Trying to install a new printer on your Windows PC? Did you just encounter the “Printer driver package cannot be installed” error? Well, it is one of the most common printer issues that you can easily troubleshoot by making a few quick changes in your device’s settings.
Installing a printer is not as challenging as you think, right? Dealing with common errors and bugs during the installation process is pretty natural. But yes, not being able to set up a newly bought printer/scanner device can be disheartening.
Before we discuss the solutions to remove this alert, let’s get a basic understanding of what causes this error.
What Causes the “Printer Package cannot be installed” Error?
There may be specific reasons that may trigger this alert on your Windows device. Some of the most common ones are listed below:
- Driver incompatibility.
- Insufficient storage space.
- Interference of a third-party application.
- Misconfigured printer port settings.
So, if Windows fails to install the new printer device to your system, here are a few resolutions that you can try to get past any hindrances during installation.
Also read: FIX: Wireless Printer Not Responding on Windows 11/10
Let’s get started.
How to Fix the “Printer Driver Package Cannot Be Installed” Error?
1. Restart the Printer Spooler Service
The Printer Spooler service on Windows is responsible for all the print-related jobs that are carried between your device and the printer server. A printer Spooler is a software component that temporarily stores print jobs in the system’s memory. The Printer Spooler also allows you to view the current printing jobs, pending jobs, status, time, etc., and other details.
Press the Windows + R key combination to open the Run dialog box. Type “Services.msc” in the textbox and hit Enter.
In the Services window, scroll down and look for the “Printer Spooler” service. Double-tap on it to open Properties.
Tap on the “Stop” button to disable the service. Wait for a few minutes and hit the “Start” button to manually restart the Printer Spooler service on Windows.
After resetting the service, try reinstalling the new printer device to check if you’re still facing any issues.
Also read: How to Fix Printer Spooler Errors in Windows 10
2. Delete the Printer Spooler Files
Once the Printer Spooler service has been reset, the next step is to delete all the existing print jobs and files.
Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool
In the spool folder, select all the files by pressing the Control + A key combination, delete all the files that exist in this folder.
Exit all windows and try setting up your printer again!
Also read: How To Find Your Printer’s IP Address: Step By Step Guide
3. Change the Printer Port Settings
If one or the other USB port is not working properly, you can try switching to a different port to connect your printer. To manually configure the printer port settings, follow these quick steps:
First, disconnect the printer’s USB cable from your device. Head on to Settings> Bluetooth and Devices> Printers and Scanners.
Select your printing device’s name from the list and then tap on the “Printer Properties” option.
In the Printer Properties window, switch to the “Ports” tab.
Now, here you need to take a thorough look at which particular port your device is connected to.
For example, if it’s connected to USB Port 1, then select this option and uncheck it. Hit on the Apply button to save the changes.
Once the current port has been unchecked, connect your printer to your system. Turn it ON to reinstall it to a different port.
Pick a different port this time and check whether it resolved the issue. If a specific port is unresponsive you may encounter the “Printer driver package cannot be installed” error on your device. By switching to an alternative port, you can easily carry out the installation process without any hindrances.
Also read: Unable to Remove Printer Device from Windows 10? Here’s the Fix!
4. Reinstall the Printer Drivers
To manually reinstall the printer drivers on your device, follow these quick steps:
Press the Windows + R key combination to open the Run dialog box. Type “Devmgmt.msc” in the textbox and hit Enter.
In the Device Manager window, locate your device’s name in the “Hardware” section. Right-click on it and select “Update Driver”.
Select “Browse my computer for drivers” and then tap on “Downloaded Driver Folder”.
Follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall the printer drivers.
Download and Install Smart Driver Care on Windows
Manually keeping track of outdated system drivers involves so much hassle. Isn’t it? Well, you can leave all your worries to the Smart Driver Care utility tool. Smart Driver Care is one of the best driver updater tools that automatically scan your device and fetches the latest update of outdated, corrupt, and missing drivers.
In just one click, you can update all the outdated and missing drivers on Windows using this intuitive driver updater tool.
5. Use the Printer Troubleshooter
Open Windows Settings> Update and Security.
Switch to the “Troubleshoot” section from the left menu pane. Tap on the “Additional Troubleshooters” option.
Select “Printer” and then tap on the “Run the Troubleshooter” button placed underneath.
Run the built-in Troubleshooter so that Windows can scan and diagnose the underlying errors and bugs.
Conclusion
Here are a few solutions that you can try to fix the “Printer driver package cannot be installed” error on Windows 11/10. You can use any of the above-mentioned troubleshooting methods to resolve any errors or bugs that you may encounter while setting up your new printer.
Was this post helpful? Which solution worked out the best for you? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
Read Also: Best Driver Updater Software For Windows 10, 11, 8, 7