista, did you update ALL the rest of the Laptop drivers? Chipset, Notebook System SW, etc.

If your laptop came with XP factory installed (before Dell shipped Vista) and included a Resource CD.... that RCD is virtually worthless after updating to Vista. Don't use ANY of the drivers on it. Of course, this last statement assumes you have a Dell Laptop. It probably still applies to most other manufacturers.

llynster

1.7K Posts

August 10th, 2009 12:00

Well the end result is..... y'er up and printing now.

I didn't do anyting but relay to you mistakes I've made :emotion-3:

REB07

3 Posts

August 10th, 2009 12:00

Thanks for your suggestions.  You're right about triple checking to make sure you are downloading Vista drivers because the download page keeps defaulting to XP.  I admit I made this mistake once, but caught it.  Your suggestions about checking to make sure all other drivers had been updated had not occurred to me.

I was waiting for Dell tech support (online chat) when I read your note.  The technician took control of my laptop and successfully installed the printer.  She had to do something with one of the spool settings to get it to work properly.  In any case, it now appears that the printer is working well and I have access to all the standard menus for a Dell 1700 printer.

Thanks to Ilynster for the support and the suggestions.

 

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