Canon MP190 printer driver won't install?

I have a Canon MP190 printer. I was having issues with weird messages every time I tried to print something. I figured I may need a driver update. So I went to Canon's site and downloaded the latest driver for my printer. I deleted the prior driver per instructions. The current driver just won't install. I followed the directions, but it fails to either find or install the updated driver.

I get a pop-up telling me Windows is searching Windows update for the driver. Problem here is the driver I downloaded from Canon has nothing to do with Windows update. I have Windows update shut off. So it is looking for the driver in the wrong place.

I tried to manually picking the driver out of various places on my computer, but I don't see it?
When I type MP190 in the start search box I find/see the downloaded driver location. If I double-click it-it unzips the WinZip Self-Extractor download. Then I get a welcome to the MP drivers setup program, I disconnect the printer cable from my laptop, and exited all running programs as asked.

Next I choose my place of residence--USA. Click next, accept license agreement, installs drivers. Click complete, confirm printer cable is plugged into computer, turn on printer. I get a pop-up telling me Windows needs to install driver software for your MP190 printer. Then I click "Locate and install driver software (recommended)" It starts to install and the driver icon spins like it is installing, but then fails to install.

Question is how do I get the driver to install?

Any help here appreciated, Thanks, Vista32.

Why do you have Windows Update turned off? It may be that the driver requires updated files to install.

Several reasons: 1. Windows update just randomly kept running at inopportune times as if it was downloading an update, but it actually wasn't. Causing shut downs and restarts and losing whatever open windows I had been working on, not fun. 2. I was Blue screening a lot. 3. As far as I know MS stopped running updates for Vista awhile back, so I didn't see a reason for it to be on? 4. Canon driver updates/downloads are independent of Windows update, or Canon updates have nothing to do with MS/Windows updates.

But still looking for an answer to my post?

Vista32 said:

Several reasons: 1. Windows update just randomly kept running at inopportune times as if it was downloading an update, but it actually wasn't. Causing shut downs and restarts and losing whatever open windows I had been working on, not fun. 2. I was Blue screening a lot. 3. As far as I know MS stopped running updates for Vista awhile back, so I didn't see a reason for it to be on? 4. Canon driver updates/downloads are independent of Windows update, or Canon updates have nothing to do with MS/Windows updates.

But still looking for an answer to my post?

Click to expand...

Just FYI, Microsoft stopped updating XP back in April, but Vista will continue to be updated for another 2 1/2 years.

As for the printer driver issue, I don't have a Canon, so no direct experience with installing their drivers, but it seems strange that Windows is looking for the driver after you installed it with the Canon download. That doesn't happen when I install printers on my machine. Did you reboot after you deleted the printer, but before you tried installing the new driver? That shouldn't matter, but with Windows, you never know, so it's worth trying. Also, not to be condescending, but see I separate versions for 32- and 64-bit OSes on the Canon site - you did download the right one, correct?

Thanks FYI on the end of Vista support issue. Appears at some point I read the "End of Mainstream support" part, but not the End of extended support part. But I'm not sure what the "End of Extended support" part actually means? The explanation of the differences given only tells you how many years of support they will give (which for Vista ends on 4/11/2017). Not what type of support is included or not?

I did turn Windows Update (WU) back on again, then it asked me to restart to install any updates, which I did, but no updates where installed. Okay, 10 minutes later I get a WU pop-up telling me to restart again so it could install any updates. Then I started recalling having this same issue before and the reason I turned it off. As it would automatically and randomly shut down on its own while I was in the middle of doing word processor work or something else. I would lose work I had started, as well as any open pages when it restarted, so not a good deal. And the reason why I shut it off before, and the reason why I shut it off again. Don't need that aggravation.

As for the printer issue you said: "but it seems strange that Windows is looking for the driver after you installed it with the Canon download."

R. That's what I say to myself...?

"Did you reboot after you deleted the printer, but before you tried installing the new driver?"

A. No. I followed Canon's driver download/delete/install instructions which didn't say anything about a need to reboot to complete the driver install. But after two failed attempts to install, I did reboot, but it failed again.

"I see separate versions for 32- and 64-bit OSes on the Canon site - you did download the right one, correct?"

