Tech help needed to install a Dell 1250c colour laser printer to an HP laptop running Windows 11

[Joyous]

I have recently changed laptops from a Dell Inspiron to a new HP17 laptop PC17-c2000. I have two printers, a Brother mono laser and a Dell colour laser. When I connected the Brother printer, the new laptop recognised it straight away and I've been able to print from it with no problem.

I connected the Dell colour printer to it and the laptop didn't recognise it at all. I've downloaded and installed the drivers from Dell and manually added the printer. The laptop says that the printer is correctly installed. However when I try to print, the job apears in the print queue and then it will say that it has printed but nothing has printed. I hear the printer starting up but the drum doesn't turn and no paper feeds through the printer.

I reconnected the Dell printer to my old Dell machine to test it and it printed fine, so I know the problem is not with the printer but with the instruction it's receiving from the new laptop.

If it's of any relevance my new HP is running Windows 11 (the old one was Windows 10), but according to Dell's website the printer is compatible with Windows 11 so this shouldn't be a problem. I've tried all the usual restarting the laptop, switching the printer on and off etc to no avail.

Spent most of today in a web chat with a "tech expert" who talked me through doing everything I'd already done prior to contacting him, only for him to finally sugget that I seek help from Dell. Dell's website is next to useless to get help on as it insists that it doesn't recognise the printer's service tag and it's impossible to speak to a human being.

I'd be grateful to hear from a tech expert who genuinely can help.

Thanks in advance

 

[Alcom IT]

Ah printers! Probably the 2nd most annoying thing in IT! They just seem to have a mind (and obstinance) of their own!

The problem with printers is that there are so many ways to incorrectly connect them and very few ways to connect them reliably. We have 1 set standard way that we configure printers for our clients that has proven to be the most reliable method for many years with many different types.

When you say you are 'connecting' the Dell printer to your new laptop, how are you connecting it? Is it via USB or WiFi or is the printer hard-wired into your network?

What version of Windows did you have on your old laptop?

What is the model number of the Dell printer?

Could you share the Dell Printer service tag here at all?

Sorry for all the questions, hopefully with this info we might be able to steer you in the right direction for getting this resolved.

 

[John Martin]

I wouldn't call myself a tech expert, but for what it's worth I have a similar problem with my printer.

The solution for me is to turn on the printer first and let it run it's warm up cycle, but NOT connect it to the laptop. Then press the print 'button' on the laptop to send the document. Then finally connect the USB from the printer to the laptop.

If I deviate from this it causes problems.

 

[Joyous]

When you say you are 'connecting' the Dell printer to your new laptop, how are you connecting it? Is it via USB or WiFi or is the printer hard-wired into your network?

Thank you for responding.

The printer is connected via USB and so printing out of port USB001. My set up on my old Dell laptop was a USB hub into which 4 separate devices could be plugged. The two printers were plugged into it so I could just pick a printer at will. With the new laptop up I'm plugging the printer directly into the laptop - although the Brother printer does print from the hub with no problem.

What version of Windows did you have on your old laptop?

What is the model number of the Dell printer?

Could you share the Dell Printer service tag here at all?

The old Dell laptop was running Windows 10 Home. The new HP laprop is running Windows 11 Home.
The model number of the printer is Dell 1250c. It's a colour laser printer.
The service tag is: H8DKGM1. I can't imagine what mischief a person can get up to with that.

Thanks

Joy

 

[Joyous]

I wouldn't call myself a tech expert, but for what it's worth I have a similar problem with my printer.

The solution for me is to turn on the printer first and let it run it's warm up cycle, but NOT connect it to the laptop. Then press the print 'button' on the laptop to send the document. Then finally connect the USB from the printer to the laptop.

If I deviate from this it causes problems.

Thank you for your suggestion. I tried it but sadly, it didn't work.

 

[Alcom IT]

Hi Joy,

Thank you for sharing that information which was really useful.

I can see the printer is about 8 or 9 years old and the drivers you downloaded say they support Windows Vista up to Windows 10.

That leads me to think the most likely issue here is that those drivers are not fully compatible with the changes Microsoft made to the Windows 11 printing system. Those changes are...

1. Driver Compatibility
Windows 11 introduced stricter driver signing and compatibility requirements. Some older printers may not have updated drivers that are fully compatible with Windows 11, especially if the manufacturer has discontinued support for that model printer.

2. Changes in Print Architecture
Microsoft has been moving towards a more modern print architecture, including the Universal Print system and Class Driver model. This can sometimes cause issues with legacy printers that rely on vendor-specific drivers.

3. Security Enhancements
Windows 11 includes enhanced security features that can block unsigned or outdated drivers. This can prevent older printers from installing or functioning correctly.

All this may explain why the technician you spoke to yesterday referred you back to Dell. Ultimately, they may have discovered the same thing as above, and so the only solution is for Dell to write updated drivers for this old printer.

However, it's highly unlikely Dell will do that as it's probably not financially viable for them to do it.

Manufacturers like HP and Canon get around this by switching to the Universal Print system, though that still isn't 100% reliable.

Without digging much deeper to confirm the above is correct, which of course is likely to cost quite a bit in labour costs and disruption for your business, it might be that a replacement printer is the cheaper course of action for you.

