T. Hulot

Hello.

I'm having an enormous amount of trouble getting my HP LaserJet 1012
laser printer recognized by Vista Home Premium.

Here's what's going on: This is the second time I've installed Vista
Home Premium. (It's a legit copy, full version, not upgrade.)

The first time, I had some trouble getting the laser printer
recognized, but eventually I got it working.

This time, though, nothing I do works. I unplug it, replug it, use
the Add Printer feature, and there is no listing for the LaserJet
1012. There was the last time I did this.

I tried using the LaserJet 1015 option, which did install the printer,
BUT...Vista began searching for a generic driver, and couldn't find
it. I couldn't get the printer to work.

Here's the most frustrating part: I downloaded all of the updates via
Windows Update. After I did that, and rebooted, I found five more
updates to download.

I downloaded and installed four of the five new updates. Only one
failed to install.

Guess which update that was...the update for the HP LaserJet 1012!

I couldn't believe it. I really need to get this printer up and
running.

Can anyone please brainstorm with me? Why is this one update--the
only one that failed to install--not installing, when it's the one I
need the most?

What is preventing this printer from being installed? I realize it's
not certified Vista-compatible, but it DID work the last time I
installed Vista.

(I had to format and reinstall because Zone Alarm screwed up my system
to the point where starting over was a more practical solution. In
retrospect, that may have been a wrong decision.)

Thank you very much!