Common Printer Driver Problems and Solutions.

Printer driver errors can result in a wide range of problems for a Windows computer user. These errors typically occur when the driver has flaws, is incompatible or outdated. They could also be due to corrupt or invalid registry entries. This article will not only go over some of the most common driver errors, but help you troubleshoot and resolve them as well.

Failed Network Sharing

When printer driver errors arise on your PC, one of the messages you may see is: “Windows Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for any inconvenience.” This particular error usually occurs when attempting to share a Canon MultiPass F30 or F50 printer over your home network. The problem is that the older drivers for these printer models do not support sharing on Windows XP, thus resulting in a failed shared attempt. The best resolution for this problem is to visit the manufacturer’s website, find the updated printer driver, download it, and install it on your system.

Map Application Conflicts

Another common driver error gives you a message that reads: “This program has encountered an error and will close.” This error is often displayed when trying to launch the Microsoft MapPoint or Streets & Trips applications on an XP computer. It can actually be related to a number of different printer brands including Canon, Minolta and HP.

If you have an HP printer installed, the problem generally occurs if the device has either been turned off or is disconnected from the network. To address this issue, check your printer connections and then restart the computer the device is configured on.

If you have a Canon or Minolta printer installed, you will need to update the corresponding drivers for those particular devices. Once again, visit the manufacturer’s website, find the updated printer driver, download and install it on your system.

Incompatible Printer Drivers

When working in Windows, you may notice a message that says: “Spoolsv.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.” This particular error is usually related to a Canon MultiPass printer driver. The main cause is that the driver installed on the PC and needed to run the printer is not compatible with your operating system. To resolve this issue, you must visit the Canon website, find the compatible printer driver, download, and install it on your system.

Conclusion

The most common culprits of driver errors are incompatible and outdated drivers. The best way to deal with them is to hop online and find the most compatible and up to date drivers from the manufacturer’s website. There are also a number of web portals that make the search process even easier by maintaining huge databases with drivers from several printer manufacturers. Sometimes, driver files become damaged or corrupted due to malware infection or problems in the Windows registry.

To dramatically reduce these occurrences, it is advisable to keep your PC fresh with the latest updates and regularly run an up-to-date anti-virus software solution. If you want keep a healthy registry or want to fix a corrupted registry, you could utilize a reliable registry cleaning tool to routinely scan and repair this highly sensitive area of your computer.

As for ensuring your system has updated drivers all the time, investing in a third-party driver update tool is not a bad idea since it can save you a lot of time (as opposed to having to list down your all your hardware peripherals, visit each respective manufacturer, and see if they have new drivers for you).