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I'm looking for a way to extract the necessary drivers from bloated manufacturer installs, specifically printer installers.

I tried Universal Extractor to no avail on some of these.

I don't need a 300 MB installer to set up 4 different programs that tell me to buy things to run a printer. Most essential print drivers collectively take up a couple megabytes at the most.

Is it possible to install this software and get a printer working on a test computer and extract the essential drivers in a manner that can be reused on another similar machine (Windows 7 64-bit)?

Hennes
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Bryan
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3 Answers3

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Since you tagged it as "HP", perhaps try the HP Universal Print Driver instead.

HP UPD simplifies driver deployment and management.

You can download it from HP here.

(Some) other printer manufacturers offer similar.

Another idea is to just try/use one of Windows' supplied printer drivers for a similar printer -- perhaps the "HP LaserJet 2200" or alike.

Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
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you could use double driver its my first step before a reinstall. info: http://lifehacker.com/399097/double-driver-backs-up-your-systems-drivers more info and link to website: http://portableapps.com/node/22857 Descrption: Double Driver is a very simple and useful tool which not only allows you to view all the drivers installed on your system but also allows you to backup, restore, save and print all chosen drivers simply and reliably.

Double Driver analyzes your system and lists the most important driver details such as version, date, provider, etc and offers you the chance to update to the latest version. All drivers that are found can easily be backed up the application and easily restored at a later point in one go.

rocky
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One great option is to install the printer over a network (wifi or Ethernet). You get just the basic driver. Then plug the printer in via USB.

The HP printer support form has an direct answer: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-All-in-One-Install-Setup/Since-when-does-a-printer-driver-need-to-be-200-MB/td-p/98856 Which involves cancelling the automatic install process twice, which leaves just the basic driver installed.

Bryce
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