Printers use to be easy things.  You slap one down on the desk, take your USB (or for you true troopers, your serial cable),  plug it in and you’re good to go.  Then, things had to get complicated. What once was simple “plug and play” has now become a tangle or network settings and, “The printer that I want isn’t listed.” I am here to tell you how to navigate this stickler and install your own printer.

Installing a Printer

When you plug a printer into your network with an Ethernet cable, or enter your wireless information, you are ready to find the printer with your computer.  You can search for “Devices and Printers” in your Windows search under “Start” on your taskbar.  Once that window pops up, click “Add a Printer” in the top left area of the window. 

This click will open a second pop up that will hunt for new devices to your computer settings.  If you just bought, let’s say, an HP 401dne printer, you will select it in this list once your computer discovers it.  

In case your computer does not discover the new printer, you can search for it by other means as shown in the picture here.

If the printer were discovered, simply click on the one you want and hit “next”.  It will take a minute (or several, depending) to install, but Windows will automatically put all the necessary files and drivers on your computer. 

After that progress bar finishes, you will see the device in the updated list of “Devices and Printers” and it will be available in your programs as a printer you can select.

 
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