Are you facing endless frustration trying to get your trusty HP LaserJet 1320 printer to work correctly on Windows 10? You’re not alone. Many users have encountered issues with the officially provided drivers, leading to countless hours of troubleshooting and disappointment. If you’ve uninstalled and reinstalled drivers multiple times, and still find yourself stuck, there’s a surprisingly effective solution that might just save the day: using Windows XP drivers.
It might sound counterintuitive to use such old drivers on a modern operating system, but in this case, it’s a workaround that has proven successful for many. This guide will walk you through the process of installing Windows XP drivers for your HP LaserJet 1320 on Windows 10, ensuring your printer is finally recognized and functioning as expected.
Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Windows XP Drivers
Before we begin, make sure you have completely uninstalled any existing HP LaserJet 1320 drivers from your system. This clean slate approach is crucial for the XP drivers to install correctly.
1. Download the Windows XP Drivers
Head over to the HP support website and search for drivers for the HP LaserJet 1320 specifically for Windows XP. Download the driver package. It will likely be a compressed file (ZIP). Once downloaded, extract the contents to a location you can easily access, like your Desktop or Downloads folder.
2. Add Printer Manually
Now, we’ll manually add the printer using the Control Panel:
- Open Control Panel. You can search for it in the Windows search bar.
- Go to Devices and Printers (or Hardware and Sound then Devices and Printers depending on your Control Panel view).
- Click on Add a printer.
- When prompted about automatic printer detection, select “The printer that I want isn’t listed”. This is important as we’ll be using a manual setup.
- Choose “Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings” and click Next.
- For the port selection, choose “Use an existing port:” and select a USB port from the dropdown list. If you don’t see any USB ports listed, don’t worry, proceed with the installation, and this might be resolved in the driver update step later. Click Next.
- In the “Install the printer driver” window, click on “Have Disk…”.
- Click “Browse…” and navigate to the folder where you extracted the Windows XP drivers.
- Locate and select the .inf file. In the HP LaserJet 1320 XP driver package, this file is typically named hpc1320t.inf. Select this file and click “Open”.
- Click “OK” in the “Install From Disk” window.
- You might be presented with a list of drivers. Choose the HP LaserJet 1320 driver (it might list both PCL5 and PCL6 versions; you can try either initially, or start with PCL5). Click “Next”.
- Follow the remaining on-screen prompts to complete the installation process. Windows might warn about driver compatibility; proceed with the installation anyway.
Alt Text: The “Have Disk” window in Windows “Add Printer” wizard, prompting the user to browse for the driver .inf file.
3. Update the Driver in Device Manager
After the initial installation using the XP driver, we need to update it through Device Manager to potentially improve compatibility and functionality with Windows 10:
- Open Device Manager. Search for it in the Windows search bar.
- Look for “USB Printing Support” or your HP LaserJet 1320 printer likely listed under “Other devices” or “Printers”. It might have a yellow exclamation mark indicating a driver issue.
- Right-click on your HP LaserJet 1320 printer (or the USB Printing Support if the printer isn’t clearly identified) and select “Update driver”.
- Choose “Search automatically for updated driver software”. Windows will attempt to find a more suitable driver online.
Alt Text: Device Manager window showing the “Update Driver” option when right-clicking on a printer device, used to refresh the driver software.
In many cases, Windows will find an updated driver that works better with Windows 10, building upon the foundation of the XP driver installation. After the update, your printer should ideally be working.
What if It’s Still Not Printing?
If you see the printer listed but it’s still not printing after following these steps, here are a few things to check:
- Restart your computer and printer: A simple restart can often resolve temporary glitches.
- Check printer connections: Ensure the USB cable is securely connected to both your computer and the printer. Try a different USB port if possible.
- Reinstall the driver: If problems persist, you might need to repeat the entire process, ensuring you’ve completely uninstalled previous drivers before starting again.
- Try the other driver (PCL6 or PCL5): If you initially installed the PCL5 driver, try the PCL6 version, or vice versa, during the “Have Disk” installation process.
Conclusion
While it’s not ideal to rely on outdated drivers, using Windows XP drivers for the HP LaserJet 1320 on Windows 10 has proven to be a surprisingly effective fix for many users. By following these steps, you can often bypass the compatibility issues with the newer drivers and get your printer back in action. It’s a testament to the robustness of the older drivers and a helpful trick when official support falls short. Give this method a try – it might just be the solution you’ve been searching for!
