Windows – Install Additional Printer Drivers (x86) on Vista (x64) – Can’t find suitable (x86) ntprint.inf

Finally cracked it! It's to do with the printer name in the driver's inf file.

When I installed Windows 7 it automatically installed the MP600 driver but it called it "Canon Inkjet MP600 Printer". NOTE Inkjet. When you unzip the Canon driver and look in its driver folder the printer inf file is called MP600PR.inf. Edit this file with Notepad and you will find:

[Manufacturer]
"Canon" = Canon,NTx86.5.1

;
; Model sections.
;
; Each section here corresponds with an entry listed in the
; [Manufacturer] section, above. The models will be displayed in the order
; that they appear in the INF file.
;


;Windows2000
[Canon]
"**Canon MP600 Printer**" = CNM_0295XP, USBPRINT\CanonMP600718E, CanonMP600718E, CanonMP600

;WindowsXP
[Canon.NTx86.5.1]
"**Canon MP600 Printer**" = CNM_0295XP, USBPRINT\CanonMP600718E, CanonMP600
"**Canon MP600 Printer**" = CNM_0295XP, BTHPRINT\CanonMP600718E, CanonMP600

Canon just calls the printer "Canon MP600 Printer". Since the names are not exactly the same windows does not think that the drivers are for the correct printer. Just edit the inf file to "correct" the name and it installs without a problem.

Install the printer on your Windows 7 machine, with the Windows 7 driver. Share the driver, and get the path name for it (i.e. \\MACHINENAME\PrinterName). On the XP computer, do the following:

1. Start the Add New Printer wizard
2. Select a Local Printer, do not auto detect
3. Choose a New Port->Type is Local Port
4. In the dialog, type \\MACHINENAME\PrinterName as it appeared above on the Windows 7 machine
5. On the driver selection page, either use Have Disk to get the driver, or select from the list
6. Continue with the wizard until finished

You can get the hostname (\\MACHINENAME) either from System Properties, or by running HOSTNAME at the Command Prompt. The Share Name is what the printer is shared as in the Printer Properties->Sharing tab