Officejet Pro 6978 won't reinstall. PC says there's already a printer with that name

[dfluke]

We have an officejet pro 6978 at my work that we've had problems printing from an older model HP running windows 10 connected through USB.  I uninstalled the printer and tried to reinstall it, but when it gets to "replace driver or use current driver" it says there is a printer with "HP Officejet Pro 6978 PCL-3" already on the computer. I can't find the Officejet Pro 6978 anywhere else on the computer. The driver has been deleted, so maybe there's a program file I missed? We didn't change anything with the printer port.  If anyone can point me in the right direction of where to start, it'd be appreciated. I hope I gave enough info. Thank you in advance. 

[Betty0610]

@dfluke

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Let's try to do a root uninstall and reinstall of the software:

Unplug any USB cable, if any, before doing this.

1.) In Windows, search for and open Programs and features

2.) Select your HP Printer

3.) Select Uninstall

4.) In Windows, search for and open Devices and printers

5.) In the Devices and Printers windows look for your HP printer. If you see it listed right-click on it and choose 'Delete' or 'Remove Device'

6.) Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.

7.) Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between “printui.exe” and “/s”)

8.) Click on the "Drivers" tab

9.) Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it Click on it and click Remove at the bottom

10.) Select Ok

11.) Select Apply and Ok on the Print Server Properties windows

12.) Close Devices and Printers

13.) Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo

14.) Type c:/programdata and click Ok. Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files.

15.) Restart the computer.

Once done, please download and install the software from here:

https://support.hp.com/in-en/drivers

Let me know if this helps.

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Thanks!

Have a great day!