Microsoft KB Archive/281534

= Error message when you try to add a printer in Windows XP: &quot;Printer driver was not installed Operation could not be completed&quot; =

Article ID: 281534

Article Last Modified on 12/21/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional
 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

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This article was previously published under Q281534





SYMPTOMS
When you click Finish in the Add Printer Wizard in Windows XP, you may receive the following error message:

Printer driver was not installed. Operation could not be completed.



CAUSE
This behavior can occur if you install a Microsoft Windows 95-based, Microsoft Windows 98-based, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition-based printer driver in Windows XP. The Windows 95-based and Windows 98-based printer drivers are incompatible with Windows XP or Windows .NET.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Visit the Windows Update Web site and install the latest printer driver
To detect and install the latest printer driver to use in Windows XP, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Method 2: Contact the printer manufacturer to obtain the latest printer driver
For information about how to contact the printer manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and software vendor contact information, A-K

60781 Hardware and software vendor contact information, L-P

60782 Hardware and software vendor contact information, Q-Z

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

If you are not comfortable with obtaining the latest printer driver, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/



MORE INFORMATION
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

891721 You receive a &quot;Printer Driver was not installed&quot; error message when you try to remotely install the first printer on a Windows Server 2003-based domain controller

Additional query words: KBprint

Keywords: kbresolve kbenv kberrmsg kbprb kbprint KB281534

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