Windows 7 Can’t Print on 1 laptop – says “Error Printing” in queue

[DaveBrock]

Hi,
I have 2 laptops and a desktop in the office, all 3 of them running Windows 7. Printer has been running fine on all computers for years.


Last week the printer stopped working on 1 laptop. When I print a document from MS Word, the queue says “Printing” but nothing happens. After approx. 1 minute the queue says “Error Printing”


The printer is connected to a WiFi router. The desktop is connected by cable to the router, and the 2 Laptops connected via WiFi. Printer still works fine on 1 of the laptops and also the desktop.


I went to Services, and stopped the Print Spooler, and then restarted. Still would not print.


I cancelled all documents in the queue, and tried again. Still would not print.


I can ping the printer from the laptop which won’t print.


Any suggestions?


Thanks in advance,

Dave

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi Dave,
This one will be pretty easy I think. Are you using Windows7 Homegroups to connect your laptops? If not, you should try to turn that on and then connect each of the other 2 laptops to the first Homegroup laptop; most sharing problems or printing problems are resolved this way.

If you continue to have problems, you should make sure your AV programs are up to date on each laptop, and scan/remove all viruses found. Then download the free MALWAREBYTES from malwarebytes.org and scan/remove all found spyware viruses found. Repeat on all 3 laptops and reboot. This should take care of the problem. There are many viruses and spyware viruses that intentionally attack your printing capabilities on your network (LAN), and therefore if you remove them from your computers, your printing will come back. There is an entire different class of viruses that attack network adapters (thus removing your Internet connectivity), Graphics adapters, Audio adapter etc.
All are very sneaky and pernicious and you'd never know you have them. This is compounded on a home network since if you scan for viruses on only 1 computer, they will continue to spread (just like a disease like Malaria) until you wipe them all out from ALL your computers and remove the computer that was the infection vector source.

Try this and it should solve your problem. If the problem persists, post back and we can give you some things to try.

Best of luck,
<<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>>

 

[DaveBrock]

Hi BigBearJedi,
Thank you for your suggestions!

I have the latest BitDefender Total Security 2017 on all of my machines... 2 laptops, and 1 desktop. This is running all the time, so unlikely that any virus has come through.

I am also very careful and don't install software or click on dodgy links if surfing the net.

I will try to setup Homegroups between the computers when I get time, and see if this can remove the problem.
I will update this thread when I discover a fix.

Best Wishes,
Dave