Home > Technical Support > Installing a Printer Driver (Windows 95/98)

The first step in troubleshooting a printing problem is to verify which printer driver you're using, then contact the manufacturer and find out if there's a more recent driver available. Most manufacturers update their drivers fairly frequently and post them to their Web sites. If you do not have online access or cannot locate the driver, you can also contact them by phone and have them send you the driver on floppy disk.

Once you have obtained the driver, you need to install it in Windows. The following instructions describe how you can use the Windows 95/98 Add Printer wizard to install the latest driver.

Note: If you have them on hand, be sure to consult the driver installation instructions provided by the manufacturer. Usually, installation instructions will be included with the latest drivers, or are available on the Web site where you downloaded them. Some manufacturers use their own installation programs and don't make direct use of the Windows 95/98 Add Printer wizard described in this document.

To install a printer driver in Windows 95/98:

1. Close all programs, click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Printers.

2. Double-click the Add Printer icon.

   Windows displays the Add Printer Wizard.

3. Click Next.

4. The next step is optional, depending on your computer setup. If Windows asks you whether your printer is attached to your computer (local) or to another computer (network), make the appropriate choice and click Next. If Windows doesn't ask you this question, skip to step 5.

5. Windows prompts you to select the printer to install. Ignore the two columns for Manufacturer and Printer. Instead, click Have Disk.

   Note: Sometimes the most recent drivers for a given printer are available on the Windows 95/98 Installation CD-ROM. In this case, you'll want to select the appropriate manufacturer and printer model. Windows may prompt you to insert the CD-ROM during the driver installation.

   Windows displays the Install From Disk dialog box.

6. Click Browse.

   Windows displays the Open dialog box.

7. Select the drive and folder where you saved the driver file, and then click OK.

   Windows returns you to the Install From Disk dialog box.

8. Click OK again to proceed.

   Windows displays the Select Device dialog box.

9. If your printer is the only one listed, Windows selects it by default and you can click Next to continue. If several models are listed, find the model corresponding to your printer, select it, and then click Next.

10. Next you need to select the port your printer is connected to. Most likely, your printer is connected directly to your PC using port LPT1. If that is the case, Windows selects LPT1 by default and you can simply click Next to continue. If your printer is connected to a different port (e.g. a network), select the appropriate port and click Next.

11. Windows displays the printer name. You can change it if you prefer but we recommend that you leave the default entry and do not modify it. If you already have one or more printer drivers installed on your PC, Windows will ask whether you want to use this printer as your default printer. Since you probably only have one printer or this is the printer you normally use, select Yes and click Next.

    Note: All Windows programs will use the default printer automatically, unless otherwise specified.

12. Windows prompts you to print a test page. If you wish to do so, make sure your printer is connected and switched on, select Yes and click Finish. Windows installs the driver files and prints the test page (if you selected this option).

13. If you opted to print a test page, Windows asks you whether the test page printed correctly. If it did, click Yes and you are finished. If not, click No and use the Windows Troubleshooting Wizard to help you resolve the problem (Windows starts the wizard automatically). If it does not help, contact your printer manufacturer for further troubleshooting assistance.