On pcactive.nl, John Vanderaart answers a question every day. This time the question is about what the prospects are if you want to switch to Windows 11 with an old laser printer. Jon explains how you can install your printer under Windows 11.
By John Vanderaart
I have been enjoying a somewhat older laser printer for years that I had bought second-hand at the time. At the time I had quite a few problems getting this printer to work with Windows 10. I finally succeeded. But what are the prospects if I switch to Windows 11?
Barry van der Mh
For starters, Windows 11 is an upgrade from Windows 10, so there’s a good chance that older laser printer will survive the switch to Windows 11 without any problems. That success is of course not guaranteed, but you only really know after Windows 11 is actually installed. Doesn’t it work? Then to Settings, via the three lines (the hamburger menu) at the top of the window to Bluetooth and devices (see image 1) and then to Printers and scanners.
Figure 1. The Windows 11 Settings work a little differently than the Windows 10 Settings. Note the three lines!
Press the button Add device to see how smart Windows 11 has become (Figure 2).
Image 2. You’ve probably done this before: adding a printer to the operating system. Just do it again.
Two possibilities: (1) the printer is found or (2) the printer is not found. In the first case you can select the found printer and continue through the wizard. In the second case you will have to use the option Add manually; after all, it doesn’t happen automatically (image 3):
Image 3. Don’t get too worked up about this. If a printer has to be installed manually, so be it…
And then you just have to wait and see what happens. With a bit of luck, your printer will already be in the list of standard Windows 11 supported printers. If not, then you have to go to the website of the manufacturer of your brand and type of printer. There you choose the driver for the most recent version of Windows. Windows 11 would be nice, but Windows 10 is good too. And make sure you download and install the correct bit version of that printer driver: “32-bit or 64-bit!”