Windows 10 unexpected change in printer devices for Officejet Pro 8210 Wireless

[stephen_ford]

I'd been struggling to obtain a printer device display that did not show any device errors, but got there in the end. See this post. Then I installed a dual band network card and an AC1350 wireless router to bump up the wireless speeds a bit which it did very nicely... and then the printer devices changed. When I don't know, but a sneaky gremlin got in there and fiddled about a bit...

I have discovered that Windows 10 seems to be more than capable of installing drivers on its own without any interference from me. It's a bit scary really because I have developed a set of procedures and checks that I used since Win98 to ensure that drivers worked. This all seemed to upset Windows 10. I discovered by accident that if I just installed the hardware and left it alone everything would just begin working without any fuss at all - even my Officejet 8210 wireless printer.

There are no errors and the printer works. But (maybe) sadly, when things change I like to know why - mainly, and I hope readers will empathise here, because when things unexpectedly change it's often a warning of impending doom, especially where Windows and printers are concerned. But anyway, I wonder if the change from the above-mentioned post to the printer devices shown below has a rational explanation?

The original driver name has changed to HP Officejet Pro 8210 PCL6. It's offline and won’t go online and certainly won’t print anything. Device HP46BA91 (HP Officejet Pro 8210) appeared out of the blue and has taken over printing duties.

[Chimney_83 · Accepted solution]

Greetings @stephen_ford,

Thanks for the post and your continued interest in our HP Forums. 

I see you are unable to print from your computer running on Windows 10.  Glad to help. 

Kudos to you for describing the issue in such good detail.

Yes, you are right, Windows 10 has the ability to update or install the missing driver for your computer without any notifications. 

If you are unable to print, recommend you to uninstall the printer using the method below. 

Uninstall the printer from Programs and features (Control Panel)

Check in device manager, if the printer is listed there, please delete it.

Go to devices and printers, select any printer listed there and you will get some options on the top. 

Click on print server properties. 

You will get a popup, click on the drivers tab and delete all the HP printer drivers listed there, if any.

Delete all the instances of your printer listed in devices and printers.

Restart the PC.

Update the firmware on the printer using the control panel on the printer. (Will require the printer to be connected to your wireless network.)

Once the PC is on the desktop, press Win + R, it would bring a Run dialog box, 

Type %temp% in the run box and click Ok or hit the Enter button.

It would bring up the temporary files folder. Delete the files in the folder (You might not be able to delete all the files).

Restart the PC again. 

If possible, delete the printer from the registries using Regedit or using any other 3rd party application.

Download the latest full feature driver from www.hp.com/drivers and install it on the computer. 

The PCL driver for Windows 10 is also available on our website. 

If possible, delete the printer from the registries using Regedit or using any other 3rd party application.

Keep me posted. 

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!

[stephen_ford]

Thank you for a nicely detailed printer driver re-installation method. I have a database for this sort of information, so a copy is now in there.

The HP46BA91 (HP Officejet Pro 8210) does actually work. And I was just about to write that I didn't know why it had changed it's name from the orginal device when I noticed that the "original" was for my old Officejet 8000. Of course, it was with that printer I discovered how to let Win10 install the drivers pretty much by itself. But it happened that the gearbox fell to bits (with a 'crunch'!) on the very same day I made the discovery, so a few days later the Officejet 8210 arrived.

But I know that when the 8210 installed and created the above device, the PCL device was not present. That has appeared since.

When you mentioned that PCL was a print control language I suddenly began to understand. I didn't know what PCL accronym was. As it happens I don't believe I need the PCL device so I intend to remove it. The other device seems to print fine.

Thank you for your help.

[Chimney_83]

Thanks for the reply and I am glad to hear that you are able to print again. Please do post on our forums for any assistance. 

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!

[stephen_ford]

I just happened to be contemplating this issue and clicked through to the device manager and saw WSD Print Provider. So I opened the box (so to speak) and had  a peek inside, only to find...

... the printer device that 'suddenly appeared from nowhere' as mentioned above.

I was left trying to unpick all the threads of converstions about this subject that i could remember, only to begin realising that there is a whole other system impacting printers in Windows 10 of which I know nothing...

So I googled WSD and found the WSD Port Monitor that has apparently been around since as far back as 2008! I found questions going back to 2013 and that was only from a few google searches - not an in-depth search at all.

So I found this " I remove this printer and reinstall it using the usual tcp/IP and it works fine.  However, today i... which sounded familiar. 

And then I found this "What is the Difference between a TCP/IP Printer Port and a WSD Printer Port"

And this "The WSD Port Monitor"

And then when searching HP forums I found "HP 8610 Windows 10 and the WSD port"

I had no idea about any of this, but it explains why another printer device suddely appeared and how people can experience so many printer problems with Windows 10.

I was right to propose that a printer will successfully install on its own if Win10 is left to get on with it, but as usual there is a whole lot more to the issue which I have yet to figure out.

But why is HP not telling users? Why is the installation process not telling us that a 'new' (2008 vintage!!) system is operating and has to be managed?