Another printer request from a third party website where I earn supplemental income answering computer and technology related questions. This time an individual could NOT print because their OfficeJet Pro 8720 driver was missing. This individual was using a computer with Microsoft Windows 10 operating system.
I have noticed this is another problem with Microsoft Windows 10 operating system. Even my HP OfficeJet 7410 all in one keeps losing the driver after Microsoft Windows 10 updates. Anyways, here is the initial request:
“Hello, I am having trouble printing. Hewlett Packard OfficeJet pro 8720 all in one printer.”
Here is my initial response:
Are you receiving any printer errors on the printer itself or is this a problem with your computer operating system? This individual reported this problem with this printer. The driver is unavailable and defaults to a .PDF file when printing and there is something stuck in the printer que.
This individual wanted me to remotely connect and fix this HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 problem. You can download this OfficeJet Pro 8720 driver. That previous download link should automatically detect your computer operating system.
If it does NOT correctly detect your computer operating system, then click on the “Change” link. Choose your operating system and version from those drop down lists. Now click on “Change” again to make this permanent.
Click on the “Download” button and save this file to your computer. Browse on the hard drive where you saved this OJ8720_Full_WebPack_40.12.1161.exe file and double click to begin the installation. Follow the installation prompts and connect your Hewlett Packard OfficeJet Pro 8720 printer when prompted.
This software download is quite large at 166 megabytes. However, this includes HP Solution Center, scanning software, etc. This Windows 10 computer was quite finicky.
I was not able to just install this software on top of itself. I received the following lengthy Hewlett Packard error:
“Installation Error
An error occurred while writing installation information to disk. Check to make sure enough disk space is available, and click Retry, or Cancel to end the install.”
I removed this OfficeJet Pro 8720 driver and software from “Apps and Features”. Next I ran both cleaner and registry scans with my preferred PC optimization tool.
I always use a PC optimization tool after removing software on Microsoft Windows operating systems. You never know when junk files and excess registry entries will cause problems. Then I reinstalled this HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 software.
Here is a tip, you may not want to delete a printer from “Printers and Scanners” in Windows 10 that is already listed. This is just in case you need the settings from the printer. I left the original HP OfficeJet 8720 listed even though you could NOT print to it.
The software installation succeeded. However, it did NOT add in a new printer entry in “Printers and Scanners”. I had to manually add in a new printer.
I was able to successfully submit a printer test page that worked. No more defaulting to Adobe .PDF and no more stuck printer que. Finally, I removed the old HP OfficeJet 8720 printer entry.
This printer was actually configured as wireless on this small office home network. During the OfficeJet Pro 8720 driver installation I supplied the Internet protocol address of this printer. One final problem, which was impossible for me to verify.
This individual claimed that they could not receive faxes with this all in one printer device. I made certain during the installation of the HP OfficeJet 8720 software that I had the individual fill out all the information pertinent to their fax configuration. I could NOT send this client a test fax, since I do NOT have a land line phone.
These instructions were written for a computer with Microsoft Windows 10 operating system. You could certainly use these instructions as a basis point for other Microsoft operating systems and even perhaps other Hewlett Packard printers.
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