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I have one Brother (model 6800) multi function printer, fax, scanner at home. Not always, but often enough to be an annoyance, XP Pro adds a second printer (only one printer is connected) after a reboot. XP Pro will name it "Brother MFC 6800 USB copy 1" and make it the active (ready) printer. Unfortunately the old printer "Brother MFC 6800 USB" is still set as the default printer in the Control Panel, as it was prior to the reboot. So, when I choose to print a document I must go to the Control Panel, set the new printer as default and then delete the old printer. This isn't an issue with Win98 and was never a problem with my old Brother multifunction. I called Brother tech support, they responded, dunno. Any ideas??

Here's what I found out in XP. If you plug a device, say a printer, into the USB port, and then install the driver, you will have only one copy of printer in the Printer control panel. If you unplug the printer USB cable, and plug the USB cable back into the USB cable, XP will make another copy of your printer in the Printer control panel.

I have a HP DeskJet 720C, and if I unplug the USB cable from my computer, and re-plug the USB cable, I get another copy of my printer. The solution is to leave the USB cable plug in the USB port at all times. Althougth I have not experienced the problem you are having when I reboot my machine, and XP creating another driver.

extreme wrote:Here's what I found out in XP. If you plug a device, say a printer, into the USB port, and then install the driver, you will have only one copy of printer in the Printer control panel. If you unplug the printer USB cable, and plug the USB cable back into the USB cable, XP will make another copy of your printer in the Printer control panel.

I have a HP DeskJet 720C, and if I unplug the USB cable from my computer, and re-plug the USB cable, I get another copy of my printer. The solution is to leave the USB cable plug in the USB port at all times. Althougth I have not experienced the problem you are having when I reboot my machine, and XP creating another driver.

Thanks extreme.

Yes, XP reacts as if I've unplugged and then reconnected the USB cable...but I haven't. Any other ideas? Am I the only one who has experienced this problem?

You could try and delete the printer drivers, and re-install the printer. Also try updating the printer drivers/softwares. Sometimes XP drivers will not always work the way you expect them to work.

Addition: Have you check the USB cable to make sure the cable isn't bad? If the USB cable is bad, there might be a quick connect/disconnect between the printer and the computer, and XP might think the USB cable is unpluged for a reason. Connect the printer using a new USB cable to see if that helps.

Good luck!