A. Yes. PIXMA MP190 printer for 32 bit Vista (mp190swin101ej).

As for a solution to the failed driver attempts Canon tech support suggested the following:

There may be a program running in the background causing this error to occur. Rebooting your computer without your normal startup applications running may resolve this issue. To do this, follow the procedure below:

1. Click Start.
2. Type MSCONFIG in the Start Search box and click the magnifying glass.
3. MSCONFIG will appear at the top of the Start Menu, click on it. The System Configuration Utility will appear.
4. Make a note of which startup selection your computer is set on. If your startup selection is set to Normal, switch it to
Selective Startup by placing the radio button dot next to Selective Startup.
5. Uncheck the box next to 'Load Startup Items'.
6. Click the Apply button.
7. Click on the Services tab at the top.
8. Place a check mark next to 'Hide all Microsoft Services'.
9. Click the Disable All button.
10. Click Apply.
11. Click the OK button.
12. Windows will prompt you to restart your computer; click Restart. Once the system restarts, uninstall and reinstall the drivers using the process outlined in our previous response. To return your computer to normal startup mode, follow steps 1-3 above, put a check in the box next to Load Startup Items, and then choose Normal Startup (if it was set this way initially) and click Apply. Click on the Services tab and click on the Enable All button. Click Apply, then OK and restart your computer. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance. Thank you for choosing Canon.

This sounds like a "Safemode" start, which I have never done before. Guess there's a first for everything? I'm not sure what the Canon tech meant by: "There may be a program running in the background causing this error to occur." As I had closed all windows before downloading and installing the printer driver. Is there a simpler way to do this?

Thanks, Vista32.

Vista32 said:

I'm not sure what the "End of Extended support" part actually means?

Click to expand...

I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think it means they continue security-related updates, but don't add any new features or functionality.

I did turn Windows Update (WU) back on again, then it asked me to restart to install any updates, which I did, but no updates where installed. Okay, 10 minutes later I get a WU pop-up telling me to restart again so it could install any updates.

Click to expand...

That's strange. I recently reinstalled the entire operating system and the first time I did updates, something similar happened, but then it settled down. As for it starting up on its own, you can change the settings so it notifies you that updates are available, but it doesn't download or install them until you tell it to. That's how I have mine set up - it would drive me nuts having it do it automatically, too. On the other hand, I'm too much of a nervous-nellie, I guess, not to install the updates at some point, since they are security-related.

As for a solution to the failed driver attempts Canon tech support suggested the following [...]
This sounds like a "Safemode" start, which I have never done before. Guess there's a first for everything? I'm not sure what the Canon tech meant by: "There may be a program running in the background causing this error to occur." As I had closed all windows before downloading and installing the printer driver.

Click to expand...

What the tech is suggesting doesn't sound quite like a full-blown "safe mode" restart, but sort of halfway there. I guess you could try restarting in full-blown safe mode, which is indeed a bit simpler, and doing the printer installation from there, but if that doesn't work, I'd slog through the entire process the tech suggested. Unfortunately, typical help desk techs are often only semi-knowledgeable themselves, but if it doesn't work and you call back, they may "elevate" your problem to someone who knows their software better. At least one can hope. (sigh)

I think you should download and run this-

What is the System Update Readiness Tool? - Windows Help

Posted by MikeG64: "you can change the settings so it notifies you that updates are available, but it doesn't download or install them until you tell it to."

R. I did this initially, but when it started to auto telling me to restart and nothing downloaded, I just clicked everything off. I would install any WU's, IF WU actually did install updates, but that doesn't or hasn't happened for a year or so now.

Thanks for the "safe mode link", I'll either try that or the Canon tech's instructions or both and see what happens?

Thanks again, Vista32.

Wither 3: Thanks again. I downloaded and ran the "system Update Readiness Tool." Big tool at 145 MB? But the installation seems to be hanging at about 80% done. Been there for about 10 minutes now...? I'll let it run a bit longer and if not doing anything I'll shut it down. It kept running, got to a point where it stopped progressing, so I stopped the process.

Update: I tried again today and the "Tool" installed.

Thanks, Vista32.

I ran the Canon tech protocol in post #5, driver still wouldn't install. Any other ideas?

I tried installing the update readiness tool again today and it installed. So some success.

Thanks, Vista32.

Try having the printer unplugged from the computer when installing the driver. Some hardware cannot be plugged in during driver install. As the the tech's instructions those set up a clean boot session whereas no third party applications are running on system boot. It's not entirely the same thing as safe mode but kind of because safe mode restricts what's running even further to only essential processes. You tried that and it didn't work? Since the new drivers aren't installing I suggest trying a slightly older driver, the last installed drivers, or the drivers that came with the printer usually on a cd. Also you might try right clicking on the driver and selecting run as administrator.

Thanks. After I ran the Canon techs procedure and restarted the laptop, the driver still wouldn't install. Then I retried installing the Windows Readiness Tool and let it run while I did other things. I came back to it later and it installed and ran the tool. Then later I reconnected the printer cable and surprisingly it installed the driver, so?

I tried printing a page and Windows tries to or wants to save the page, not print it...? So next I head to where the printers are located and I see a printer identified as Microsoft XPS Writer. Usually my Canon printer is listed there as well, but now it's not there? I tried renaming the XPS Writer printer to Canon, but that didn't work. So I got to fix that part as my computer is not listed or recognizi my printer.

I have the original printer box, likely the CD is in it. Maybe I should rerun it?

