HP All-in-one printers disappearing when there are changes in the network status

I am facing some issue with HP printer on my network. I had never face this issue before. But somehow it looks the printer fails to work on the network. The printer model is Photosmart C6180. It is connected on the network. There are 4 workstations on the network among which one is on Windows XP and other 3 are on 64bit version of Windows Vista. the XP system does not has any problem with the printer while in Vista the printer sometime appear and sometime it does not. It is very annoying. I have to enable and disable the network adapter and then after a few time it is visible.

It is a driver bug. You are trying to use the same printer on two different platforms. You have to manually download the driver or install the pinter and then only it is going to work. I had also faced the issue I changed the cable and updated the printer drivers. Later on it started working. But the only difference is that I was doing that on Windows XP. And it was automatically resolved. There is a manual way of installing the drivers through different modes.

Check that the printer service is working when your computer is started. There chances that the service fails to start due to which you are getting error. You can go in services and keep the service on start or automatic. Depending on the same you must ensure that there is appropriate drivers also. You can also verify that printer spooler is configured on the startup.

For testing purpose disable your security settings. I think because of that you are facing the problem. This issue is commonly caused by UAC. If it is enabled it does not allow to access content in the system. You need appropriate drivers for the same. Photosmart drivers can be downloaded from the official website. Upgrading drivers and fixing the outdated software is one of the best way to deal with the issue. You can visit the official website to find proper drivers for the same.

I think it is simply a waste of time to struggle on Windows Vista. Sometime the drivers fails and sometime the problem lies with Vista interface. While the same on Windows XP work like charm. There is no problem at all. The issue lies with TCP/IP stack bug in Vista due to which your printer keeps on disappearing. So in short it is a OS bug. You can try to update the system files and run windows update. I hope Microsoft is having some kind of hotfix available for the same that can provide support to deal with the issue.

I am facing exactly the same with a HP scanner. The scanner is connected to my single computer. The scanner works fine but sometime it is not available. I have to add it manually a number of time. It looks Windows Vista is not capable of remembering the settings due to which this kind of problem appears. I had downloaded the Vista version of hardware from hp site and the problem is still the same. I am sure there will be some way to fix the problem. Any updates on it is much helpful.

My network is too facing a disappearing problem. This started appearing after when I updated additional drivers from HP website. Before that I had manually installed the printer step by step. Through Windows Update and the driver which was found was quiet appropriate. I had connected the printer though usb cable and it looks to be working well. On each launch the printer just disappears. I had even kept the shortcut on the desktop. But still it does not manages to work well. I hope there should be some way through which it must be installed on its own.

This is the bug with dll files in windows vista due to which you are getting the problem. Also it is necessary that you research on the dll file and find a valid version that really works. I had worked with HP Photosmart printer on Vista. I had performed a number of updates but some the updates failed. There are some critical failure listed in event log. UAC is disabled int my system and somehow I trust on HP drivers. They offers a good quality product. I had also turned off the antivirus in the system and still it does not looks to be working well.

If there is any update available then it is recommended that you must run that. You can find that on HP website also. Vista is really buggy with hardware. So there are chances that with appropriate update you will be able to get this thing fixed. My printer is 7410 AIO. At start it was fine, but sometime it disappear. I found some updates which failed to work through Automatic Update. I downloaded it manually and installed. It started working. There is no issue with the same rightnow.

I am struggling to get a proper fix for the same. And the problem is only Vista. I am having a Hp laptop also that come with Windows XP. On the laptop the printer works well while on Windows Vista it fails to install. But somehow it found a appropriate update on the driver and it worked. The printer is not found is common issue in my system. It looks some internal dll file that controls the printer driver or service fails to launch or work properly on every boot. Because once the printer service is started there is no issue at all.

I have had the same problem with A Dell Latitude E6500 running Vista and an HP 6310 All in one, having to re-install the printer software again and again. I've tried all the solutions suggested here and nothing keeps the printer from disappearing. Nothing works, of course-neither HPs' nor Microsofts' fault...I'm basically screwed until I can afford a new printer, and it sure as hell won't be an HP.