HP Photosmart C4680 Driver Download and Installation Guide

If you need the HP Photosmart C4680 driver, you can get it straight from HP’s official support site, and this guide walks you through downloading, installing, and troubleshooting it on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

The Photosmart C4680 is an older HP all-in-one inkjet printer that still works fine today as long as you have the right driver. Since it was discontinued years ago, Windows does not always install it automatically, so you often need to grab the driver package yourself. Below I cover the full download and setup process, plus what to do when the installer refuses to cooperate.

Where to Download the HP Photosmart C4680 Driver

HP no longer lists the Photosmart C4680 as an actively supported model on its main product page, but the driver files are still hosted on the HP official driver support site. Search for “Photosmart C4680” in the product search box, and HP will detect your Windows version automatically or let you pick it manually.

1. Go to the HP driver support page and search for your exact model number.
2. Select your version of Windows from the dropdown menu (Windows 10 64-bit or Windows 11 64-bit).
3. Look for “Basic Driver” or “Product Install” under the Driver-Product Installation Software category.
4. Click Download and save the file somewhere you can find it, like your Desktop.
5. Wait for the download to finish completely before running the installer.

If HP’s site does not show a native Windows 11 package for this model, don’t worry. The Windows 10 basic driver almost always installs and works fine on Windows 11, since the print subsystem in both versions is largely compatible.

Installing the Driver Step by Step

Once the file is downloaded, close any open documents or design programs before you start the install. This avoids conflicts with print spooler services.

1. Double-click the downloaded .exe file to launch the installer.
2. Allow the User Account Control prompt if Windows asks for permission.
3. Connect the printer’s USB cable to your PC only when the installer tells you to (usually partway through).
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to finish extracting and registering the driver.
5. Print a test page from the printer properties window to confirm it works.

I set one of these up again a couple of months ago on an old Windows 10 laptop for a neighbor who still prints photos for a scrapbooking hobby. The HP full-feature package installed without issues, but the scanner utility needed a manual restart of the “HP Digital Imaging Monitor” service before the flatbed scan function showed up in Windows Fax and Scan. That’s a common quirk with this printer family, so keep it in mind if scanning does not work right after install.

Per Daniel Reyes, who is a Small Business IT Consultant at Reyes Tech Solutions, “I still keep a couple of these Photosmart units running for clients who just need basic printing and scanning, and the trick is always using the basic driver instead of the full software suite on newer Windows machines. It installs faster and causes fewer background service conflicts.”

Manual Installation via Device Manager

If the automatic installer fails or your printer already shows up as an unknown device, you can point Windows to the driver files manually. This works because the installer extracts an INF file to a temporary folder before running the setup wizard.

• Run the downloaded .exe file once and let it extract files, then cancel the setup wizard before it finishes.
• Open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start button and selecting it from the list.
• Find the printer under “Print queues” or “Other devices” (it may show a yellow warning icon).
• Right-click it and choose “Update driver,” then “Browse my computer for drivers.”
• Point Windows to the extracted folder (often in a temp directory like C:\SWSetup or C:\HP) and let it search subfolders.
• Click Next and let Windows install the matching INF-based driver.

Troubleshooting When the Driver Won’t Install

Older HP installers sometimes fail on newer Windows builds because of compatibility checks or leftover print spooler data from a previous printer. Here is what usually fixes it:

• Installer closes immediately or shows an error: Right-click the .exe file, choose Properties, go to the Compatibility tab, and run it in Windows 8 or Windows 7 compatibility mode.
• Printer not detected during setup: Unplug the USB cable, restart the computer, and plug it back in after the installer specifically asks for it.
• Print spooler errors: Open Services (services.msc), find “Print Spooler,” right-click and Restart it, then try installing again.
• Installer hangs at “Searching for printer”: Temporarily disable your antivirus software, since some security suites block the HP discovery process.
• Driver installs but printer shows offline: Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, click the printer, and turn off “Use printer offline” if that option appears.

If none of these work, uninstall any old HP software completely using the Microsoft printer troubleshooting guide, restart your PC, then reinstall from a freshly downloaded file. Corrupted downloads cause more installation failures than people expect, especially over unstable connections.

Windows 10 vs Windows 11 Differences

On Windows 10, the HP installer typically registers the printer through the classic Devices and Printers control panel without much fuss. Windows 11 changed some of the underlying printer stack, so you may notice the following differences:

• Windows 11 sometimes installs a generic Microsoft class driver first, which only allows basic printing without HP’s photo enhancement features.
• The HP Smart app (available from the Microsoft Store) can replace the older HP software suite on Windows 11 and often handles driver installation more smoothly.
• Scanning features tend to need the HP Smart app on Windows 11, since older scan utilities are not always compatible with the new privacy permission prompts for cameras and imaging devices.

For the most reliable results on Windows 11, I recommend trying the HP Smart app first before falling back to the classic driver installer described above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the HP Photosmart C4680 still supported by HP?

HP has moved this model to legacy status, meaning it no longer receives new updates, but the existing driver files remain available for download and continue to work on current Windows versions.

Can I use the HP Smart app instead of the classic driver?

Yes, the HP Smart app from the Microsoft Store can detect and install drivers for many older Photosmart models, and it’s often simpler than the traditional installer on Windows 11.

Why does my printer only print in black and white?

This usually means the color cartridge is empty, not seated properly, or the driver defaulted to grayscale mode. Check the ink levels through the HP utility and confirm color mode in the print dialog before printing.

Does this printer work with Mac or Linux?

HP does provide separate driver packages for macOS, and many Linux distributions can use the printer through the open-source HPLIP driver suite, though scanning support varies by distro.

My printer worked fine before, why did it stop after a Windows update?

Windows updates occasionally reset or remove third-party print drivers. Reinstalling the driver package usually resolves this without needing any other changes.

Conclusion

The HP Photosmart C4680 driver is still easy to find and install if you go through HP’s official support page and pick the version matching your Windows edition. Most installation problems come down to compatibility mode or leftover spooler data, both of which are quick fixes. One warning though: avoid downloading the driver from random third-party sites, since repackaged installers for old HP printers are a common source of bundled adware.