After you install updates that impact printers….

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I have several printers at home and several printers at the office.  Some drive me crazy, others are well behaved.  Generally speaking HP drive me cra
[See the full post at: After you install updates that impact printers….]

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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The Surfing Pensioner, WCHS

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You can use a REG file to disable/enable the ‘Let Windows manage my default printer’ by toggling a single registry value.

To DISABLE the default behaviour use this:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Devices - Printers & scanners - Let Windows manage my default printer - Turn OFF

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows]
"LegacyDefaultPrinterMode"=dword:00000001

To ENABLE the default behaviour use this:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Devices - Printers & scanners - Let Windows manage my default printer - Turn ON (default)

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\
 CurrentVersion\Windows]
"LegacyDefaultPrinterMode"=dword:00000000

(Note that REG files should have a blank line at the bottom of the file. See this Microsoft support document for more info.)

I’ve included the 2 REG files in the attached ZIP file: default_printer_behaviour

Hope this helps…

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Rick Corbett wrote:

You can use a REG file to disable/enable the ‘Let Windows manage my default printer’ by toggling a single registry value.

But why would you when the on/off switch is very easy to find in Settings?

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1483 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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Do you trust Microsoft not to change the setting back to “Let Windows manage” in the next Windows Update?

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I have not seen Microsoft change this value after the monthly updates.  While doing it via registry key is good as well, I have had that button for years and it hasn’t been changed by Microsoft and it’s updating process.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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Nor has mine, in all the time I’ve been using W10

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F A Kramer wrote:

Do you trust Microsoft not to change the setting back to “Let Windows manage” in the next Windows Update?

There’s no reason the registry edit could be any longer lasting, since that’s exactly where Windows stores the on/off switch setting made the easy way.

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1483 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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(Note that REG files should have a blank line at the bottom of the file. See this Microsoft support document for more info.)

I read the document which clearly states:

Note the registry file should contain a blank line at the bottom of the file.

I believe that applies only to REG_SZ data types. I have numerous registry patches that do not have a blank line at the bottom of the file and they work perfectly, not to mention the numerous others users that have used those patches. I did note that none of the patches are of the REG_SZ data type.

Glad to know in case I need to make a REG_SZ registry patch.

Dana:))

HTH, Dana:))

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Fixed the missing “\”s (again). 🙂  🙂

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Rick Corbett

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Fixed the missing “\”s (again).

I’m sorry, but exactly what am I failing to do so I won’t do it again, which appears I have done so.

Dana:))

HTH, Dana:))

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The Reply was to @Rick-Corbett.  The site doesn’t record the “\” in the path until you submit, then go back and add them by editing. You have to publish first, then edit the Reply to get them to stick.

Rick often uses paths in his posts. This has been an ongoing thing. 🙂

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Rick Corbett

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Thank You! I understand now that copied links need to be modified after posting.
Sorry for the trouble, but the posting editor on this site is different than any I have used before; so learning curve.
I would like to suggest that the Edit function stay active longer, but maybe I don’t understand the need to limit the Edit function as other sites don’t limit the Edit function.

Dana:))

[Moderator edit] fixed your anonymous reply.

HTH, Dana:))

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Edit time is now 1.5 hours starting from first entry.

Carpe Diem {with backup and coffee}
offline▸ Win10Pro 2004.19041.572 x64 i3-3220 RAM8GB HDD Firefox83.0b3 WindowsDefender
offline▸ Acer TravelMate P215-52 RAM8GB Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1265 x64 i5-10210U SSD Firefox106.0 MicrosoftDefender
online▸ Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1413 x64 i5-9400 RAM16GB HDD Firefox112.0b3 MicrosoftDefender

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Bob99

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Thanks for the info!

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A bit OT. No Barbie doll but I do have an internet angel sitting on the bookshelf in my computer room with a prayer attached.

Help me to log on without fretting.
Guide me as I’m internetting.
Bless my downloading and uploading.
Keep my browser from exploding.
May my website be protected.
Let not my password be rejected.
Keep my line connection clear…
And tech support always near.

 

Got coffee?

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wavy

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Is this for enterprise use or for Windows 10 Home?

