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Q: I recently upgraded my home office PC to a Windows 11 machine (Dell XPS 8950). However, when attempting to update printer drivers (my printer is an aging but still going strong HP Officejet Pro 8710), I found the HP Smart app that HP now requires for the update will not download/install from the Microsoft store. I’ve been using HP Print & Scan Doctor to determine the best fix and it takes me back to downloading HP Smart, and I strike out again! Any suggestions?

 – Peter B.
Niceville, Florida

A: I own a pair of even older HP Officejet 8600-series printers, Peter, so I know exactly what you’re talking about.  I have long been of the opinion that there is a rather large difference between what the device “needs” to do its job, which would be lightweight, simple drivers, and the massively bloated, multi-hundred-megabyte application that HP ropes you into installing.

On the one hand, I can understand perhaps needing an app, because the device is not just a printer.  It is also a flatbed scanner, and a fax machine, and a network-connected device.  If yours is like mine it also has ports for multiple types of media, including SD/MMC, and USB thumb drives.  But beyond offering support to the device in its role as a printer/scanner/fax machine, this software also has the role as ad server for HP ink and toner, and has links to online collections of printable items, all designed to get you to use more and more ink.  The whole experience has made me feel more like a sheep than the owner of an all-in-one printing device.  But all my ruminations over HP’s business model aren’t really getting your question answered.  So, let’s move on, shall we?

I can’t help but wonder whether you’re having any problems with other things you’re trying to download from the Microsoft Store? I gave a good look at the screen capture that you so thoughtfully attached with your question, and noted that it said “Code: 0x80070057” under the error message.  I did some Googling on that, and found a few discussions containing this particular error code in the context of the Microsoft Store.  They even contain a couple of suggested fixes that might work for you, even though they didn’t solve the problem of the people who had asked.  You can read more by visiting TinyURL.com/IGTM-0813.

I haven’t yet had to install or re-install the HP software on a machine since Windows 11 came along.  But I’ll tell you this much: if I was doing what you’re doing, I wouldn’t be trying to do it through the Microsoft store.  I’d be going to HP, and downloading what I need directly from the source.

You can do that by visiting HP’s website (HP.com) and in the top/right, click on the menu icon, and find “Support”.  Under that, click “Software & drivers.”  On the page that comes up, click the Printer, then enter your printer’s model number.  If a suggested model comes up, be sure and click on it, otherwise you might get zero results.

You should find yourself on a page that has everything you need to support your particular model printer, from firmware updates, to diagnostic software, to print utilities, and yes, that elusive Smart App software that you’re looking for.  You can get it all here, without ever darkening the door of the Microsoft Store.  Good luck!