Windows Vista 64 bit and HP 2840 Color LaserJet All-In-One - Workaround

Question

Although HP has not provided a workable solution for a use of a HP 2840 Color LaserJet All-In-One with Windows Vista 64 bit, I did manage to get it to work. The solution is a bit convoluted and may not work for all users but here’s how I did it. I'm running Vista Ultimate 64 bit. Not sure how other Vista versions may behave.
I tried many different solutions that did not work. Attempting to install many different versions of the HP 2840 software in different compatibility modes ended up rendering my other HP 4385 All-In-One inoperative.  I deleted every piece of HP software and hardware from my system and reinstalling the HP 4385 software. Still couldn’t get my 4385 working again. I finally ended up restoring my system to restore point prior to attempting to install the HP 2840. All this to say that if you’ve made several attempts to get it working you may need to back up and punt with a restore.
Make sure your HP 2840 is NOT connected.
Press the “Scan” button on the 2840 (The control panel on the 2840 should say ‘Waiting on PC”).
Plug the HP 2840 in via a USB cable. A “New hardware” message should pop up on the PC.
 Minimize this window. DO NOT MAKE ANY ATTEMPT TO INSTALL DRIVERS. Just ignore this message for the moment.
In Windows, go to CONTROL PANEL/SCANNERS AND CAMERAS. Hopefully you’ll see a “HP 2840 LaserJet Scanner”. If not, the rest will probably not work.
Now hit the "Windows Start" button. Select "Programs" or "All Programs" (depending on your setup configuration). Open "Windows Fax Scan". It should connect to the 2840 Scanner. Experiment with the scanner and select flatbed and feeder input  to make sure it functions properly. Once satisfied that the scanner is working properly you can configure the printer.
On the “New Hardware Detected” window that you minimized in step 4, select “Do Not Ask Me Again For This Hardware”.
Connect the 2840 to your network via a CAT cable.
On your PC press the "Windows Start" button and select “Settings and Printers”.
Select “Add a Printer”.
Select “Add a Network Printer”.
Windows will scan your network searching for printers. It should find your 2840.
Select “Next” (It is not necessary to let the search complete once your 2840 has been identified).
From the dropdown list, select ‘HP” and “HP Universal Printing PCL 6". It was the last one in the list for me.
Print a test page
You should now have a HP 2840 network printer and a local 2840 scanner.
O course the drawback is that you can only scan to the PC where the 2840 scanner is attached via the USB cable. You can print from any PC on your network by following steps 9 through 15 on each network PC. 
Another little tidbit I ran into; selecting any other driver besides the “HP Universal Printing PCL 6" driver cause my Microsoft Office 2007 to crash any time I selected the "Save As" option. I found some links on the Internet that indicate this is a known problem. It may not affect you but you might want to play it safe.
Hope this helps someone.

Answer 1

Uninstall the HP software using the uninistaller in the HP folder.
Restart your PC.
Get the latest software for your printer from the "Support & Drivers" link at the top of this page.
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