How to Troubleshoot ‘Printer Driver is Unavailable’ on Windows 10



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Sometimes when printing documents from a Windows computer, you may get the error message ‘The printer driver is not available’. This type of problem is quite common in printers, as it is a relatively common message among Epson printer users. So what should you do if you encounter this particular problem? You will learn about it in this article.

What causes the “Printer driver unavailable”?

If you recently upgraded your computer operating system from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 and find that your device is not printing properly, the printer driver may have been corrupted during the upgrade process. The printer driver may not be compatible with the new version of Windows.

An incompatible driver or corrupted file may cause a Driver Unavailable error message. Fortunately, this error can be easily fixed if you proceed methodically. Simply check for Windows updates and then install the latest driver for your printer.

How to repair the “Printer driver not available” error?

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Update the printer driver

  1. Type Device Manager in the Windows 10 search bar and click the search results.
  2. The Device Manager window will open in front of you.
  3. Now search for printers and expand them.
  4. You will see the name of the printer you are using, right-click and select Update Driver.
  5. In the next window, click on the “Automatically check for updated drivers” option.

Update Windows 10

  1. Open the Settings menu by pressing Windows + I.
  2. Select the Update and security options.
  3. In the new window, click Check for updates. If an update is pending, the Download option will appear.
  4. Click one of the two alternatives, depending on which one is available to update Windows.
  5. Windows will then begin downloading the pending updates.
  6. Now restart your computer and try to print the document.

Perform an SFC scan

  1. Type Command Prompt in the Windows search bar.
  2. Right-click and select Run as administrator from the context menu.
  3. Now type SFC/scannow in the cmd window and press Enter.

Reinstall the printer drive

  1. Type Device Manager in the search box.
  2. In the Device Manager window, navigate to the Print Queue option.
  3. Expand the panel and right-click the printer name -> Update Driver.
  4. Select Search for driver software on the computer.
  5. Click Browser -> navigate to the location where you downloaded and saved the latest driver for the printer.
  6. Follow the instructions on the screen to reinstall the printer driver.



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Frequently Asked Questions

Type Device Manager in the search box and press Enter. Right-click the device name (or press and hold) and select Uninstall. Restart your computer, and Windows will try to reinstall the driver.

Click the Start button, then select Settings -> Devices -> Printers and Scanners. On the right side, under Related Options, select Print Server Properties. On the Drivers tab, check to see if your printer is listed. If it is, you are ready.

  1. Press the Windows key, find Device Manager and open it.
  2. Select the connected printer from the list of available devices.
  3. Right-click on the device and select Update Driver or Update Driver Software.
  4. Click Automatically check for driver updates.

  1. Run the Windows update tool.
  2. Update the printer drivers manually.
  3. Automatically update the printer drivers.

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