Printer Driver is unavailable in Windows: How to Fix?

Do you have a printer that is not working in Windows? Are you getting an error message that says “The Printer Driver is Unavailable”? This can be a frustrating problem to solve, but don’t worry, we are here to help!

If you get an error that says “The Printer Driver is Unavailable”, it means the driver installed on your printer isn’t compatible or has expired. It might also signify that the driver is broken and that the computer cannot identify it.

In this blog post, we will walk you through the steps to fix this issue.

Why am I getting Printer Driver Unavailable error on Windows?

There can be several reasons for this error:

• The most common reason is that the printer driver installed on your computer is outdated, incompatible, or broken. It might also be that the Windows registry has become corrupt and needs to be repaired.
• It is also possible that the printer driver is never installed on your computer, or that it was removed. This can happen if you uninstall a printer without uninstalling the driver first.
• Outdated Windows OS can also lead to this error as the printer driver might not be compatible with it.
• Similarly, upgrading to a new Windows version, for example from Windows 10 to Windows 11 can also cause the printer driver unavailable error.
• It is not uncommon for a printer to break down for no apparent reason. It might be the result of wear and tear on an old printing device. If a printer that has been unused or underused is put back into use, it may not function as well.

Fix Printer Driver is unavailable in Windows

To fix the driver unavailable issue, you can try various solutions. here are those:

Manually Update the Printer Driver

If the problem is with an outdated, incompatible, or broken printer driver, you will need to update or reinstall the driver. You can do this manually by using Device Manager or automatically using driver updater programs.

To update the drivers using Device Manager, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the Start button and select Device Manager from drop-down menu.
2. The Device Manager window will pop up, displaying all of the drivers that have been installed.
3. Expand the Printer queues, right-click on your printer, and select Update driver.
4. Select the Search automatically for drivers option on the next window if you don’t have the most recent drivers installer on your PC.
5. If you want to manually update the drivers, go to the manufacturer’s website and obtain the most recent version. Save the downloaded drivers on your system hard disk.
6. Select Browse my computer for drivers to update the driver manually.
7. Restart the system to make the changes effective.

Automatically Update Drivers

You can also use driver updater programs to automatically update your printer drivers. This is a much easier and faster method as it will do all the work for you.

Here are a few best driver updater programs:

Driver Booster

Driver Booster is the best updater software on our list. It is designed to automatically detect the missing or outdated drivers from the Windows system. With 3 Million+ drivers on its database, you are assured to find the rarest driver and fix any compatibility issue.

Driver Booster 7 PRO is safe and designed to detect outdated, missing, and faulty drivers and update them all in a single click.

Once you get the PRO version using the Driver Booster key, it unlocks the following features:

• Fast Scanning and downloading: Within a few seconds, it can scan the entire PC for missing, broken, or outdated drivers and start downloading/installing them.
• One-Click Update: Can update all the drivers in a single click.
• Enhance the Performance: It can highly magnify the performance of the system, by finding out the broken drivers and repairing them.
• Backup & Restore: It lets you back up all the system drivers and restore them after you format the PC.

Avast Driver Updater

Avast is popularly known for its security programs. However, it also provides many PC optimization tools; one of those is Avast Driver Updater. 

Avast Driver Updater scans your PC for outdated drivers and replaces them with the latest version available in its database. It servers around whooping 5 million drivers. That means there is a good chance it has all the essential drivers for your PC. Moreover, it creates a backup of the existing drivers in case things go south. It comes with a trial period of 15 days on the first installation.

Remove the Printer from the System

If you have uninstalled the printer but not the driver, or if you have installed a new printer and it is not working, you can try removing the printer from your system.

To do this in Windows:

1. Click on Start, type Control Panel, and click on its icon to launch it.
2. Click on View devices and printers.
3. Right-click on your printer and select Remove Device.
4. Now, restart your computer and reinstall the printer.

Update Your Windows OS

If you are getting the printer driver unavailable error after upgrading to a newer version of Windows, try updating your existing Windows installation.

Starting with Windows 10, Microsoft began to release driver updates through Windows updates. As a result, you must update Windows 11 in order to keep up with the most recent drivers.

To update Windows 11 to the latest version, perform the following procedures in this order:

1. Launch Windows 11 Settings.
2. On the left pane, select the Windows Update tab and then click Check for updates on the right.
3. Click on Install now after the latest updates have finished downloading.
4. Finally, restart the device.

Download and Install Printer Drivers from Manufacturer’s Website

If the problem persists, you can try downloading and installing the printer drivers from the manufacturer’s website.

Just go to the website, select your printer model, and download the latest drivers for it. Save them on your system drive and follow the on-screen instructions to install them.

Here are the download links of the top printer manufacturer drivers:

• Canon Driver Download
• HP Software and Driver Downloads
• Epson Downloads
• Brother Driver Downloads
• Sharp Driver Downloads
• Samsung Printer Software Installer

Summing Up

The article explains a few solutions that can be used to fix the Printer Driver is unavailable in Windows error. These solutions include manually updating the printer driver, using driver updater programs, removing the printer from the system, and updating your Windows OS.

These were some of the solutions to fix the printer driver unavailable error in Windows. Try these methods and see if they work for you. If you have any other queries, feel free to ask in the comments section below.