Did not give me the installation disk. If he isn’t able to find it, what is my best bet to acquire the installation software? I’ve been to the (Epson) website, and it seems as though they have some downloads. Is that likely to work?
Yep, that should work. I’ve installed plenty of printers this way. If you can’t find the appropriate driver set on your own, post your printer model and operating system and I’ll see if I can find them for you.
Note: If you’re running windows XP, you probably don’t need any drivers at all, at least for basic functionality, as Windows will very likely have them already. You may need your Windows installation CD.
You should be able to find your drivers here
Do be sure to read the instructions. Some printers require you to install the software before connecting the printer.
Tell me about it. This is the case with many USB devices, in fact. When USB was new and shiny, this caused me to have to uninstall many a device and start over the right way. Plug and play, my ass.
Don’t get your hopes up. There may be a really good reason why someone gave you a printer.
Or maybe not. I’ve got four of then laying around here and I can’t give them away. Ink kills.
Anyway, your drivers/software will be on that website, along with the manual for the device. I’ve got an Epson that’s eight years old and the stuff is still available.
There is. Didn’t you say it was an Espon, Earl?
In my experience, Epson printers - especially the cheaper ones - are teh suxxor. All the ones we’ve had either got dry ink like the week after we started using them, or the print heads went all screwy by the time the first cartridges were empty.
HP, on the other hand, makes top-notch equipment. I have an HP 600-series laserjet that I purchased at a garage sale for $5.00, and as far as I can tell, it works as well as it did the day it was built.
As to the expense of ink cartridges, there are always ways around that. Barring the ridiculous situation with Lexmark printers, you can usually find a deal on line or even refill them yourself for half of retail or less. We got into Fry’s Electronics the day after Thanksgiving and managed to pick up a pair of HP Deskjet 3847’s for $20.00 apiece. It might be worth it just to sell the hardware for $5.00 each at our next garage sale and keep the ink cartridges to reload the 3845 we already have (they’re compatible).