Windows 8.1 drivers MF4800 series

[RCJ]

I just purchased a 4880 to replace perfectly workable older machine, 4150, because Canon never put out Win 8 drivers that worked well for scanning on that machine. Understandable, i guess, as it was fairly old. The 4880 was working great in Win 8 environment which is where I should have left things. But I checked Windows Compatibility site before upgrading to Win 8.1, and this machine was listed as "compatible."

Well, it's not. In fact, it's almost completely nonfunctional, with limited printing capability, but no scanning or two-way communication with the PC. Imagine my frustration when I contacted Canon and they said, no, we have no drivers, and "probably" will, but there's no way to know when. "Could be two days, could be six months," one rep said. 

So, I'm thinking about returning it. Pretty shocked Canon would not have updated drivers for the OS now being sold on new PCs, especially when the OS has been out in developer stage for months. Does anyone else have better info on this, ie, is it worth keeping the machine past the return window on the chance that Canon might update the drivers? Meanwhile, be warned that if you have a machine in this series and want to upgrade to Win 8.1, you're asking for it.

[Patrice]

Hi RCJ.

I understand that you are having issues with the printing and scanning functions now that the printer is connected to your Windows 8.1 operating system.  The drivers for the Windows 8 operating system do work on Windows 8.1. I recommend performing a full uninstall and reinstall of the drivers, using the instructions below:

 1.  Unplug the USB cable from the printer.

***Please leave the USB cable disconnected until you have uninstalled and completely reinstalled the drivers.  Connecting the printer before going through the "Setup Wizard" may cause the Windows operating system to install a generic driver for the printer.***

 2.  Press the Windows key and 'x'.

 3.  Select 'Control Panel'.

 4.  Select Devices and Printers.  The Devices and Printers window opens.

 5.  In the Devices and Printers window, right click on the MF4800 Series and select 'Remove' to delete the printer.  Delete all of the icons for the MF4880dw.

 6.  Close the Devices and Printers window then press the Windows key and 'x'.

 7.  Select 'Control Panel'.

 8.  Select 'Programs and Features'.

 9.  Double click on driver to uninstall.  Follow the on screen prompts.  Repeat to uninstall the MF Tool box.

10.  Restart you computer.

11. Leaving the USB cable disconnected, please download the driver from the Canon website using the following link: http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer

12. The site will automatically detect your operating system as Windows 8.1.  Please click the drop down arrow and change it to Windows 8 (x64). 

13.  Next, select [Drivers] and the file [Windows 64bit] imageCLASS MF4890dw/MF4880dw MFDrivers (UFR II / FAX / ScanGear).

14.  Click "I Agree - Begin Download".

15.  Save the file to your computer.  Once the download is complete, click "Run".

16.  Click "I Decline - Go Back" on the Canon site and select [Software] and the file [Windows 32bit & 64bit] Tool Box Ver.4.9.1.1.mf15.

17.  Save the file to your computer.  Once the download is complete, click "Run".

18.  Close the Canon window and go to the location on the computer where the files are saved.

19.  You will see two icons with the name MF4800_Series_MFDrivers_W64_us_EN_2.exe.  Double click on the yellow folder icon.  In the folder you will see two files with the name "Setup".  Double click on the "Setup" that has the type [Application].

20.  The "MF Drivers Setup Wizard" will open.  Please proceed through the setup and restart the computer.

21.  After the computer restarts, please connect the USB cable to the computer and allow the computer to finish the installation process.  Once the printer is listed in [Devices and Printers], right-click on the icon and select it as the default printer.  Please open a document on the computer and print it out.

Please follow steps 19 and 20 to install the Canon MF Toolbox 4.9 software.  Once the software is installed, please follow the steps below to complete a scan:

1.  Press the [SCAN] button on the control panel of the printer and place a document in the feeder.

2.  On the computer, open the MF Toolbox program.

3.  Select the [PDF] scan function.

4.  Click the green [Start] button in the PDF window.  The scan should begin.

Another possible issue will be having a device, such as a USB hub or switch connected between the printer and the computer.  If you do have a device such as this connected, we recommend removing the printer and creating a direct connection from the printer to the computer.

