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Windows 8: If printers or other devices are not recognized

November 27, 2013
Updated: April 14, 2022
Quick overview:

Driver 3

When you put new components or peripheral devices into operation on your Windows 8 PC, nothing works without the right driver. In theory, this is not a problem, as Windows already supports most hardware and installs suitable drivers automatically. But in practice, not every printer or scanner is recognized. What then? With these instructions, many problems between Windows and the printer can be solved in no time at all!

The device manager reveals whether there are driver problems. In Windows 8, you can start it by pressing the Windows + X key combination and clicking on "Device Manager".

If devices such as printers, scanners or fax machines are marked with a yellow triangle and exclamation mark, you know that something is wrong.

Microsoft and all well-known manufacturers from Alcatel to Brother and HP to Xerox actually promise Windows support ex works. However: The List of manufacturers of current inkjet printers The list of printer drivers is endless, with new models and drivers being added all the time - and so it often happens that this or that printer driver has to be installed or updated manually.

The first thing to do in this case is to fix the problem internally in Windows:

1. right-click on the faulty device, such as the unrecognized printer, and then click on "Update driver software" in the context menu.

2. in the next window, select "Search automatically for the latest driver software". In a perfect world, Windows will now install the appropriate driver.

What if Windows cannot find a driver for the new or old printer?

This actually happens frequently - and you have to do it yourself. We have put together the best solutions.

Driver 1

1. unmask unknown devices

Sometimes Windows displays an "unknown device" in the Device Manager. In this case, it is important to find out which component it is.

Fortunately, the device manufacturers provide their products with a device ID that can be read out with Windows.

To do this, double-click on the unknown device and open the "Details" tab.

Click on "Device description" and then on "Hardware IDs" or "Compatible IDs". You can use the right mouse button to copy this information to the clipboard and start a Google search.
You will usually find the name of the device and suitable drivers.

Driver 2

2. check compatibility

Before you make yourself unnecessarily busy, it often helps to take a look at this Microsoft website for a compatibility check (see also article image with the Brother All-in-One printer at the top).

This is where Microsoft compiles all the information on Windows 8-compatible hardware and software.

If you type the name of the device into the search window, you can see at a glance whether it works under Windows 8. A green tick means "running", a red X indicates "incompatible".

3. search for drivers yourself

If the printer manufacturer has not supplied a Windows driver, search for a Windows 8 driver on the manufacturer's website on the Internet.

The first port of call for drivers is always the hardware manufacturer. There are also special driver websites on the Internet that always offer the latest drivers.

Download the driver and unzip it if necessary. Then take a look at the readme file: It explains how to install the driver and what improvements it brings.

Driver 4

4. test Windows 7 drivers

If no Window 8 driver can be found on the manufacturer's website or elsewhere. Try the following:

Instead, download the Windows 7 driver and unzip it. Then try to install the driver in the usual way by double-clicking on it.

Sometimes it helps to open the "Properties" in the context menu of the setup and then set "Windows 7" as the compatibility mode under "Compatibility".

Is this procedure also unsuccessful? Then the last straw is the following trick:

1. most driver packages contain an .inf file. You must locate this .inf file. Once this is done, open the Device Manager again.
2. right-click on the faulty device,
3. Then click on "Update driver software" and this time on "Search for driver software on the computer".
4. click on "Select from a list of device drivers on the computer" and "Next".
5. then select "Data carrier..." and "Browse".
6. in the Explorer window, select the previously detected Inf file.

Now all that remains is to keep your fingers crossed that Windows accepts the driver.

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