TIP: Can't Delete Print Jobs is the most popular posting on this blog, helping people figure out why Windows won't print. The drawback to the tip is that it is somewhat technical.
I have since found another way to solve the problem: install a second copy of the printer driver, remove the first copy, and then restart the print job.
Here are the step-by-step instructions:
1. At the Windows taskbar, click the round Start button.
2. Choose Printers (or Devices and Printers in Windows 7).
3. Click Add a Printer, and then follow the steps for installing the printer.
4. When asked, Use the driver that is currently installed. Notice that Windows creates a copy named something like, "HP Photosmart C6200 series (Copy 1)".
5. The Printers window now has two icons for the printer, the original and the copy. Right-click the original, and then choose Delete (or Remove Device in Windows 7).
6. You may wish to rename the copy, to get rid of the "(Copy 1)" words.
7. Try the print job again.
By adding the copy of the printer, you bypass the spooler files that are chocking the print job. (By adding the copy and then erasing the original, you reuse the original's printer driver, and you don't need to hunt down disks.)
Unfortunately, you will find that Windows will eventually plug up a print job again in the future, so keep these instructions handy. I find Windows tends to create this problem a couple of times a year.
Now if only Microsoft would spend some of its billions in annual research and development in fixing this bug, which has been frustrating customers of its various dialects of Windows for a decade now.
I have since found another way to solve the problem: install a second copy of the printer driver, remove the first copy, and then restart the print job.
Here are the step-by-step instructions:
1. At the Windows taskbar, click the round Start button.
2. Choose Printers (or Devices and Printers in Windows 7).
3. Click Add a Printer, and then follow the steps for installing the printer.
4. When asked, Use the driver that is currently installed. Notice that Windows creates a copy named something like, "HP Photosmart C6200 series (Copy 1)".
5. The Printers window now has two icons for the printer, the original and the copy. Right-click the original, and then choose Delete (or Remove Device in Windows 7).
6. You may wish to rename the copy, to get rid of the "(Copy 1)" words.
7. Try the print job again.
By adding the copy of the printer, you bypass the spooler files that are chocking the print job. (By adding the copy and then erasing the original, you reuse the original's printer driver, and you don't need to hunt down disks.)
Unfortunately, you will find that Windows will eventually plug up a print job again in the future, so keep these instructions handy. I find Windows tends to create this problem a couple of times a year.
Now if only Microsoft would spend some of its billions in annual research and development in fixing this bug, which has been frustrating customers of its various dialects of Windows for a decade now.
Comments