HP Laserjet 5100 Printer Driver won't work correctly in Windows 7

David,

First, thanks for posting a solution that works. I am in IT but I'm just strarting to get familiar with Windows 7. I still think that HP could make things easier by making the driver for this printer available via windows update. After all, there are many other HP drivers already available. Second, I would like to break down your solution into steps so that future Googlers can understand your solution.

To install a network XP printer on Windows 7, follow these steps:

1.      Go to Start-->Devices and Printers

2.      Add a printer (at the top).

3.      Add a local printer

4.      Use Existing LPT1 port. Click Next

5.      Select HP from the list and click next skipping all the prompts until the end

6.      Go to Devices and Printers again and right click on the newly added printer

7.      Select Printing properties (there are several - choose the right one)-->Ports tab --> Add Port…-->Local Port

8.      Enter \\192.168.1.xx\printername (the IP address* of the printer) or \\computername\printername

9.      Apply

*The reason we're using the IP address is because sometimes W7 has issues detecting XP computers on the network. Using the IP address bypasses this issue. You will always get results using the IP address, whereas the computer name might often not work. To find out the IP address of the XP computer hosting the printer, go to Start-->Control Panel-->Network and Internet Connectons-->Network Connections. Double click on the listed connection, go to Support tab, and the IP Address will be listed there. Alternatively, if you can't find that, go to Start-->Run. Type cmd and press enter. In the black window type ipconfig and press enter. The IP Address will be displayed, among other information.

Everything should work now. I would also add that you should remove any old/unused ports as this creates a mess in the devices.