inno-installers/HPOfflineInstaller/README.md

HP Universal Print Driver - Offline USB Installer

Standalone offline installer for HP Universal Print Driver for USB-connected printers.

Overview

This installer packages the HP Universal Printing PCL 6 driver for offline installation on computers that need to connect HP printers via USB. No network or database connection is required.

Designed for Windows 7+ systems with outdated root certificates.

Features

• Offline Installation: No network connection required
• USB Plug-and-Play: After driver installation, connect printer via USB and Windows auto-detects
• Multi-Architecture: Supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows
• Windows 7 Compatible: Handles certificate trust issues on older systems
• Certificate Bypass: Automatically installs driver certificate to trusted store
• Simple UI: Welcome page -> Install -> Done

Driver Information

Property	Value
Driver Name	HP Universal Printing PCL 6
Version	7.2.0
Architectures	x64 and x32
Connection	USB
Min Windows	Windows 7 SP1

Windows 7 Certificate Handling

This installer addresses the "untrusted certificate" issue on Windows 7 systems that lack updated root certificates:

What It Does

1. Installs Certificate: Adds the HP signing certificate from the driver catalog (.cat) file to:

   • TrustedPublisher store - Trusts the driver publisher

2. Disables Signature Enforcement: Sets driver signing policy to "Ignore" via registry:

   • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Driver Signing
   • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Driver Signing

3. Multiple Install Methods: Tries several approaches for compatibility:

   • pnputil -i -a (Windows 7 syntax)
   • pnputil /add-driver /install (Windows 10+ syntax)
   • rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry (fallback)

Project Structure

HPOfflineInstaller/
├── HPOfflineInstaller.iss        # Main Inno Setup script
├── README.md                      # This file
├── test_hp_install.bat           # Test script for manual testing
├── gea-logo.ico                  # Application icon
├── patrick.bmp                   # Wizard image (164x314px)
├── patrick-sm.bmp                # Small wizard image (55x58px)
└── drivers/
    ├── hp_x64/                   # 64-bit driver files
    │   ├── hpcu345u.inf          # Main INF file
    │   └── hpcu345u.cat          # Certificate catalog
    └── hp_x32/                   # 32-bit driver files
        ├── hpcu345c.inf          # Main INF file
        └── hpcu345c.cat          # Certificate catalog

Building the Installer

Requirements

• Windows machine with Inno Setup 6 installed
• All files in this directory

Steps

1. Copy this folder to a Windows machine
2. Open HPOfflineInstaller.iss in Inno Setup Compiler
3. Press F9 to compile
4. Output: Output\HPOfflineInstaller.exe

Command Line Build

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Inno Setup 6\ISCC.exe" HPOfflineInstaller.iss

Running the Installer

1. Run HPOfflineInstaller.exe as Administrator
2. Click Next on the Welcome page
3. Watch installation progress:
   • Step 1: Installing certificate to trusted store
   • Step 2: Disabling driver signature enforcement
   • Step 3: Installing printer driver
4. Press any key to close
5. Connect your HP printer via USB
6. Windows will automatically detect and configure the printer

Silent Installation

HPOfflineInstaller.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

Testing Before Deployment

Use test_hp_install.bat to test on target machines:

1. Copy drivers\hp_x64 folder to C:\temp\hp_drivers on the target machine
2. Run test_hp_install.bat as Administrator
3. Verify all steps complete successfully

How It Works

1. Extract: Driver files extracted to temp folder
2. Certificate: Installs signing certificate to TrustedPublisher store using certutil
3. Policy: Disables driver signing enforcement via registry
4. pnputil: Adds driver package to Windows driver store
5. PrintUI: Registers driver with Windows Print Spooler (fallback)
6. USB Detection: When printer is connected, Windows matches it to installed driver

Supported Printers

This universal driver supports most HP printers including:

• HP LaserJet series
• HP Color LaserJet series
• HP OfficeJet series
• HP PageWide series
• And many more HP models

Troubleshooting

"Access Denied" Error

• Run the installer as Administrator

"Untrusted Certificate" Still Appears

If Windows still shows a certificate warning after installation:

1. Click "Install this driver software anyway"
2. The driver will install and work normally
3. This may occur on some Windows 7 configurations

Driver Already Installed

• The installer will detect this and skip installation
• Your printer is ready to use

Printer Not Detected After USB Connection

1. Open Device Manager
2. Look for any devices with warning icons
3. Right-click -> Update Driver -> Browse my computer
4. Select "Let me pick from a list"
5. Choose "HP Universal Printing PCL 6"

Verify Driver Installation (Windows 7)

wmic printer driver list brief | findstr /i hp

Verify Driver Installation (Windows 10+)

Get-PrinterDriver -Name "HP Universal Printing PCL 6"

Verify Certificate Installation

certutil -store TrustedPublisher

Technical Details

Registry Keys Modified

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Driver Signing
  Policy = 00 (BINARY) - Ignore signature enforcement

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Driver Signing
  BehaviorOnFailedVerify = 0 (DWORD) - Ignore failed verification

Certificate Stores Used

• TrustedPublisher - Machine-level trusted publishers

Installation Methods (in order)

1. pnputil -i -a <inf> - Windows 7
2. pnputil /add-driver <inf> /install - Windows 10+
3. rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ia - Driver registration fallback

Version History

Version 1.0 (2025-12-23)

• Initial release
• HP Universal Printing PCL 6 v7.2.0
• x64 and x32 support
• Windows 7 certificate bypass

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Internal use only - WJDT / GE Aerospace