To prepare for removing driver files, double-check your installed software in Programs and Features and uninstall any program that correlates to the printer driver you wish to remove. After this, open Devices and Printers and if still present, remove the printer driver by right-clicking it and choosing “Remove device.” Not doing this before attempting to remove the driver files may result in an “access denied” or “printer in use” error.
To completely remove printer driver files from your system:
- Open the Print Server Properties dialog window by doing one of the following:
- Click the Start menu and in the search field type ‘printui /s /t2‘ (without the quotes), and then press Enter or click it in the search list.
- Press WINDOWS-R on the keyboard to bring up the Run window, type in ‘printui /s /t2‘ (without the quotes), and then press Enter or click OK.
- Press the WINDOWS key on the keyboard to display the Start screen, type in ‘printui /s /t2‘ (without the quotes), and then click it in the search list.
- From the Start menu or the Start screen:
- Open Devices and Printers.
- Select any printer and then click “Print server properties” at the top of the window.
- Click on the Drivers tab.
- For Windows XP systems:
- Click Start > Control Panel > Printers and Faxes.
- Click the File menu and choose “Server Properties.”
- Click on the Drivers tab.
- Select the printer driver you wish to uninstall.
- Click the Remove button.
- Select “Remove driver and driver package” and click OK.
Note: Removing the driver package will clear all driver installation files for that device, leaving no reference to the printer that Windows could possibly use to auto-reinstall again. Windows XP does not have this extra choice.