This publication shows students and new users the steps to remove or remove a printer driver in Windows 11. When you remove a printer in Windows, the removal process does not remove the printer drivers. The drivers will remain installed on the computer so that they can be reused if necessary in the future.
When you get a similar one, just plug it into Windows and it should start working with the same drivers that were installed earlier. In fact, Windows comes with some pre-installed printer drivers for the most popular printers. This is why some popular printers work automatically when connected to Windows 11.
Although it is a good method to install a printer, the currently installed printer drivers, some drivers may not work as well as others, and if there is a problem, the current printer drivers have problems or are damaged, it is better to just remove them and install new drivers that work with a printer.
If you don’t need a printer driver either, why keep it installed on your computer? Why waste space or have drivers that you won’t use again?
Here’s how to remove a Windows 11 printer driver.
How to remove a printer from Windows 11
As mentioned above, one can remove a Windows printer driver with ease. If a printer driver will not be used again, you can simply remove it from your computer and the steps below will show you how.
First, you will have to remove the printer that you will no longer remove. Here’s how to remove a printer from Windows 11.
Windows 11 has a centralized location for most of its settings. From system settings to creating new users and updating Windows, everything can be done from your System settings crystal.
To access the System Settings, you can use the Windows key + i shortcut or click Start ==> Settings as shown in the following picture:
Alternatively, you can use the search box on the taskbar and find Settings. Then select to open it.
The Windows settings panel should look similar to the image below. In Windows settings, click Bluetooth and devices, then select Printers and scanners on the right panel of the screen shown in the image below.
Then click the tile for the printer you want to share. If you have multiple printers installed on your PC, they should all appear in this panel.
Once the printer details panel opens, select Printer properties mosaic as highlighted below. In the printer settings window, click the Remove to remove the printer from Windows.
How to delete a printer driver in Windows 11
Now that the printer has been removed, you can remove the drivers associated with the printer.
To remove a driver, open the Control Panel in Windows 11
Then go to Security system category.
Click Windows tools.
On the Windows tools page, click and open, Print management.
Expand the Custom filters fork and select All drivers from the left navigation panel.
Find your printer driver in the list, right-click and select Remove Driver Package ...
Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.
You should do that!
Conclusion:
In this tutorial we have seen how to remove a Windows 11 printer driver. If you find any errors above or have something to add, use the comment form below.
