Troubleshooting Printer Issues in Windows 7

1. Check your printer for paper jams, low toner or ink, loose cables, etc.
2. For general communication or print spooler issues, try running the Printer Troubleshooter Wizard. You can find the printer Troubleshooter by searching in "Help and Support", from the Troubleshooter tool in Control Panel, or by right clicking on the printer and selecting "Troubleshoot" from the context menu.

Option 1: From the Control Panel, double click on the troubleshooter icon. Click on "Use a printer" to start the print troubleshooter.


Option 2: Open Devices and Printers. Right click on the device and select "Troubleshoot"

3. If you had an error on the printer or while communicating to it, your printer may have entered an "off line" mode. The printer icon will appear grey in the Devices and Printers window. To fix this condition:
   1. Open Devices and Printers, and right click on the printer and select "See what's printing".
   2. Print jobs that have not been printed will appear in the list. You may want to delete any duplicates if you repeatedly tried to send something to the printer. (If the list is empty, then the problem could still be in the connection or the driver.)
   3. Click on the Printer menu and click "Use Printer Offline" option to remove an existing checkmark. (If you don't see a checkmark, there is some other problem.)
4. Another cause of printer problems can be an incorrect or damaged printer driver. When this happens, your printer may cease to function properly. If the driver is damaged, you should first remove the old version and then reinstall it from the list in Windows, or better yet, download a new copy from the manufacturer's web site.

• To Remove and reinstall your printer using Windows drivers, do the following:

1. Click on the Start orb in the lower left hand corner of your screen.
2. Click on Devices and Printers in the right-hand column.
3. Locate the icon for your printer. Right-click on the printer-icon & select "Remove device" or simply delete it. Note: Using the above method to delete or remove a device from your system will not harm your system in any way.
4. With a USB printer, make sure power is on to the printer. Disconnect the USB cable and reconnect it. Windows should report that it found new hardware, if not, try connecting the USB cable to a different port on your computer. It may reinstall your printer without prompting, or you may need to follow the prompts to confirm the device and configuration.

NOTE: If Windows 7 does not have your printer model in the current list, you may need to check the manufacturer's web site for an updated version. If your manufacturer does not have drivers for Windows 7, you may be able to use a 32 or 64-bit driver for Windows Vista. (Right click on Computer and select "properties" to see your basic system information. Under the "System" category, Windows 7 will identify the "System type:" as a 32-bit or a 64-bit Operating System. Your printer driver must be the same.)

• To Remove a printer and then manually install a driver from disk (flash drive, folder, etc.) do the following:
  1. Click on the Start orb in the lower left hand corner of your screen.
  2. Click on Devices and Printers in the right-hand column.
  3. Locate the icon for your printer. Right-click on the printer-icon & select "Remove device" or simply delete it.
  4. Click "Add a printer" from the top of the Devices and Printers window.
  5. Select Add a local printer.
  6. Select the port, this may be the Parallel printer port, USB, or even an existing TCP/IP port if you had this printer installed previously. Click Next.
  7. Click Have Disk and use Browse to point the installer to the files you downloaded. Click OK.
  8. Select the printer model from the list (If you don't have the correct model showing, go back to the manufacturer site and try again. If you download a 32-bit version and need 64-bit, Windows should tell you this. Click Next.
  9. Select the option to "Replace the current driver", this tells Windows to use the new copy you created. (If the driver was damaged somehow, selecting "Use the driver that is already installed..." Will NOT correct your problem.) Click Next.
  10. Change the name or leave it - your choice. Click Next.
  11. If you are not sharing the printer, leave the selection "Do not share this printer" and click Next
  12. If this is your only printer or the one you want to use most, click the box for "Set as the default printer". You can also click the button "Print a test page" to verify you have fixed the problem. Click Finish.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.