Fix HP Envy 5640 not Installing or Printing on Windows 10 via USB/Wireless

Some time towards the end of 2017 my mothers HP Envy 5640 stopped printing via USB - apparently she never got it printing wireless and had just settled for USB. She told me about the problem a few weeks ago but she"s pretty good with computers so I figured she would get it all worked out. Then, while dealing with a Windows 10 random freezing issue of my own that started after the Fall Creators Update, I realized that my mother"s issue was probably related to the updated as well.

After asking my mom some questions it was pretty clear that the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update screwed up my her printer, and that she probably wasn"t going to get it fixed if she hadn"t by now. I got on TeamViewer and tried uninstalling and reinstalling her printer. The install would always get close to the end but then fail with no connectivity whether trying to print by USB or Wireless. After the second try, I decided to send an error report and it said there was a solution I could try.

No USB or Wireless Connectivity on HP Envy 5640 Printer after Windows 10 Fall Creator Update

I downloaded the HP Printer Install Troubleshooter and spent a good hour and a half working my way through it.. it was basically just this process: Full uninstall, Clean up with HP printer cleanup utility, Turned startup programs, Disable firewall, Check/Reset router. After following the entire troubleshooter, the HP Envy 5640 still failed to install properly on my mother"s Windows 10 PC. Of course I ended up at the first result Google gave me when I searched for answers to my problem - a support thread on the HP forum. Unfortunately, the post was a dead end with basic cookie-cutter responses that just fix bad/corrupt driver installations.

The reason HP 5000 series printers, and other HP printers, won"t print after Fall Creators Update

As a last resort I decided to extract the files from the HP 5640 install executable and install the drivers manually using Windows Device Manager. The installation seemed to be working until the end when it failed with this error: "The Printer drivers not compatible with a policy enabled on your computer that blocks NT 4.0 drivers". And BAM! By dumb chance the problem is found..

Of course I Googled that error next and found another HP Support thread. A person was having the exact same issue as me and another member of the forum named ShlomiL had the solution. I should note that ShlomiL is a volunteer and is not even employed by HP.

How to Fix HP Envy 5000 and 4000 Series Printers with blocked NT 4.0 drivers on Windows 10

1. Uninstall the HP Software from your PC.
2. Backup your registry prior making any registry changes:
   https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c03485724
3. Update your registry using the Reg file below (that will change some printer related policies for your PC):
   https://www.dropbox.com/s/avbv56zdgwv7600/kernel.reg?dl=1
4. Right click the Start menu and select Run.
5. Type Services.msc and press OK.
6. Locate and stop the Print Spooler service
7. Browse to c:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers
8. Rename W32X86 to W32x86.old
9. Rename x64 to x64.old
   Note: if any of these folders fails to delete reboot your PC and then repeat the steps starting from Step 4...
10. Restart your computer.
11. Reinstall the HP Software and check for any difference

Thanks ShlomiL! My mom can finally print from her desktop again. Apparently she"s just been printing everything from her laptop for months. Woops, sorry mom! 🤣

Note: In case the above kernel.reg file is removed from Dropbox, this is it"s contents:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers]
"KMPrintersAreBlocked"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\PointAndPrint]
"Restricted"=dword:00000001
"TrustedServers"=dword:00000000
"ServerList"=""
"InForest"=dword:00000000
"NoWarningNoElevationOnInstall"=dword:00000001
"UpdatePromptSettings"=dword:00000002

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\PointAndPrint]
"Restricted"=dword:00000001
"TrustedServers"=dword:00000000
"ServerList"=""
"InForest"=dword:00000000
"NoWarningNoElevationOnInstall"=dword:00000001
"UpdatePromptSettings"=dword:00000002