Table of Contents
Confirm the printer model and system compatibility
Reinstall or update the driver
Check whether the Windows Print Service is running
Use the system-owned troubleshooting tool
Home Common Problem How to fix 'Printer driver is unavailable'

How to fix 'Printer driver is unavailable'

Jul 23, 2025 am 01:24 AM

When encountering the problem of "Printer driver is unavailable", it is usually not a printer hardware failure, but a driver or system setup problem. It can be solved through the following steps: 1. Confirm the printer model is compatible with the operating system, check the official website support list, and replace the general driver or upgrade the firmware if necessary; 2. Reinstall or update the driver, restart the computer automatically after uninstalling through the Device Manager, or manually download and install from the official website; 3. Check and start the Windows Print Spooler service, set to automatically start and restart the service; 4. Use the system's own printer troubleshooting tool to automatically detect and fix the problem. Check it in order, and most cases can be solved.

How to fix \

When encountering the problem of "Printer driver is unavailable", in fact, in most cases, it is not that the printer is broken, but that there is a problem with the driver. It does not require too professional knowledge to solve it. As long as you investigate and deal with it step by step, you can basically solve it.

How to fix

Confirm the printer model and system compatibility

The first thing to do is to confirm whether your printer model supports the current operating system. Some older models of printers may not support the latest Windows or macOS versions, resulting in the driver not being installed normally.

  • View model information on the back of the printer or on the manual
  • Go to the support page of the printer official website and enter the model to view the compatible system list.
  • If you find incompatible, you can try looking for alternative drivers (such as general drivers) or upgrading firmware

If it is a company equipment, you may need to contact the IT department to confirm whether there is an internal restriction policy.

How to fix

Reinstall or update the driver

This is the most common solution. The system may cause the driver to be lost or damaged due to update, crash, or other reasons.

You can do this:

How to fix
  • Open Devices and Printers or Device Manager to find the printer that is in trouble
  • Right-click to select Uninstall the device
  • After restarting the computer, let the system automatically reinstall the driver, or manually download the latest driver from the official website to install it
  • Turn off antivirus software or firewall during installation to avoid intercepting the installation process

If you are not sure which driver to use, you can directly search for "printer brand and model official drivers" to enter the official website to download the most safely.


Check whether the Windows Print Service is running

Sometimes the problem is not the driver itself, but the system-level service is not started. In particular, if the Windows "Print Spooler" service is disabled or stopped, it will also cause the driver to be unavailable.

The operation steps are as follows:

  • Press Win R and enter services.msc to enter
  • Find "Print Spooler" in the service list
  • Right-click and select "Restart"
  • If the status is "Stopped", right-click to "Start Type: Automatic" and start the service

This step is easy for many people to ignore, but it is very critical, especially those who often print remotely or share printers.


Use the system-owned troubleshooting tool

Windows system comes with a troubleshooting tool for printer problems. Although it cannot solve all problems, it can quickly locate the cause of the error in some cases.

The path is as follows:

  • Open Settings > Bluetooth and Other Devices > Printers and Scanners
  • Click "Run the printer troubleshooter"
  • Follow the prompts to execute step by step

This tool will check common problems such as connection, driver status, service operation, etc., and is suitable for users who do not want to manually troubleshoot.


Basically these are the methods. Most of the problems with "Printer driver is unavailable" can be solved in the above ways. The key is to first confirm the compatibility of the device, and then check the status of the driver and service step by step. Not complicated, but details are easy to ignore.

The above is the detailed content of How to fix 'Printer driver is unavailable'. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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