WIA driver

[Boomergal53]

HP Officejet Pro 6978 cannot scan, get a message " You need a WIA driver to use this device. Please install it from the installation CD or manufacturer's website and try again". I have tried over and over again to reinstall printer but get the same message! What is WIA driver and where can I find it?

[Rainbow23]

Hi @Boomergal53,

Welcome to HP Forums, this is a great place to get support, find answers and tips.

Thank you for posting your query. I'll be more than glad to help you.

I understand that you are facing issues with scanning from your HP Officejet Pro 6978  printer as you are prompted for WIA drivers.

Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) is a service in the Windows operating system that supports communication between the computer and scanners. If WIA is not activated, scan jobs can fail.

I suggest that you follow steps 7 and 8 from the link: Scanning Issue

You have a good day ahead.

[Boomergal53]

Thank you Rainbow23 but unfortunately the advice you gave me did not work. I followed the step as recommended and the prompt told me I was successful but when I tried to scan, I received the same message. I have a dell computer, will that affect the communication, being the printer is an HP? I don't know what else to try!

[Rainbow23 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Boomergal53,

Thank you for your reply, I'll be more than glad to help you.

I understand that the issue still persists after following the steps provided in the previous interaction.

Let's go through a few steps to uninstall and reinstall the drivers:

☑️ Step 1: Uninstall the Drivers:

Please follow the steps provided to uninstall the printer software in the link: Uninstalling the Printer Software (Windows)

Also, please follow the steps provided below to completely remove the printer software from printer properties.

Steps to remove printer driver files from Print Server Properties:

1. Open the Print Server Properties dialog window by doing any one of the following:

(a). Press WINDOWS-R on the keyboard to bring up the Run window, type in 'printui /s /t2' (without the quotes), and then press Enter or click OK.

(b) From the Start menu or the Start screen and open Devices and Printers. Select any printer and then click "Print server properties" at the top of the window. Click on the Drivers tab.

2. Select the printer driver you wish to uninstall.

3. Click the Remove button.

4. Select "Remove driver and driver package" and click OK. 

☑️ Step 2: Download and install the Drivers from the link: Full Feature Software and Drivers

You have a good day ahead.

[JasonStockwell]

Found this thread,  the fix i ended up finding was to change the account that was used to start the service from 'Local Service' as account with password to 'Login oas" Local System account and checked box for 'Allow service to interact with desktop'.   default was thischanged to this

[Boomergal53]

The solution from Rainbow 23 did not help with my issue. Thanks for trying though!

[Boomergal53]

Thanks Jason, I just saw this and I will absolutely give it a try! I’m not very tech-y but this seems like something I can do. 

[chriskourd]

Hi, I have excactly the same issue.  Just scanned through the Windows Fax and Scan desktop app (windows 10) and everything

worked just fine.