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Baby Lee
04-30-2014, 10:06 AM
I have a cheapo printer and a really nice photo quality printer. Problem is, the latest update of Win8 to Win8.1 has taken it out of commission. It says everything works perfectly, and I can still print from a SimCard directly on the printer.

While I can do a number of print jobs on the cheapo, there are some high quality projects I need to do on the nice unit.

I still have Win7 and older versions of a lot of my software Office, PS Lightroom, Acrobat, AutoCAD, but I'd like to save space on my primary drive and configure an install where I just have the OS and the ability to print files I assembled in WIN8.

Any pointers
TheUte
04-30-2014, 10:17 AM
Windows 8 has the ability to install Hyper-V, which give you the option to run Virtual machines running different OS's.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/hyper-v-run-virtual-machines
Fish
04-30-2014, 11:08 AM
Have you tried different drivers for the printer? I'd try different drivers from both the manufacturer and Windows both. Try an older Win7 driver too.

You might try to reinstall the driver in Win7 Compatibility Mode as well.

Run in Compatibility Mode

Another issue I have found with printers and Windows 8 is that even with the right driver, the driver refuses to install. To get it to work, you may need to convince it that it is working with Windows 7. To do this, you will need to work in Compatibility Mode.


Once you have found the right driver, you will need to right-click the Setup icon for the driver
Click Properties.
Click the Compatibility tab
In the second section, you will see a box that says “run this program in compatibility mode for” with a dropdown box. Make sure the box says Windows 7, even though you have Windows 8
Select the box
Click Apply


Or... can you connect your printer directly to your router's USB port? Many routers allow this, but it depends on your router.

Setting up a VM should be the last resort.
Dante84
04-30-2014, 11:10 AM
This is 2014. Do you churn butter, as well?
htismaqe
04-30-2014, 11:10 AM
Yeah, try installing the Windows 7 driver or try compatibility mode. Probably the two best options.
dirk digler
04-30-2014, 11:20 AM
What is the make and model of the printer? I don't know why it worked in 8 and wouldn't work in 8.1
TheUte
04-30-2014, 11:49 AM
Have you tried different drivers for the printer? I'd try different drivers from both the manufacturer and Windows both. Try an older Win7 driver too.

You might try to reinstall the driver in Win7 Compatibility Mode as well.



Or... can you connect your printer directly to your router's USB port? Many routers allow this, but it depends on your router.

Setting up a VM should be the last resort.

Not sure why spinning up a VM is so bad.
Baby Lee
04-30-2014, 11:53 AM
What is the make and model of the printer? I don't know why it worked in 8 and wouldn't work in 8.1

HP Photosmart 8450

I've seen other tech support online discussions [ie, between user and MS or HP tech advisor] where they ended up giving up in the end, said they would check with tech group and check back later. Same thing, worked fine before update, says it's fine until you try to print after. So it's not a simple fix inside 8.1, apparently.
Fish
04-30-2014, 12:09 PM
Not sure why spinning up a VM is so bad.

It's not bad at all, I never said that. It's just a great deal of time and work to resolve a printer issue before attempting much much simpler fixes.
Fish
04-30-2014, 12:10 PM
You might also want to try and completely uninstall the printer and it's driver and software, and reinstall. Remove from the printer list, then go to Control Panel\Programs, and uninstall the HP software.

Then reinstall.
dirk digler
04-30-2014, 12:32 PM
HP Photosmart 8450

I've seen other tech support online discussions [ie, between user and MS or HP tech advisor] where they ended up giving up in the end, said they would check with tech group and check back later. Same thing, worked fine before update, says it's fine until you try to print after. So it's not a simple fix inside 8.1, apparently.

Microsoft says it is compatible

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/ProductDetailsViewer?Name=HP%20Photosmart%208450%20Photo%20Inkjet%20Printer&vendor=HP&ModelOrVersion=Q3388A&Type=Hardware&tempOsid=Windows+8.1

And I agree with Fish uninstall the drivers and software and download them from HP and try that. Make sure you know what version of 8.1 (32-bit or 64-bit) you are using.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?product=402150&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en
TheUte
04-30-2014, 12:42 PM
You might also want to try and completely uninstall the printer and it's driver and software, and reinstall. Remove from the printer list, then go to Control Panel\Programs, and uninstall the HP software.

Then reinstall.

You could also try just extracting the drivers and letting Windows just use the driver not all of the other HP junk.
Baby Lee
04-30-2014, 12:45 PM
You could also try just extracting the drivers and letting Windows just use the driver not all of the other HP junk.

My cheapo is an HP printer scanner. The HP junk isn't the problem, but it would be for the other printer/scanner if removed.