Any issues with Windows 10 Home 21H2?

Win 10 Home 21H2 (HP ENVY i7)
Win 7 Home Premium x 64 SP1 (DELL INSPIRION i5) Deceased and had a great ride!

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I do this setting on all printers. I don’t let Microsoft change my printer.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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I recently had to re-install the printer on my Ubuntu system after it crashed.

Ubuntu will attempt to install a CUPS printer automatically but it either doesn’t work very well or not at all.  Years ago, it didn’t do this so you had to try and pick out a CUPS printer from a list that worked.  Good luck, especially if you had a newer printer.

I decided to install the Brother driver from their web site which works reasonably well.

It is not simple as first it needs to be unpacked, then installed through the terminal using Bash with root privileges.  The exact printer name must be entered, and you can enter the printer URI.  It took me some time to realize that the URI is the printer address.  However, one doesn’t have to do this if one chooses the automatic option.

They don’t tell you this at first.  Installation was successful, and the printer works properly, but doesn’t have as many options as the Windows driver.

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@Mark, personally I think this should have been a new topic in the Linux for the Home user » Linux – all distros forum.

I doubt any Ubuntu user is going to think to look in a Windows forum for an answer to a Ubuntu issue.

Hope this helps…

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I doubt any Ubuntu user is going to think to look in a Windows forum for an answer to a Ubuntu issue.

Quite right!

But, this is the “Newsletter and Homepage topics” forum, so I believe that this forum is open to those with any OS. At the moment, the bulk of the posts just happen to be from Windows users, probably due to the examples Susan used in her OP.

Although duplicate posting is strongly discouraged, I wonder if Mark’s post might just be the very rare exception, as having it in the Linux forum would be a benefit to those running Linux and who might be experiencing printer problems after an upgrade. Perhaps Mark could create a post in the Linux forum that contains a link to his post above, thereby avoiding a completely duplicated post?

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geekdom wrote:

Edit time is now 1.5 hours starting from first entry.

… which is a godsend for people with mild dyslexia who don’t pick up typos immediately after posting (like I didn’t pick up the missing backslashes, even though I should have known… thanks, @PKCano).

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PKCano

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Impact printers. Now that really brings back memories of my mainframe computing days! 🙂

But back on topic, the latest round of July updates had no adverse “impact” on my HP LaserJet MFP130fw wireless LAN printer. Using the latest HP Smart app from the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 Pro 21H2.

Note: I leave “Let Windows manage my default printer” unchecked.

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I was thinking the same. I agree that this is an item that is unlikely to experience change on updating unless a bug in the update code elsewhere just happens to affect this one.

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Susan’s tutorial is great – hats off again.

Here’s a related tip that might help maybe 1½ people.

If one does what Susan suggests – connect to your desired printer(s) via their TCP/IP numbers (and not by WSD) and designate manually which one is Default – then there is something else you can do.

Our old HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 (A909g) printer had great apps/drivers that let us create printing preference presets with Draft mode (uses less ink) and most importantly with “Print Preview”. which always always first showed us what was going to print and then we hit Print or Cancel, so we knew in advance we were not printing 500 pages by mistake when we wanted one.

HP deliberately got rid of these excellent features in the apps/drivers for its following OJP 8600 model and all following models (including the OJP 9015 I bought three years ago to replace our worn-out 8500).  So we could no longer save on ink by defaulting our Printing Preference (or otherwise going) to Draft and Print Preview easily.  There is no longer any Print Preview at all !!!

However, by setting our computers to use the 192.168.1.xx TCP/IP port to connect to our OJP 8600 or 9015 (instead of using WSD), I was also able to import the apps drivers for the old OJP 8500.  So now, for the OJP 8600 and 9015, I again have my good printing preference default presets for Draft with Print Preview.  They work flawlessly on the 8600 and sometimes make the 9015 slow down a bit, but I continue to catch myself when I make a mistake about which pages are printing.