Sorry for the bad news, but I hope this helps clear up why the printer isn't working with Windows 11 when it did with Windows 10.

 

[John Martin]

I think Alcom IT is probably correct about it being a windows 10/11 issue, but just a thought. Have you tried plugging it into a different USB port, assuming you have more than one on your laptop? Sometimes, it can just be USB port that's a bit funny.

 

[Joyous]

Hi Joy,

Thank you for sharing that information which was really useful.

I can see the printer is about 8 or 9 years old and the drivers you downloaded say they support Windows Vista up to Windows 10.

That leads me to think the most likely issue here is that those drivers are not fully compatible with the changes Microsoft made to the Windows 11 printing system. Those changes are...

1. Driver Compatibility
Windows 11 introduced stricter driver signing and compatibility requirements. Some older printers may not have updated drivers that are fully compatible with Windows 11, especially if the manufacturer has discontinued support for that model printer.

2. Changes in Print Architecture
Microsoft has been moving towards a more modern print architecture, including the Universal Print system and Class Driver model. This can sometimes cause issues with legacy printers that rely on vendor-specific drivers.

3. Security Enhancements
Windows 11 includes enhanced security features that can block unsigned or outdated drivers. This can prevent older printers from installing or functioning correctly.

All this may explain why the technician you spoke to yesterday referred you back to Dell. Ultimately, they may have discovered the same thing as above, and so the only solution is for Dell to write updated drivers for this old printer.

However, it's highly unlikely Dell will do that as it's probably not financially viable for them to do it.

Manufacturers like HP and Canon get around this by switching to the Universal Print system, though that still isn't 100% reliable.

Without digging much deeper to confirm the above is correct, which of course is likely to cost quite a bit in labour costs and disruption for your business, it might be that a replacement printer is the cheaper course of action for you.

Sorry for the bad news, but I hope this helps clear up why the printer isn't working with Windows 11 when it did with Windows 10.

Thanks for this

Looks like my only option is to email documents to my old machine if I want to print fron the Dell. I'm certainly not going to throw away a printer that's in perfect working condition because Dell can't be bothered to update their drivers.

Can I ask you what you make of this web page from Dell's website in which they state that the drivers are included in the WIndows 11 update? Might it be worth doing an update as a last ditch effort to resolve the problem?

Sorry if I sound like I'm flogging a dead horse but sending a perfectly good printer to landfill just doesn't sit well with me.

 

[Alcom IT]

Hi Joy,

It looks like even Dell aren't sure about this because the page has this message in yellow at the top...

'This article does not apply to Dell 1250c Color Laser Printer'

However, further down the page, it does have the 1250c listed. Very much a mixed message there.

That page is saying that Dell haven't written a driver for Windows 11. However, they say that Windows 11 has a built-in driver. I suspect they are referring to the new Universal Printing System.

The problem is that relies on Microsoft to write a Universal Driver that works with the 9-year-old 1250C and it relies on Dell to make sure the printer is compatible with the driver Microsoft created for Windows 11.

It's unlikely that Microsoft would have tested their 'universal printer driver' with every printer model in existence. So if there is an incompatibility, neither company is motivated to fix it.

As I said earlier, we rarely have good results with universal printer drivers which is why we always try to use manufacturers' drivers instead.

If you're happy to send the files to your old laptop and print on the Dell instead then that might be your most cost-effective solution.

 

[Joyous]

I think Alcom IT is probably correct about it being a windows 10/11 issue, but just a thought. Have you tried plugging it into a different USB port, assuming you have more than one on your laptop? Sometimes, it can just be USB port that's a bit funny.

It's one of the first things I tried and it didn't work either.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[Joyous]

It looks like even Dell aren't sure about this because the page has this message in yellow at the top...

'This article does not apply to Dell 1250c Color Laser Printer'

However, further down the page, it does have the 1250c listed. Very much a mixed message there.

Exactly! Inconsistencies like this all over their website and no way to speak to an actual human.

If you're happy to send the files to your old laptop and print on the Dell instead then that might be your most cost-effective solution.

Looks like that's my only option. Thankully I don't have to print in colour often but it's a bummer when you need to and you can't.

 

[Joyous]

UPDATE

Finally got the effing thing to work!
Found some instructions on a Reddit forum
Had to set the printer as the default printer which is not ideal as I print mainly to PDF
But at least the flipping thing now prints from the new laptop.

That page is saying that Dell haven't written a driver for Windows 11. However, they say that Windows 11 has a built-in driver. I suspect they are referring to the new Universal Printing System.

The problem is that relies on Microsoft to write a Universal Driver that works with the 9-year-old 1250C and it relies on Dell to make sure the printer is compatible with the driver Microsoft created for Windows 11.

Thank you @Alcom IT It was this para that got the wheels turning. I didn't realise that it was using Microsoft's universal driver and not the driver that I'd downloaded from Dell. Once I reconfigured it to use the Dell driver I was able to successfully print a test page. Printing actual pages only works if it's the default printer, but that's a battle for another day.

 

[Alcom IT]

That's great news and thank you for the update and kind words.

Printers are such a nightmare sometimes!