Backing up the printer driver will ensure that if you reinstall or encounter any problems, you will always have the correct drivers.
Anyone who has ever had to reinstall for whatever reason knows that it is always a struggle to find the right drivers for peripherals. This also applies to printers. By making a backup, you immediately have the correct drivers at hand and you can quickly reinstall the drivers. This saves a lot of time and frustration.
Backup and restore Printer Driver
Windows has various utilities that are not always known to everyone. For example, there is a printer migration utility that allows you to backup and restore the printer driver.
Backup printer driver
To get started, press the Windows key + R on your keyboard. In the run field type: printbrmui.exe. The Printer Migrate Utility opens.
In the Migrate Printer window, you will find the option to “Export Print Queues and Printer Drivers to a File”. Select this option and click Next.
Next you need to choose where your printer is connected. For most users, the option to select will be “This Print Server”. Click Next to continue. If you are working with a network printer, choose the option “A print server on the network” and enter the network address or browse to find it.
You will be presented with a list of available printer drivers for backup. After viewing, press Next to continue.
Now you need to choose where to save the backup file. Click the Browse button, navigate to the desired folder, provide a name for the backup file, and then click Save.
To complete the backup process, click Next and then Finish.
You can go to the folder where you saved the file and you should find a file with the extension “.printerexport”. This is your backup file with all printer drivers.
Restore printer driver backup
To get started, press the Windows key + R on your keyboard. In the run field type: printbrmui.exe. The Printer Migrate Utility opens.
Choose the option “Import print queues and printer drivers from a file” and click Next.
Use the Browse button to find and select the previously created backup file (this will have the extension .printerexport), then click Open, followed by Next.
You will be presented with a list of the printer drivers that will be restored. After checking the details, click Next.
Choose the appropriate print server option. If you are restoring for the same machine, choose “This Print Server”. If it is for a network, you need to select the corresponding network option and choose the correct network printer.
Keep the default import options or adjust them as needed and then continue by clicking Next. When you click Next, the printer drivers will be imported and restored.
To complete the process, press the Finish button. You may need to restart your computer to ensure all changes are applied.
I hope this helped you. Thank you for reading!
Read more: File History Backup & Restore in Windows