If you are using HP and your model is an All-in-One like the OJP 8600 or the newer OJP 9010 or 9015, go to HP’s website for printer drivers, look for the “Basic” driver package for the OfficeJet Pro 8500 for Win 7 64-bit, download that .exe file but do NOT install it, use 7-zip to “Expand” it to a folder.  Then when you create Susan’s 192.168.1.xx TCP/IP link to your actual HP printer, there will be an opportunity to select the drivers, and you look for the 8500 model in the list and use “Have Disk” to point to your new folder.  It has worked for me on four PCs now.  Susan’s method connects your PC to actual printer’s TCP/IP number, and what I suggest connects that to the better apps/drivers for the OJP 8500.

Good luck.

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wavy

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Our old HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 (A909g) printer had great apps/drivers that let us create printing preference presets with Draft mode (uses less ink)

Another way to save ink is ink saving print software (such as the one at the link below). This software lets you adjust the amount of ink to use on a print job. 70% of the ink (saving 30%) often looks just as good as 100% unless you are printing photos. The the yearly cost of the software is less than a single ink cartridge, so if you do a lot of printing it pays for itself. I used this software for a long time and it saved a lot of $, but I rarely print any more making the software not cost effective. If you still print a lot then you should consider it.

Note: It was used in a home office situation and not sure it works in a business environment.

PretonSaver

HTH, Dana:))

HTH, Dana:))

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See this post #2440973 , and some of my comments after it.
Don’t use the “Smart App” – it’s NOT.

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glnz, geekdom

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PKCano wrote:

See this post #2440973 , and some of my comments after it.
Don’t use the “Smart App” – it’s NOT.

Sorry to hear about your (and others) troubles with HP.

My experience differs somewhat, but maybe some computer setups don’t like HP?

The HP Smart app is working flawlessly with Windows 10 and my wireless LaserJet MFP here. It gets a DHCP assigned IP address from my router and all is good. I had to enter my Wi-Fi password into the HP front panel setup screen to connect to my wireless LAN.

It’s been about 5 years since I installed it, so don’t recall all of the setup details, but it worked out of the box following the setup guide.

The only problem I’ve had with that printer is back a couple of years ago I was apparently experiencing spooler issues, where the printer would go offline, and I would have to restart the service to reconnect the printer. But that’s not an issue for me these days.

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PKCano wrote:

See this post #2440973 , and some of my comments after it.
Don’t use the “Smart App” – it’s NOT.

PKCano – Agree 100%  I have avoided using that Smart App from HP – it should be avoided 100% if possible.

And I notice, on the thread to which you link, that another person also had to download the not-current version of an HP driver-app to get his printer to work – in his case the Windows 8.1 version and not Windows 10.

I am realizing that our next printer should not be an HP.  We will try to find a brand that easily offers “Draft” (lower ink usage) and Print Preview without having to drill down ten layers or import an older printer’s set of apps / drivers.

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geekdom

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I’ve had good luck with Brother printers.

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Do your Brothers have easily-reached Draft and Print Preview?

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glnz wrote:

Do your Brothers have easily-reached Draft and Print Preview?

 

So have I, on Windows 8.1.  The purpose of my previous post was to illustrate the differences between Windows and Linux in printer installation.  Good thing we have PnP for Windows.

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Talking of printer/ patch woes, Epson joins in with a not-so-smart tactic, controlled obsolecense via firmware…/sigh
https://borncity.com/win/2022/08/08/epson-deaktiviert-drucker-wegen-veralteter-tintenschwmme/#more-26110

Keep IT Lean, Clean and Mean!

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geekdom

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Microfix – our old 8500 died (after 11 years) when it started leaking ink from the small tub that took the expelled ink from printhead cleaning – there was nothing we could do.  By then, there was also deposited gunk on the inside of the scan glass that we could not reach.  So good bye.  Although I kept it in the basement for awhile so I could plug it in and get copies of its apps / drivers until I found the Win 7 version of its Basic drivers on HP.

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Perhaps steer clear of Epson printers if you’re a high-volume user:

Some Epson Printers Are Programmed to Stop Working After a Certain Amount of Use

Hope this helps…

EDIT: Oops… I just noticed that @Microfix covered this two posts ago.

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My house Epson ET-2720 came with 2 years ink (print up to 4,500 pages..).

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oldfry

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