Fix for HP printer problem on Snow Leopard
I got snow leopard and it will not work with my hp printer... Does any one know how to fix this problem? I do need my printer :]
HP printer driver and Snow Leopard - A Fix
Initially, after installing Snow Leopard on my iMac the new OS didn't recognize my printer, which is a basic budget HP Deskjet F4100. After a bit of fiddling I discovered the fix (at least it worked for my model HP).
Just select whatever you want to print, then open Print window (Command 'P'). You want to see the Full printer info window, the one that asks you how many copies you want and what paper size, etc. If you get the little window, just click the little arrow to the right of where it says the name of your printer. Okay, now you have the main Print window, so again, next to where it says the name of your printer click on the pop-up menu and click on 'Add Printer'. You will get another window where the name of your current printer will again appear. Select that, then click 'Add'. Yet another window should appear that will prompt you to 'download' or 'install' the 'software' for the selected printer (which is your EXISTING printer - don't be confused). Then it's just a matter of waiting till the computer connects with the website to download the 'new' Snow Leopard driver. I realize it doesn't sound correct having to re-select your own printer using 'Add Printer', as if it is a totally different one. But the reasons are complicated. It has to do with the fact that the new Snow Leopard does not come with the dozens of drivers that the older OS had, so when you convert to Snow Leopard, it does not recognize the existing printer as the 'Default' printer -- you must re-select it as an 'Additional' printer in order for it to say, 'Oh, here's something new, so I must go to the internet to find the correct driver for it.'
All I can say is that is how it worked for my printer. It's possible that Apple has not made every driver available for all HP products. But, so far as I have read, virtually all HP printers as well as other common printers, have software available online for Snow Leopard.