Every printer has its own printer driver -- and that driver changes, depending on which operating system your using. Or which version -- for example, a printer driver that works with Windows 98 will not work with Windows XP.
These days, when you buy a printer, the printer driver will almost always come with the printer on a CD. Your instructions will explain to you how to install the printer driver -- most of the time, you plug im the printer first, but sometimes you install the driver first. Whatever the order of events, it's usually very easy and goes well.
What happens to the old printer driver? Well, usually, nothing. Because most people who are changing printers simply unplug the old printer and take it away, the software that is associated with that printer stays on the computer. More often than not, these is not a problem -- printer drivers are pretty innocuous pieces of software.
But occasionally, the new printer will become confused and try to use the wrong driver, or one driver will conflict with another. These is most likely to happen if the new printer is very similar to the old one -- or if you have upgraded from Windows 98 to Windows XP, and have installed a new printer driver for the same printer.
So a good idea is to avoid the possibility of problems and delete the old printer driver. Here is a step-by-step description of how to find your printer driver. Once you have found your printer drivers, right-click on the old driver, and delete it.
