Wrong Printer Driver Fix Remove Old Driver and Install the Correct One
Pages come out garbled, printing is painfully slow, features like duplex have vanished, or Windows says the driver is unavailable. That is a wrong-driver problem, and this is the clean fix.
✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 20 minute fix
🎥 The full printer training video — driver cleanup and correct installation shown live
Windows loves to "help" by installing a generic driver the moment a printer is plugged in. The printer appears, everyone relaxes — and then the trouble starts: strange characters instead of text, missing duplex and tray options, colours completely wrong, or jobs that vanish. A generic or wrong-model driver explains all of it. Simply installing the right driver on top rarely works, because Windows keeps using the old one. The engineer way is: remove the wrong driver completely, then install the correct one clean.
Print Server Properties — A Messy Driver List
HP Universal Printing PCL 6Generic — wrong for this model
Canon G3010 series (Copy 1)Duplicate queue
Microsoft IPP Class DriverDriverless — limited features
Epson L3210Driver is unavailable
If your exact model name with its proper driver is missing from this list, Windows is improvising — and improvisation is what prints garbage.
1
Identify What Driver the Printer Is Really Using
Open Control Panel → Devices and Printers, right-click the printer → Printer properties
Open the Advanced tab — the Driver field shows the driver actually in use
If it says Universal, Generic, IPP Class Driver or a different model name, you have found your problem
Note your printer's exact model from the label on the machine (L3210 and L3211 are different printers to a driver)
2
Remove the Printer and Its Driver Package Fully
Removing only the printer icon leaves the bad driver behind, ready to be reused. Remove both.
Press Windows + R, run printui /s /t2 to open Print Server Properties → Drivers tab
Select the old driver and click Remove → choose Remove driver and driver package
If Windows says the driver is in use, restart the Print Spooler (net stop spooler / net start spooler in admin Command Prompt) and remove it immediately after, before opening any print dialog
Restart the PC once for a truly clean state
3
Install the Correct Driver From the Manufacturer
Go to the manufacturer's official support site — HP, Canon, Epson, Brother — and search your exact model
Download the full driver and software package for your Windows version (10 or 11, 64-bit for almost all modern PCs), not just the basic driver
Run the installer and connect the USB cable or join the network only when the installer asks
Never download drivers from "driver updater" or ad-heavy download sites — wrong and bundled drivers are how this problem starts
4
Check Windows Protected Print Mode on Newer Windows 11
Recent Windows 11 builds include a Windows protected print mode. While it is switched on, printers that need a manufacturer's third-party driver are blocked and can even be removed — only driverless printing is allowed. If your full-featured driver keeps disappearing after install, check this setting.
Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners
Look under Printer preferences for Windows protected print mode
If it is on and your printer needs the vendor driver for duplex, trays or its scanner software, turn protected print mode off, then reinstall the manufacturer driver
Understand the trade-off honestly: protected print mode exists to improve security. Turning it off to restore a needed driver is a normal, supported choice — just take drivers only from the manufacturer's site
5
Verify With a Real Print, Not Just a Test Page ⭐
Print the Windows test page first — it confirms the basics
Then print the exact thing that used to fail: the multi-page document, the duplex job, the photo
Check Printer properties → Advanced again — the driver field should now show your model's proper driver
If garbled output continues with the correct driver, try a different cable or port and test the printer on another PC. Garbling on two PCs with the correct driver points at the printer's formatter board — that is hardware, and no driver will cure it
🎥 Complete Knowledge and Installation in the Video
The full training shows driver identification, complete removal and clean installation live, along with spooler, ports and network checks.
Why does Windows keep reinstalling the generic driver?
Because the generic driver was never fully removed. If only the printer icon is deleted, its driver package stays in the driver store and Windows happily reuses it. Remove the driver and driver package from Print Server Properties (printui /s /t2), restart, then install the manufacturer's package.
What is the difference between the IPP Class Driver and the manufacturer driver?
The IPP Class Driver is Microsoft's built-in driverless driver — fine for basic printing, but it only offers the features the printer advertises, so duplex, extra trays and vendor scan tools often go missing. The manufacturer's full package unlocks everything the machine can do.
Can a wrong driver damage my printer?
No — a wrong driver cannot physically harm the printer. It produces garbled, slow or feature-poor output and can crash the print spooler, but the machine itself is untouched. Remove the driver properly and the printer is back to normal.
This guide is based on the printer training video by Technical Anshu • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — you will get an answer there 🙏