1. You may *still* need the Windows CD even if you install the HP drivers
properly. There may be sub-systems that have not been previously installed
and which now need to be installed, and the only place to get those drivers
and/or INF files is from the installation files. Really, you can't get along
forever without those files. There's a very good chance that they are on
your machine. Use Find to locate files named *.CAB. If you find a bunch or
them in a single folder named WIN_xx.CAB, where xx is a number, them you
have found your installation files and can point the installer to them.

2. When you run the download you got, it simply unpacks the drivers files to
a folder named C:\lj692 (or lj622, depending on which package you
downloaded). To be ready for installation, you should turn on printer first,
then the computer. If the drivers installation dialogue comes up during
startup, Cancel it. Then, after Windows has started, run Add Printer
dialogue. After choosing whether local or network (if offered), there will
come the "Building drivers information database...". Once that is finished,
you get a list of printers and a button that says "Have disk...". You want
to use that button and then navigate to the downloaded drivers folder
(C:\lj692, eg.)

3. If Windows demands the installation CD before it can finish building the
drivers database, and you can't get around that one, then you'll simply have
to find your installation files. See 1, above. I don't know of any way
around that one. It's not clear to me *why* the installation files would be
needed at this point, and I'm guessing it has nothing to do specifically
with your printer installation, but rather, it may simply be that while
building the Driver Information Database, it came across some other reason
for needing the installation files. I've been looking through the
documentation and can't find an answer as to why that might happen.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"Brad" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I bought an older HP "Laser Jet" 6L printer at a yard sale.
This printer connects to the parallel port (no USB) and that is just
fine since I am using a Windows 98 desktop computer. I downloaded the
Windows 98 driver for this model printer.

When I connected the printer, turned it on, then turned on the
computer,
Windows didn't give me an option to install the driver I downloaded.
Instead,
it "built a driver database" and requested the Windows 98SE system CD!
Note: I didn't need the driver I downloaded.

If I didn't have the Windows 98SE system CD, how does one "get around"
this and install the driver from a different source?

Thanks in advance, Brad

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be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC.