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Am I supposed to install Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x64 printer drivers on my 2008 32-bit server to support Windows 7 x64 clients while supporting Windows XP 32-bit clients?

I have a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard (not R2) 32-bit server with the Print Services role. I have mostly 32-bit XP clients that are able to print to the server's shared printers. We're getting Windows 7 Pro x64 workstations coming in and I want to share the same printers from the same server with those new workstations.

The printers I'm most concerned about are HP LaserJet P4014ns.

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Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: You need to install two sets of drivers.

  1. Drivers for the print server itself: Use whatever drivers are available/compatible with the print server's own architecture to actually install the printer on the server.

  2. Drivers for the clients that are printing via the print server: In this case both Windows 7 x64 drivers and drivers for 32-bit XP. If you're looking at the printer's properties tab on the server, these are installed via the 'Additional Drivers' button.

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    I downloaded and installed the HP Universal Print Driver PCL 6 for Windows 2008 W32. The I downloaded the HP Universal Printer Driver PCL 6 for Windows 7 x64. They both have the same version number. I added the x64 driver to the Windows 2008 server from the Windows 7 computer. The printers are using the new driver now. Unfortunately, I'm still getting the "Windows cannot connect to the printer" message (hadn't mentioned that) but at least I know the version of the drivers are the same. Thanks.
    – kleefaj
    Nov 7, 2012 at 14:38

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