Member Avatar for Ally71

My wife and I thought we would go out and get a new printer,so we did and when we came home I went right in the puter room and started to install it,I went to the add computer wizard and before I realized what I had did I uninstalled my old printer,so I just continued on installing the new one,after trying to install it,and with many phone calls to get help as to why my new printer would not work,we came up with the conclusion that it was just not compatiable with my PC,so back to the store it went,now I want to just get my old printer up and running again,but for some reason it will not install.When I hook it up to the PC and try to add it it goes through the setup and at the end it says that the printer driver was not installed properly and the device will not work.My old printer is a Lexmark Z43,now like I said it worked fine before I uninstalled it(by mistake,lesson learned),I have gone to the Lexmark website downloaded drivers and what ever eles I could find and to no luck nothing has worked,anyone have any suggestions?

Any help would be great,
Thanks,
Ally :sad:

  • 3 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 133 Views
  • 3 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Member #11424

Dani AI

Generated

Building on 's uninstall idea and 's restore suggestion, here is a focused, safe cleanup + reinstall checklist for getting a Lexmark Z43 back on an XP box when the driver refuses to install. The usual culprits are a stuck print spooler, leftover driver files, or ghost entries in Device Manager/registry that block new installs.

First, a quick safe cleanup (run Command Prompt as Administrator):

net stop spooler

Open Printers and Faxes and remove any Lexmark entries. In Printers and Faxes use File -> Server Properties -> Drivers and remove Lexmark drivers there. Then inspect and remove Lexmark files in:

%windir%\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3

Remove only Lexmark-related files/folders (or back them up first). After file cleanup:

net start spooler

If the driver still won’t go away, remove hidden/ghost devices: in a command prompt run

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
start devmgmt.msc

in Device Manager choose View -> Show Hidden Devices and uninstall any greyed-out Lexmark/printer entries and old LPT/USB printer ports that match the previous install.

For stubborn traces you can inspect (carefully) these registry locations and delete Lexmark printer subkeys only after exporting/backing up the keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-3
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Lexmark

Always export the key first, and create a System Restore point before editing the registry.

After cleanup reboot, then run the correct XP (32-bit) Lexmark installer as Administrator. Plug the printer in only when the installer asks or once the driver install completes; pick the correct port (LPT1 for parallel, USB001 for USB virtual port). If problems persist, a full system restore to a known-good date (as suggested earlier) or the official Lexmark removal/cleanup utility (from Lexmark support) are the next steps.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for Dick

You didn't say what your new printer was. You should have done the uninstall using the uninstall under the Lexmark printer before you loaded the new printer. If you couldn't find that, you could go to control panel and remove all references to the LexMark under remove programs, then install the new printer software. If your new printer was a USB printer and the old one was on a parallel port, your computer would need USB capabilities. Again, you didn't describe your computer so it's hard to tell.

It's very strange that your new printer would not load everything it needs from the disk that is supplied with the printer. At one time in an effort to clean old garbage from my HD, I deleted a file with the name starting with LEX. My new printer stopped working. I put it back, and away I went. Apparently everything starting with LEX isn't from Lexmark.

Member Avatar for Dick

After reading my post to you, I wasn't much help in getting your Lexmark back on line.

If you have not yet gotten the Lexmark to run, try removing all references to the Lexmark first using Lexmark uninstall, then in control panel using remove programs. Then try a new install with your Lexmark disk. What OS are you using?

Member Avatar for Ally71

I am running windows XP,and I dont have the new printer anymore,we took it back to the store,I wanted to get my old printer running again,the one that I uninstalled by accident,but I can no longer get it to install properly.

Thanks
Ally

Member Avatar for Member #11424

Running Windows XP? Have you tried a system restore? I can't remember if it undeletes removed printers but it's a chance. Just restore your pc to the date before you uninstalled the printer and see if that works.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.