Printer Not Working / Shows Offline
Print jobs stuck in queue, printer offline, or nothing prints
⚠ Common symptoms
- Printer status shows "Offline" in Devices & Printers even when powered on
- Jobs pile up in the queue but nothing comes out
- "Driver unavailable" or "Error" status next to the printer
- The printer responds to a direct test page from its own control panel but not from the PC
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1
Verify cables, power, and a self-test page
Confirm the printer is on, cables are seated firmly (or it's on the correct Wi-Fi network), and print a test page directly from the printer's own menu. If the test page prints fine, the hardware is healthy — the fix is software-side on your PC.
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2
Clear the stuck print queue
Press
Win + R, typeservices.msc, and press Enter. Find Print Spooler, right-click it, and choose Stop. Then open File Explorer and delete everything inside this folder (leave the folder itself):C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERSReturn to Services, find Print Spooler, and click Start.
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3
Bring the printer back online
Go to Control Panel → Devices and Printers. Right-click your printer, choose See what's printing, then click the Printer menu at the top. If Use Printer Offline is checked, click it to uncheck it and force the printer online.
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4
Reinstall with fresh manufacturer drivers
Go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners, select your printer, and click Remove device. Download the latest driver directly from the manufacturer's website (HP Support, Canon Support, Epson, Brother, etc.) for your exact printer model and Windows version. Install it, then add the printer again.
Delete only the files inside the PRINTERS spool folder — never the folder itself. Removing the folder prevents the Print Spooler service from starting, which breaks printing for all printers on your PC.