Checking The Print Driver And Port in Windows 8

If you've installed more than one HP printer on your computer your preferred printer might not be the default printer, or the wrong print driver might be configured. This video shows how to check the print driver configuration in Windows 8. In this video we will use a mouse to select items. If you are using a touch-screen computer you will tap the selection whenever the video says click. You can make sure your print jobs will automatically go to your desired printer by checking the Windows default printer setting. On your computer, right-click the lower left corner of the computer screen to open the menu. Click Search. In the Search box, type devices and printers. In the search results list, click "Devices and Printers". In the Printers section, look for a green checkmark next to a printer icon. This checkmark indicates which printer is the Windows default printer. If the wrong printer is marked as the default, then right-click on the icon for the correct printer to change the selection. Click "Set as default printer". Your desired printer is now the Windows default printer. If the printer is set as the default, but it is not printing, then you need to check the print port. Right-click the name of your printer in the printers section. Click on "Printer properties". Click the Ports tab. Look in the Printer column for your printer and then look at the port column to the left. You will see one of three options, depending on how your printer is connected. If you have a USB connected printer, there should be a checkmark next to the DOT4 port or a port number that begins with USB00. If you have a wired or wireless network connected printer, there should be a checkmark next to the Standard TCP/IP port with the printer name or IP address, HP nextwork re-discovery port monitor, or the WSD port. If you see your printer listed, but there is no check box next to the correct port, check the checkbox next to the correct port listing that represents the appropriate connection type and then click OK to apply the changes. Restart your computer, and then try the print job again. If the port setting or the print driver is not correct, or if the issue perists after you have made changes and restarted your computer, you must uninstall and reinstall the HP software. Since reinstalling the HP software is unique depending on your printer and system configuration, we will not provide those instructions here. You can find additional helpful videos at hp.com/supportvideos and on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/hpprintersupport.