HP LaserJet 1018 – Troubleshooting Notes (DriverFiles)
This page exists because many people arrived assuming the HP LaserJet 1018 driver was broken or missing when the printer behaved unexpectedly. In practice, reinstalling or changing drivers sometimes helped, sometimes changed nothing, and sometimes distracted from mechanical or configuration problems that were already present. These notes document how those situations actually unfolded.
Problem: Printer does not pull paper from the input tray
What users observed: Print jobs were accepted, but the printer never pulled paper from the tray. The device appeared idle despite being powered on and connected.
What was tried: Attention focused on driver and print settings rather than hardware. Changing configuration options altered printer behavior immediately.
What this turned out to be: A configuration state where the printer was waiting for manual feed, not a driver failure.
Where this sometimes ended: Once the manual feed state was cleared, normal paper pickup resumed without replacing the driver.
Problem: Blank or printed pages show repeating stains or dark marks
What users observed: Sheets exiting the printer showed consistent stains, even when printing blank pages. The marks became more obvious after several pages.
What was tried: Test prints and visual inspection were used to rule out software or document issues. Driver changes were not clearly tied to any improvement.
How this played out: The behavior pointed away from the driver and toward a physical cartridge or drum condition. The cause was suggested but not definitively confirmed.
Problem: Printer not detected or listed only as an unknown device
What users observed: The LaserJet 1018 appeared under generic or “other devices” listings, but not as an available printer. Printing was not possible in this state.
What was tried: Driver-related actions were taken through device properties rather than standard printer setup. Detection changed only after manual driver reassignment.
Where this sometimes ended: Once the correct built-in driver was associated with the device, the printer appeared normally.
Problem: Printer not recognized after upgrading to Windows 10 or 11
What users observed: After upgrading Windows, the printer stopped appearing as a usable device even though it had worked previously. Generic print drivers were applied automatically.
What was tried: Installing alternative or older driver packages restored functionality for some systems, while others remained limited to the built-in driver.
What this turned out to be: Compatibility constraints where only the Windows built-in print driver functioned reliably.
Where this sometimes ended: Printing worked with reduced flexibility, or only after accepting the built-in driver rather than a model-specific one.
Problem: Paper jams consistently at the output stage
What users observed: Paper exited the fuser partially and stopped just before release. The jam occurred in the same position every time.
What was tried: Cleaning rollers and inspecting the heater assembly did not change the outcome. The printer continued to jam in the same spot.
What this turned out to be: A torn fuser film that was no longer rotating correctly.
Where this sometimes ended: Replacing the damaged fuser film resolved the jams. Driver changes had no effect on this behavior.
Other devices showing similar behavior:
- Scans your system for missing or outdated drivers
- Downloads and installs the correct versions
- Creates a restore point before making changes