My printer driver has changed and it is HORRIBLE

Question

I have been using my HP 8500A all-in-one with a few years now with absolutely no problems.  Two days ago, I encountered a problem:  when I tried to specify certain pages of a document to print, I would get an error message.  However, if I selected to print the entire document, it would print.  I assumed that my driver needed to be updated, so I downloaded from the HP website.  WHAT A HORRIBLE MISTAKE THAT WAS.  My scan utility has changed completely, I still can only print when I select to print an entire document.  I cannot print from an Excel spreadsheet at all.  I tried uninstalling the driver and re-installing.  I DO NOT want to network this printer, but now each time I try to reinstall the driver, I can choose to connect via USB, but on the following pop-up, it does not give me the option to proceed.  It only gives me the option to go "back" or to "skip" connecting via USB.  What the heck is going on????????????????

Answer 1

Hi , Welcome to the HP Community!I hope you have a pleasant experience here. I'd like to help you with the driver/software issues you are experiencing with your HP Officejet Pro 8500A e-All-in-One printer and your Windows 8 machine. It sounds like your software may not be installed properly, in addition to the common issue of Windows 8.1 automatically installing drivers from Windows update. First, with the USB cable plugged in, we'll want to remove all instances of your printer in the device manager (this way when we plug the USB cable back in during the new install, it'll be seen as a new device).  Open up your Start Screen. Start typing "This PC", it will come up under search results. Right click on This PC and select Manage. Click on Device Manager on the left hand side. In the main part of the window, look in the following categories for any HP entries: Imaging Devices, Other Devices, Printers, and Universal Serial Bus Controllers. If you see your HP printer listed in any of these sections, right click and select Uninstall. Keep an eye out as well for anything that says Unknown Device, and let me know if you see this at all (these are also okay to uninstall). Once all HP entries have been removed, unplug your USB and leave it unplugged. Do not plug the USB back in until the software prompts you when we re-install. Next we'll want to remove the installed printers from your Devices and Printers folder. From your desktop, either swipe in from the right to open the charms bar, or press Win key + C on your keyboard.Select settings from the bar on the right.Select Control PanelUnder Hardware and Sound, Select Devices and PrintersRight click on each icon you see for your 8500A (even if there is only one) and select Remove Device, or Delete. Once that's done, lets do a cleanboot of your computer (this will turn off all non-essential programs at startup, so if there is another program running that's hindering the installation we can avoid it).How to perform a clean boot in Windows  Once the computer has restarted, try downloading the HP Printer Install Wizard to complete the installation for you. It will automatically detect your device, and install the appropriate software. Please respond to let me know if this resolves the issue.Good luck!