HP Printer only seen as a scanner
by Logan Rogers-Follis on Mar.08, 2025, under Techie, Windows
Recently I came across the following error. On a Windows 10 computer, with an HP Deskjet Printer/Scanner combo it would no longer print, but you could use the scanner bed to make a copy.
Windows shows the devices, but acted as though it was only a Scanner. The following steps (source at the bottom) were used to fix this:
- Unplug any USB cable, if needed.
- Search for and open Programs and Features
- Uninstall anything to do with your HP Printer
- Search for and open Devices and Printers
- Under the Devices and Printers windows look for your HP Printer, then right-click on it and choose “Delete” or “Remove Device” (if it isn’t listed continue to the next step)
- Press the “Windows key + R” combo to open up the Run window
- Type
printui.exe /s
in the Run window and click the OK button (Note: there is a space in betweenprintui.exe
and/s
) - Click on the “Drivers” tab
- Look for you HP Printer driver. If you see it, then Click on it and click Remove at the bottom
- Click OK
- Click Apply and OK on the Print Server Properties windows
- Close Devices and Printers window
- Press the “Windows key + R” combo to open up the Run window
- Type
c:/programdata
and click OK. Browse to the Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files. - Restart the computer.
- Download the latest driver for your printer from https://support.hp.com/in-en/drivers
- Install the driver and follow the directions (do not plug in the USB cable, if used, until prompted to)
Source: HP Community – Printer only being recognised as a scanner