Fixing My Printer After The Windows 10 Anniversary Update

I've been going in circles for hours, spanning a couple of days, trying to get my old printer working again after Windows 10 suggested I 'update and shut down' a couple of days ago. My original, full upgrade to Windows 10 also caused a printer failure, to which I eventually found a solution; it's almost as if Windows didn't like the fact that I fixed it, so they broke it more thoroughly with an update. Rather than feel that my last few hours have been entirely wasted, I thought I'd blog the solution.

My printer is an Epson Stylus CX6600 (printer, scanner and card reader). Switching it on after the anniversary update prompted Windows to list a generic 'MFP' (Multi Function Printer) with a 'no driver available' message below, and no printing capability. Note that I was also fairly confident that I *did have* a working driver after fixing the previous failure. The following steps worked for me, and might work for you if your situation sounds similar:

My Solution

1. Once your PC is on and Windows is loaded, switch on your printer.
2. On the desktop, click the Windows icon (bottom left corner), and click 'Settings' (the 'cog' symbol). Choose 'Devices' in the 'Settings' window.
3. The 'Devices' window shows the list 'Printers & scanners', where the generic and non functioning 'MFP' printer should be listed. Ignore that for now, and instead scroll down the page and open the 'Device Manager'. My Device Manager showed an entry for 'Other Devices', where my printer was listed by it's real name: Epson Stylus CX6600 (M). Right-click the name, and choose 'Update Driver Software'.
4. In the 'Update Driver Software' window, click 'Browse my computer for driver software'. Next, click 'Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer'. In my case I was then offered a choice of two drivers for the Epson Stylus CX6600 (M). The older of the two drivers installed successfully (the newer one failed).



Picking an existing device driver

5. The successful driver installation should have three effects. Back in the Device Manager window, 'Other Devices' is now replaced by 'Printers', with the printer listed below. In the Devices window, the generic MFP Printer is renamed Epson Stylus CX6600 (M). Finally and most importantly, your printer should now work again.



'Printers' now appears in the Device Manager

Around The Houses

Before hitting upon the above correct combination of steps, I tried removing the offending 'MFP' printer from the 'Printers & scanners' list and adding my CX6600 manually. This resulted in a error when trying to print, which the Windows Troubleshooter recognised but could offer no suggestions for a fix - baffling when the eventual solution seems so simple. I also read several forum and support threads where people were struggling with similar issues after the update, I don't think I saw the above solution. Hope it helps somebody.

Rock and Roll Owl in a Jumpsuit

Travel back with me now, back through the mists of time to December 2015, and my first creations on Zazzle. Unfortunately, my early enthusiasm was met with a slapped wrist, as my owl design (above) was pulled for trading on the name of a certain celebrity. I thought I'd changed things enough to be safe; the celebrity was, after all, human and not an owl.

The original design also included a pun on a famous song title, and search terms referring to the celebrity in question. Rather than guess where the exact infringement was, I replaced all references to specific rock and roll stars with generic terms, and hopefully I'm now legit. New designers beware!

Rock and Roll Guitar Owl in Jumpsuit Cartoon Greeting Card
by NoodleWings

Rock and Roll Guitar Owl in Jumpsuit Cartoon Clock
by NoodleWings

Rock and Roll Guitar Owl in Jumpsuit Cartoon Mouse Pad
by NoodleWings

Trick Or Treating Werewolf

Drawing two of NoodleWings horror week in readiness for Halloween next month. After evil Chainsaw Clown I wanted to do something a bit softer, so I came up with a kid werewolf doing his best fierce pose. He's so focused on looking mean, he's dropped his sweets, including foam bananas, a jelly snake, marshmallow, and a Tunnocks Caramel Wafer well hidden at the back.

Fierce Little Werewolf Trick Or Treating Cartoon Paper Plate
by NoodleWings

Little Werewolf Halloween Trick Or Treat Cartoon Napkins
by NoodleWings

Little Werewolf Halloween Trick Or Treat Cartoon Glass
by NoodleWings

Chainsaw Clown

Halloween is not far away... well it is, but I'm making sure I get some horror designs up well in advance, so it's NoodleWings Horror Week! I might even treat myself to two horror weeks.

I thought I'd avoid the headline classic horror monsters at first (vampires, Frankenstein's monster etc), and have gone for a relatively modern monster - the psychotic clown. I'm channeling the worst clowns in history: Pennywise from 'IT', the scary toy clown from Poltergeist, Ronald McDonald. In fact, let's face it, all clowns are disturbing and wrong; and I've thrown in a chainsaw for the hell of it.

