Printer Setup, Software & Drivers

Hi all,

I've had my ENVY 7640 printer since late 2017 and until now, I haven't had any issues with it. Recently, I tried to print a PDF and I got an error message. When I opened up Printers & Scanners under Settings, it said "driver unavailable." I then went on a crusade to find the driver software and install it. I reinstalled HP Smart after deleting it, then when I attempted to set up the printer under "Print Documents," it wouldn't install. I then downloaded the driver manually and attempted to run it, but it refused, regardless of whether I attempted to connect the printer wirelessly or via ethernet. Long story short, after restarting the computer, running the driver and HP Print & Scan Doctor 5.5.2 as an administrator, I was finally able to install the driver. I thought that my ordeal would be over,  but boy was I wrong.

After the PDF I attempted to print gave me yet another error when I tried again, I attempted to print a test page through Print & Scan Doctor. That too gave me an error in the print queue, however, the internal test page did print (albeit the quality was pretty bad). At this point, I have no idea what else to try. If I go through Print & Scan Doctor, it just takes me through a cycle of uninstalling and reinstalling the printer software after every print job fails miserably. 

Does anyone know what I should do in this situation? I'm going to be upfront and admit that I'm not the most computer-savvy, so I need very clear instructions that even a toddler could follow. I'm at the point where I'm so frustrated that I've considered replacing the printer because it outright refuses to respond to any of the interventions I try. 

Thanks! 🙂