I hope this information is helpful. 

Should you need further assistance, please contact us at 1-800-OK-CANON (1-800-652-2666)

[RCJ · Accepted solution]

Patrice,

Thank you so much. Actually I just recently did much of what you have outlined here. The process was somewhat different, because I have my printer installed as a wired network printer to facilitate its use across my home network. But I essentially did the same thing: I removed all traces I could find of the drivers, disconnected printer from network, rebooted, plugged printer back into network (I'm not using USB, learning from past mistakes, then reinstalled WIndows 8 drivers from website. They seem to work for both print and scan. (However I'm not banking on long term, as I got my previous machine to work in Win 8 for a period of time, then it didn't.)

Anyway. I'm happy to have it working for now. But I am mystified as to why none of the three Canon support people I talked to about this problem had any inkling the drivers would work. They all told me to sit by and wait. 

Anyone else out there in Canon-land thinking about intstalling win 8.1 -- I would uninstall all the software from my machine, do the upgrade, then reinstall the drivers, which would probably solve many problems. (I also had to remove and reinstall another Canon inkjet printer running wifi.)

Thanks again.

[DrBorrow]

Hello, 

I have followed all the steps but when I try to install the new driver, I receive an error message "an older version of MF Drivers exists in this computer." I have already uninstalled all canon devices and the printers. I dont seem to have any other canon drivers. How can I solve this? I am finding this problem very frustrating!

[lpaulsen]

You deleted the printer, and uninstalled all of the Canon software?

[DrBorrow]

I have solved the problem. For anybody experiencing something similar, here is what you need to do:

1) After you have uninstalled the drivers and deleted any printers, go to Control Panel and then Devices and Printers

2) Single click (highlight) any of the remaining printers eg Microsoft XPS document writer

3) At the top of your screen you will see "add a device, add a printer >>" - expand the selection and click on "print server properties"

4) Select the drivers tab

5) You will see some of the residual MF drivers. These can be deteled. 

6) You can now run the install of the new drivers. 

One other minor point that might help a few other people out there:

I had to move the downloaded files out of the Downloads folder in order to extract the install files. You can put the downloaded files on your desktop if needs be but they cannot be successfully opened inside the Dowloads folder.

I hope that helps.  

[skirudder]

My Canon is actually the MF4270.  I followed the steps you outlined exactly for Windows 8.1, uninstalling and reinstalling the printer, drivers and toolbox.  When I click on the MF Toolbox PDF, I receive the message "A supported scanner is not installed.  Please install a supported scanner, and then restart Toolbox."

In my Devices and Printers window I have the Canon installed as a network printer and also (FAX). The latter was installed automatically.  Any other thoughts on how to fix this?

Thanks.

[Patrice]

Hi skirudder.

In order to scan from the imageCLASS MF4270, it will need to be connected to your computer by a USB cable.  You will need to reinstall the drivers and select [USB] as the option, when the computer connection option is displayed.

Please do not reconnect the USB cable until the drivers have been installed.  After installing the click the link below to view more information about scanning from the MF4270:

Scanning From the MF4270

I hope this information is helpful to you.  If you should need further assistance, please contact us at 1-800-OK-CANON (1-800-652-2666).

[RRb]

I did all that with a nice tech guy from Canon - but we were unable to get the scan drivers installed.  It keeps saying "Scangear is currently open... close...  & rerun"...  Nothing we did managed to get us past the message.

We removed the drivers for all canon printers, stopped the Window image service, restarted with only the Microsoft services...

Any ideas? 

[Patrice]

Hi RRb!

So that we may better assist you, please reply with your model number and your operating system.  Also, is the printer connected directly to the computer with a USB cable or wirelessly over the network? 

We look forward to your reply.