Printer Problems?

Computer Care: Printer glitch? Best to start over

	By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com

	POSTED: February 23, 2013 2:00 a.m.

	While recently attempting to print a document on a printer I’ve had installed for over a year, Windows suddenly advised me that I in fact, had no printer installed. I could see the Officejet across the room; I just used it the night before and my wife had printed something on it earlier that morning, so I knew it worked. Rather than going into panic mode, I did the same thing I did the last time this happened: I reinstalled the printer. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, this seems to be a common occurrence. This is a relatively easy task, yet not quite as straightforward as one might assume. The first thing to do is remove the USB cable, then remove the printer from your computer. Go to the “Printers” window from either the “Start Menu” or “Control Panel.” Right-click on the printer icon, choose to delete it and then reboot the system. Your printer is now uninstalled. Next, find an updated version of the printer driver and software package on the manufacturer’s website. This is better than using the CD that came with the printer, as it may have some bug fixes and enhancements that the disc lacks. It never hurts to check the Web for a newer version. That bug fix may stop your printer from crashing next time. Look for a “Support,” “Downloads” or “Drivers” section on the website (www.hp.com,www.epson.com, etc.). It will either be a hot link — maybe off to the side or a tab at the top of the page. After you find it, type in or choose your device model and then choose your operating system. Next, either just choose to download the driver to get your printer running again, or get the whole package with greeting card and calendar maker and all. Run the installer after you download it. Don’t plug in the USB cable until you are prompted to do so by the software. Even if you are connecting a wireless printer, it may ask you to temporarily connect via a USB cable, so have one ready. With a wireless installation, choose the 802.11 option and be ready to recognize your network name so you can choose it. After the installation, reboot again and go back to the printer window to be sure yours is listed and chosen as the default. Right-click and choose “Default,” if not. Next, test your printer. Right-click the icon again and choose “Properties” and click on “Print Test Page” or just try to print a document. If you’ve had this device for a while, it wouldn’t hurt to clean and align the print head. Old ink coagulates on the head, degrading the print quality and sometimes stopping it completely from printing. All printer software has these utilities built-in. Look in the “Properties” area or for a “Tools” or “Utilities” tab. This maintenance may take a while, use up some ink and a few sheets of paper, but will absolutely improve the quality of your print output. To save some ink, change your setting from the default to “Draft” mode. It uses a lot less ink, prints much faster and chances are you won’t notice the lack of ink. If printing photos though, go for the full amount and choose the “Photo” option under quality. Also be sure to change the paper type to glossy, if that’s what you’re using. While in the settings area, familiarize yourself with some of the other options there. Aside from changing paper type and ink quality, you can choose to print in grayscale, in black only or set up for pamphlet printing. This will print on both sides of the paper with two pages per sheet. You can also choose to set up poster or banner printing here, using anything from four to 25 sheets of paper. If you have a long list of docs that failed to print, you may have a jammed print queue that’s stopping the device from printing. To confirm this, right-click on your printer icon in the task bar and choose to open the device. You should be able to see all of your stalled prints. You may be able to highlight each one and choose “Cancel,” but they may be stuck there. To fix this, open a command prompt box by typing “cmd” (without quotes) from the search box or Run dialog. Then type “net stop spooler” (no quotes) and hit the Enter key. Wait for a confirmation from the system, then type “net start spooler” and again hit Enter. This clears the queue by stopping the service, then starting it again. Printers are just like everything else mechanical: Anything can go wrong. On the grand scheme of things that can go wrong with computer systems, this is really not that big of a deal. It shouldn’t cost you anything (unless you’re out of ink) and the time involved is minimal. Including the download, you should have remedied this situation in about an hour. Take a deep breath and say, “At least I don’t have to reformat my hard drive.” Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.