USB printer not recognized on Windows 10

[kc4480]

Hi, 

My Windows 10 laptop no longer recognizes my Deskjet F4480 printer which is connected via USB cable. The printer still works correctly with another laptop, which runs Windows 11, so I know the problem is not with the printer. I have seemingly tried everything, any assistance would be greatly appreciated! 

When I plug in the USB cable to the Windows 10 laptop, the printer does not show up in "Printers & Scanners." If I click "add a printer or scanner," it does not appear. The HP Smart program also fails to recognize the printer.  However, I know that the computer is recognizing that the printer is connected: when the USB cable is plugged in, the Device Manager shows "Deskjet F4400 Series" and "USB Printing Support" as connected devices, and these disappear when I unplug the cable.

Additionally, I followed the steps to manually add a USB-connected printer and install the HP driver that comes pre-installed with Windows ("HP Universal Printing PS (v6.6.0)"), following the instructions here (https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_2224996-1993298-16). Now, a printer named "HP Universal Printing PS (v6.6.0)" shows up on my printers list, and it shows as online when the USB cable is connected and offline when the cable is disconnected. So, my computer recognizes that this driver is connected with my Deskjet printer, and it recognizes the USB connection. However, when I try to print any pages to this "printer," nothing happens. There is no error message, but nothing actually prints.  

I tried the following steps which were recommended by HP and by other forum discussions, but they did not fix the problem: 

• Power-cycled the computer and printer multiple times. Removed the usb cable and plugged in back in multiple times. 
• Check for driver updates: The HP website directs you to use the HP driver that comes pre-installed with Windows (https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-deskjet-f4400-all-in-one-printer-series/3742084/...). 
• Downloaded and ran HP Scan Doctor - did not help. 
• The problem is not with the computer's USB port. I've tried both ports and neither recognizes the printer. The ports work for other USB items (e.g. a mouse) and Device Manager shows that the computer does recognize that the printer is plugged in. 
• Did a registry scan & repair 

Thank you! 

[ferRX · Accepted solution]

Hi @kc4480 

. .  . . ., ., ., . ,

Try with the software download from the next link, 

• >> Deskjet F4400 – driver software – Windows 

* Click on YES button   to say thanks, 

* Click on the button Accepted Solution if the question is answered.

Best regards,

ferRX.

[kc4480]

Thank you @ferRX! Installing that driver fixed the problem. 

For anyone coming across this in the future, that driver is also available on these two sites: 

https://printerdrivers.com/hp-deskjet-f4480-driver/

https://www.driverguide.com/driver/detail.php?driverid=2033577

If anyone at HP sees this: why don't you make that driver available again on your website? It works for me, whereas the driver that hp.com directs me to did not work (https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-deskjet-f4400-all-in-one-printer-series/3742084/...).