wgnoyes Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 This may be the last straw. I'm really beginning to believe that Windows, ANY version of Windows, is totally unfit for ANYTHING that is mission critical! My printers all disappear when I try to print something. If I go into Devices and Printers, after the useless and maddening green progress bar at the top stops filling (why doesn't he know instantly what he's got?!), I see my printers. Then if I go try to print something out of ANYTHING!!!! (even piddly notepad), I get this BS: And then when I go look at my printers again: And just like the severe bluescreen boot hassle I had last december that made me regen my system twice in 10 days, there ARE NO ANSWERS OUT THERE that work! There MUST be a fix for this; I WILL NOT regen this system again. I've already been into system services and restarted print spooler (printers appear to come back at that point, but the scenario promptly repeats itself), so that's no answer. What if this happened at a major match like Area 6 and I couldn't print results?!?!? I don't trust Windows anymore and I obviously can't rely on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Are you using a wireless or network printer, or is the 1020 connected to the computer via cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 This is just a WAG but the 1020 is the only physical printer and should probably be the default printer. What that has to do with the price of beer in Berlin, I don't know, but it's a place to start. Also, if you open the properties on the 1020, can you print a test page? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I can't even get Win7 to print a full page out of my HP printer. It prints about 1cm of the image at the top of the 20 pieces of paper that it will use up to print the whole thing bit by bit. Then when I go to try and install an updated driver, the HP site says no driver is needed for Win7!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heckler Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 If I go into Devices and Printers, after the useless and maddening green progress bar at the top stops filling (why doesn't he know instantly what he's got?!), I see my printers. Right click the HP LaserJet 1020 and select "set as default printer" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salilus Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Something is killing your print spooler. There will be evidence of this in the event viewer, more than likely in the System event log. Are the divers for the 1020 Vista\7 compliant? If the drivers are bogus, that is probably whats killing the service. Anything thats broken can be fixed. Also, try to set the 1020 as the default printer first. Alot of applications rely on the default printer settings for formatting\print pre-processing. It may be having a issue with trying to send everything to one note first. To set the default printer, type "Devices and Printers" into the start menu search box, then right click and select Set default printer on the 1020. Close this window and try printing again. See what happens. If you need to restart the print spooler service, its kind of a hassle to get to it. You can either use the services.msc mmc by typing services.msc into the run menu or using the following commands at the command prompt This will stop it: net stop spooler This will start it: net start spooler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Are you using a wireless or network printer, or is the 1020 connected to the computer via cable? Hard wired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 This is just a WAG but the 1020 is the only physical printer and should probably be the default printer. What that has to do with the price of beer in Berlin, I don't know, but it's a place to start. Also, if you open the properties on the 1020, can you print a test page? It was working fine until yesterday afternoon as the non-default printer. Can't print the first byte, not even a test page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Something is killing your print spooler. There will be evidence of this in the event viewer, more than likely in the System event log. Are the divers for the 1020 Vista\7 compliant? If the drivers are bogus, that is probably whats killing the service. Anything thats broken can be fixed. Also, try to set the 1020 as the default printer first. Alot of applications rely on the default printer settings for formatting\print pre-processing. It may be having a issue with trying to send everything to one note first. To set the default printer, type "Devices and Printers" into the start menu search box, then right click and select Set default printer on the 1020. Close this window and try printing again. See what happens. If you need to restart the print spooler service, its kind of a hassle to get to it. You can either use the services.msc mmc by typing services.msc into the run menu or using the following commands at the command prompt This will stop it: net stop spooler This will start it: net start spooler System error 5 has occurred Access is deneid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 It was working fine until yesterday afternoon as the non-default printer. That's a new piece of info. If it was working yesterday then something changed. From the rest of the description, it does sound like the print queue is fubared. You may want to do a google search on "Windows 7 print spooler error" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 I don't know; it's working now. I managed somehow, after yanking cables, swapping cables, swapping usb ports, etc, etc, to get into the spool queue for this printer and whacked everything out of there. Then deleted the printer itself. Then reinstalled the 1020 drivers, then plugged it back in, it still failed, deleted it again, swapped default from onenote (I'm not sure what all onenote actually does; it may be actually useful, it gave me my screenprints at the top) to adobe pdf, plugged the printer back in, set it as the default, printed stuff (this is a good thing), swapped the default back to pdf (where I had it before going to Office2007 last december), and printed stuff to the non-default laserjet 1020 again. It works now, but to me it's like a broken mechanical device you patched back together with duct tape; it's chugging along right now, but I don't know how long it will last. And my trust in the operating system, ANY windows operating system, is now completely gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 For various and sundry reasons, Windoze sometimes seems to become possessed and must be exorcised. The ritual usually entails uninstalling and reinstalling things several times until the demon gets tired of trying to keep up and departs. I am a firm believer that the best way to keep a computer from having problems it to religiously not turn it on each day. Just sit and admire it's pristine condition for an hour each day then go do something useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rr4406pak Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I had this problem with my printers here at work with Windows 7. The print spooler would just keep dying. I was pulling my hair out. I share my printers out from a server so what I did to solve the problem was to delete the printers and re-add them but with the new Windows 7 approved driver downloaded from the HP website (I have all HP printers). Windows 7 is very driver sensitive. It does not work properly with the old drivers. Definitely a flaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I am a firm believer that the best way to keep a computer from having problems it to religiously not turn it on each day. Just sit and admire it's pristine condition for an hour each day then go do something useful. +1. I've long preferred to never turn a computer off -- things seem to work better that way..... Back on topic: Weird, plain weird. I've been running an HP printer of about that vintage (Laserjet 1300) on Windows 7 since early December with no issues, in addition to running a second network printer, wirelessly, for access by XP Pro and Vista laptops (I occasionally have to reinstall this printer, and am thinking of cable connecting it to the router to see if it'll make a difference). I did snatch the latest drivers off HP's website..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted March 10, 2010 Author Share Posted March 10, 2010 My system stays up 24x7, although I usually do go ahead and log off when I'm done. When I'm gone for a few days, I will take it down then. Yeah, I understand current drivers, too. I went to HP to get the latest when I installed Win7 Ultimate last december. I had to: I had been running XP Prof for 4 years before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Law_Man Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Have you done all of your windows updates even the optional ones ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Law_Man Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 you may also try stopping and disabling the HP CUE Device Discovery Service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrylite Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 7-3-2010 I have the same ' no printer ' situation on my 8 month old HP e9280t desktop that occurs on 2 printers that I have ( a 6 month old HP 8500 deskjet pro and an Epson CX6000). I tried the Epson CX6000 just as a isolation aid, to see if the problem was only with the HP 8500. The CX6000 fails the SAME way the 8500 does. I am running Win7, 64bit and am current with Windows Updates (set to auto). This 'printers disappearing' problem started about 6-5-2010. I have talked to HP and even their level-2 help said to 'Restore back to a time when it was working'. I have tried this, but the problem comes back every day, or every 2-3 days. I have manually removed Msoft patches from near that time, but it has not fixed the problem. My printers are all hardwired via USB to this pc and are not being shared. I have Norton NIS 2010 active. The only way to get the printers back (temporarily) is to Restart the PC. This lasts for 1-3 days, and the problem is back. I'm printing simple emails, Word doc's, etc. This PC-Printer setup has worked fine for 8 months with no problems, and all of a sudden the problem is here and I don't have any idea how to get rid of it. I see this problem all over the net, with many guessed at answers, but none that has affected my problem. Any help is much appreaciated. Sincerely, Jerrylite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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