I may have accidentally or unknowingly deleted something to cause my printer to disappear from under the printer listing location? Maybe when I deleted the printer driver and its components from the control panel?

Thanks, Vista32

Reinstalling the original driver might be your best bet, but fwiw, I poked around Canon's site a little more to check on a couple of vague thoughts I had and while my ideas didn't seem to pan out, I did come across a couple of help articles that might be relevant:

Confirm the printer is displaying properly in Device Manager...

If Windows does not detect the hardware correctly...

Thanks Mike. My head is spinning...? I read those articles, I deleted the 'other device' in device manager. Not sure what that did?

As I stated in my prior post, I believe my Canon printer is not recognized by the computer because its no longer listed under 'Printers.' Don't know why its not there anymore, deleted it?, or how to get it back under my 'Printer' settings? If I can get my printer re-listed there it might help.

I could delete all printer settings from my computer, insert the printer CD and auto-install everything all over again...? WTF? Too weird to have to spend so much time on a driver?

Or for entertainment purposes I could just buy a six pack, some lighter fluid, pour fluid all over it, ignite it, and chuck the printer off the 4th floor roof to the concrete pad below and buy a new printer? Sounds like fun! Free admission!

Thanks again, Vista32.

Vista32 said:

Or for entertainment purposes I could just buy a six pack, some lighter fluid, pour fluid all over it, ignite it, and chuck the printer off the 4th floor roof to the concrete pad below and buy a new printer? Sounds like fun! Free admission!

Click to expand...

Too bad you don't live in a high-rise, it would be even prettier falling 20 stories.:D

I believe my Canon printer is not recognized by the computer because its no longer listed under 'Printers.' [...] or how to get it back under my 'Printer' settings?

Click to expand...

Well, to make a long story short, that's where it will show up, once you've gotten it reinstalled properly.

I could delete all printer settings from my computer, insert the printer CD and auto-install everything all over again...?

Click to expand...

Now that you've deleted the entry in the Device Manager, and the printer is no longer showing up under "Printers", you should be ready to reinstall the driver and have it work properly.

Too weird to have to spend so much time on a driver?

Click to expand...

I know how you feel. A couple of weeks ago I gave up and completely reinstalled Vista because I was getting sick of all the "little problems" that had been accumulating for several years, since my last reinstall. Unfortunately, Windows is just like that. (sigh)

Right the higher you are the bigger the splatter footprint! At any rate I deleted everything associated with Canon printer, emptied the recycle bin, restarted, ran the original printer CD disc setup, yep, still wouldn't install the driver. So I went up to the roof and ....

Wonder what would cause the uninstall issue? Something is either blocking/preventing the install, or maybe windows installer is not working? But I'm thinking the Windows Readiness Tool would have corrected that? Time for a new printer maybe?

Vista32

Vista32 said:

Right the higher you are the bigger the splatter footprint! At any rate I deleted everything associated with Canon printer, emptied the recycle bin, restarted, ran the original printer CD disc setup, yep, still wouldn't install the driver. So I went up to the roof and ....

Wonder what would cause the uninstall issue? Something is either blocking/preventing the install, or maybe windows installer is not working? But I'm thinking the Windows Readiness Tool would have corrected that? Time for a new printer maybe?

Vista32

Click to expand...

Geeze, you really can't get a break, can you! At this point, I really don't know what to suggest. Which driver did you try this time, the new or old version? Did you get a specific error message, or just Windows' usual vague nonsense?

As for the updates, the update readiness tool just makes sure the Windows updater is working properly, it doesn't actually update your system itself. I'm inclined to doubt it's the reason you're having so much trouble with this install, but you could let Windows completely update itself, then try the installation again.

If that doesn't work, and if I were you, I'd probably be reinstalling/restoring the whole OS at this point. Assuming you have your original OEM discs, or a restore partition on your hard drive, it doesn't take all that long. It's drastic, but sometimes Windows requires drastic...

[Edit]PS: This doesn't seem to be a hardware problem, so I don't think you have to worry about buying a new printer just because of the installation issues...

Hey thanks for the help peeps, appreciate it. I've tried about everything to no avail. I had to take a break from trying to fix it.

I ran a few programs to see if I could fix whatever might be wrong with my Windows machine, corrupt files, etc. Ran ESET, and Windows Repair All In One, uninstalled & reinstalled all Canon gear again, driver still wouldn't install. I tried the printer drivers from the original printer CD disc, as well as the current driver available on Canon's site, to no avail. So I'm kind of tapped out here with new ideas?

Just curious, those that have Vista, when was the last time you got a auto MS Windows update? The last MS WU I got was in April of 2013.

So I'm contemplating doing a OS overhaul/upgrade and or buying a new machine, printer, etc. I'm concerned if I buy a new printer will I have the same issue again trying to download printer drivers onto my crappputer...ouch? Like is the issue with my computer or the printer? I'm thinking there's something wrong within my POS crapputer.