Chopping Time! Chainsaw Clown Halloween Cartoon Chopping Board
by NoodleWings

Colourful Chainsaw Clown Halloween Horror Cartoon Face Mask
by NoodleWings

Victims Welcome Chainsaw Clown Halloween Cartoon Doormat
by NoodleWings

Welsh Dragon

Another blast from the recent past; a Welsh dragon drawn when Wales were battling their way to the semi finals of Euro 2016. It would've been nice to have drawn an English lion too... are there any rugby tournaments coming up?

Rampant Little Welsh Baby Red Dragon Cartoon T-Shirt
by NoodleWings

Fierce But Cute Baby Welsh Red Dragon Cartoon Shot Glass
by NoodleWings

Welsh Territory Little Baby Red Dragon Cartoon Doormat
by NoodleWings

Excited Alien

Drawing two of NoodleWings Sci-fi Week, celebrating last month's story about a possible alien signal coming from a distant star which now seems to have been downgraded to terrestrial interference; oh well, at least we're not going to be farmed like cattle.

I've gone for something more friendly looking, with a simple, two handled scanner to detect life on other worlds and a backpack for when it's not in use. Blue is the new green when it comes to aliens these days; Star Trek has always liked a blue alien, and then there's the villains from Guardians Of The Galaxy... okay now I'm struggling, suggestions in the comments? Is anybody out there?

Curious Robot

This week is NoodleWings Sci-fi Week. At the end of August we had the discovery of an Earth-like planet, Proxima b, orbiting in the right place to prompt discussions about it's habitability for humans or to host alien life. Then came the detection of a possible signal from another civilisation more advanced than our own. All of which gives me the ideal excuse to design the robot we will use to investigate these new wonders; I'm thinking something non-threatening to make a good first impression.

Curious Robot Sees His First Butterfly Cartoon Large Clock
by NoodleWings

Curious Robot Sees His First Butterfly Cartoon Medium Gift Bag
by NoodleWings

Curious Robot Sees His First Butterfly Cartoon Card
by NoodleWings

Jet Pack Tortoise

Here's one I forgot to post earlier. A daredevil tortoise wearing a jet pack, because why not. I've taken to coming up with ideas and just going for it, rather than checking what's been done before; I checked this one afterwards though, and low and behold, at least two tortoises strapped to rockets, but hopefully there's room for one more in the world.

In other news, I've added five new lines to my Zazzle store this week, with daredevil tortoises now available on water bottles, glass cutting boards, messenger bags (below right), doormats and serving trays.

The Only Way Is Up! Daredevil Tortoise Cartoon
by NoodleWings

Daredevil Flying Tortoise with a Jet Pack Cartoon Glass
by NoodleWings

Daredevil Flying Tortoise with a Jet Pack Cartoon Keychain
by NoodleWings

Change Your Huion Lead!

My Huion H610 Pro tablet has finally given up after two years service, but before I launch it out of my window like a frisbee, I thought I would share some information which might prevent the same thing from happening to yours (so that my tablet's death won't be completely in vain and all that).

It's a simple recommendation. The mini USB port gradually broke away from the circuit board inside the tablet (there was even a fun period where the connection came and went depending on how I held the tablet). This is because there's too much strain on the lead and port, which can get pulled and knocked left and right when moved around.

If you look at the market leading Wacom tablets, they have angled leads, which fit snugly next to their tablet and are subject to less physical strain. Handily, you can currently pick up 'USB to USB Mini' angled leads (left, right, or downward) to fit your Huion H610 Pro on Amazon UK for as little as £1.89 (see picture above).

In my case, I found that minimum charges for repairs weren't worth it for the price of the tablet, so I had a go at fixing it myself, and optimistically ordered a left angled cable which I couldn't cancel when my efforts failed. So I thought I'd stick the better cable, old stylus and spare nibs on Ebay. Here's a link to the page if you're interested:

Huion Spares Ebay Listing

The Huion H610 Pro still seems to be a popular budget option (see mostly positive Amazon reviews) and I got on well enough with it while it lasted, so hopefully this post will be useful to somebody.

Jonesy's Revenge

I'm a big fan of the first two Alien movies, so here, as part two of NoodleWings Action Cat Week, I've imagined Ripley's cat Jonesy as a badass colonial marine out for revenge. I think this represents my first piece of fan art.

Mean Sci-fi Marine Ginger Cat Firing Gun Cartoon T-Shirt
by NoodleWings

Mean Sci-fi Marine Ginger Cat Firing Gun Cartoon Coffee Mug
by NoodleWings

Mean Sci-fi Marine Ginger Cat Firing Gun Cartoon Kitchen Towel
by NoodleWings