Called a few techs for upgrade estimates, seems it would take anywhere from 1.5-2 hrs. to 4 hrs., to save & transfer files, programs, drivers, install new OS and HDD, at $60-$90 @ hr. Or anywhere from $120 on up to...? Maybe I should start another thread on this upgrade subject or read some of the tutorials on same. I lack knowledgeable experience in several areas of this subject, Disc partitioning, file, driver, program transfers/installs, and all the other stuff that goes with it. So kind of on this subject.

Thanks again, Vista32.

It was a minor one, but I got a Windows Update just a couple of days ago. Some sort of adjustment for the system clock. Apparently Russia is changing its time zones or something...

But back to your printer woes...

I agree with you that it seems likely that something has gotten royally screwed up on some level with the operating system itself. But buying a new printer wouldn't help that, and buying a new computer would be massive overkill.

Reinstalling the OS isn't that big a deal, or overly technical or complicated really. Mostly it's just time-consuming. (But less time-consuming than what you've already gone through, if that's any consolation.) There are a several steps, but each one is pretty straightforward in itself. Basically you need a free afternoon when you don't have a school or work deadline looming, some patience, and a good checklist to follow as you work.

(As an aside and for what it's worth, you could, but don't necessarily have to, wipe or repartition the hard drive. The Vista installation software itself will do a quick format and then overwrite the existing data on the drive, and the old files won't interfere with the new installation. You would have to reinstall some system drivers, but that sounds worse than it is.)


The biggest potential pitfall is your installed software. You would need to have the original program discs or installation files, if you downloaded programs from the web. But you'd have to give those to a tech-person, too, since unfortunately you can't just copy or extract the program files onto a new system. You need the installer software to make sure everything is properly "plugged into" the underlying operating system.

And needless to say, you would need someplace to store your existing data while you reinstall the operating system. But even if you don't already own an external USB hard drive, buying one would still be cheaper than paying a tech to do the overhaul, plus you'd still have it for additional or backup storage once you're done.

Another cheaper backup option, if you have a reasonably fast Internet connection and don't have too many huge video files or a ton of music, would be to create a "cloud account" on a free service like Microsoft's One Drive, and upload your personal documents and other files to "the cloud" before you reinstall. You'd simply download everything back to your clean system once the computer is up and running properly again.

A final note: it's always possible that the problem is less drastic than either you or I think it is and that a knowledgeable tech person could repair the trouble fairly quickly without fully reinstalling the OS. So that presents a third option. Take it in for a look/estimate, but take it back to work on yourself if they say it does need a full overhaul.

Hey thanks again. I turned MS update on again, it asked me to restart to install new updates, restarted and nothing was installed, so its back off again.

I uninstalled all Canon stuff from my computer for the time being until I can get a fix for it from Canon? Knock on wood or my head?

Thanks for the reinstall information, but I don't have the original Vista CD's to do that. Be advised that I do have bad sectors on my Western Digital HDD. I ran a few tests awhile back to verify that. So reinstalling, overwriting, or upgrading anything on this disc is risky business.

I was going to upgrade to Win 7 Pro on a new disk awhile back, but as stated previously my knowledge of disk partitioning and other technical areas are lacking. So that's why I am looking for a tech to do it for me. The only issue I have there is giving my computer to someone I don't know for a few days. Not that I don't trust others, rather lots of personal stuff on our machines. I'd rather have someone do it at my residence, but that costs a bit more to wait around for the processes to complete and time is money whether the techs hands are in his pocket or otherwise. If its in a shop, the tech turns a process on, lets it run while working on other machines, time is money for them. So I'm on the fence to either do it myself, knock on wood or disk material or let a qualified tech do it a lot quicker.

As to MS One Drive, I've seen it offered in Outlook, but that's about it. Again, I'm not sure how safe putting private stuff is on the Cloud, wherever that cloud is . Who can access it other than me or how would I know one way or the other? Maybe I'm paranoid, maybe not?

Your likely right about the driver issue is or could be a simpler fix for someone who knows how to diagnose and fix the driver issue without much of a problem. Whereas Murphy's Law is working against me here, it seems like sometimes and quite often we have to go the wrong way, in order to find the right way to get it done. But if I am moving toward an OS and HDD changeover, then the printer driver and any other OS issues should be resolved by doing so.

I do have, but never installed due to a lack of technical knowledge a new blank SSHD, a 1TB backup external HDD, Windows 7 Professional, and a few unused flash drives I bought awhile back to do the upgrades. Installing these items should resolve the printer driver and other system issues I have with my Vista OS.

In closing, I just want say thanks to MikeG and others who posted, I appreciate your time and effort to assist and resolve my printer driver issue.

Thanks again, Vista32.