I was called by a guy who had problems printing a document. He was trying to print up a document but the printer selection box was completely blank. It would give me an message about installing a printer first but when I clicked on the “Find Printer” button it couldn't find anything.
I went to "Settings" then "Devices" and click on "Printers and scanners" on the left-hand side (or type "Printers and scanners" in search) but the page kept crashing.
Tried to fix it for a few hours, couldn't get it cleared out. He took it to a computer repair shop. They couldn't fix it. Round three came back to me. I took all the bits and pieces I found online and put them together in one go. Do not restart until the last step.
Tried the usual file checking/fixing:
Right-click on start button and then click on “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” or CMD. Then type the following and press enter after each line:
sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
There are a few other DISM commands but I usually skip to the fix it one. It didn't help.
Originally, I uninstalled the drivers and reinstalled them. Did not work. But I was on the write path, I had to dig a little deeper. Here are the steps I took. Spoiler alert, this worked for me. This is on a Windows 10 laptop.
First unplug all your printers.
Right-click on the Start button and click on Run or Windows key + R
Type in and hit Enter: printui.exe /s
Or, from a CMD prompt: rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /s /t1
This opens up “Print Server Properties”. Click on the “Drivers” tab and click on each third party printer driver listed and then “Remove”. In the box that opens you can leave it on “Remove driver only” then OK. Acknowledge any other warning. Warning: do not remove any of the Microsoft entries.
Then in Run type in “appwiz.cpl” (minus the quotes) and press enter. Search through the list and uninstall any and all printer software.
Open regedit (type in search) and go to (Warning: Becareful here. Removing or changing the wrong entries can interfer with the operation of your computer. Right-click on the key and select export first and save the backup somewhere on your hard drive):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
On the left hand side under Monitors, right-click on every key from third party software and select delete. Click on the little arrow before it or double-click on the key to see the sub entries.
Do not delete: Local Port, LPR Port, Microsoft Shared Fax Monitor, Standard TCP/IP Port.
Still in regedit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers
Under Printers delete all Printer listed except Microsoft stuff: Fax, Microsoft Print to PDF, Microsoft XPS Document Writer' and OnenNote.
This step maybe optional. I also created a new regedit entry. Go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\Namespace
Right-click on Namespace and select New then Key. Name the key {2227a280-3aea-1069-a2de-08002b30309d}. In the right-hand pane of this new Key, double-click on the value Default and change it to Printers. Close regedit.
This puts a folder on your desktop named printers. Open. Check to see if your printers are listed and that you have access. I'm not sure if this step was necessary. A number of sites mentioned it but neglected to explain how it would help.
In search type “Services” and search for the following and the recommended settings.
Device Association Service – Manual (Trigger Start)
Device Install Service – Manual
Device Management Enrollment Service – Manual
Device Setup Manager – Manual (Trigger Start)
DevQuery Background Discovery Broker – Manual (Trigger Start)
Print Spooler – Automatic
Go to Control Panel, Devices and Printers remove all printer devices.
Go to Settings, Apps, in the Apps and features section go down through the list and make sure all printer software is uninstall otherwise do so by clicking on each entry and then the Uninstall option.
Go through your hard drive and delete any and all printer program folders including any in “Program Files”, “Program Files (x86)”, “AppData\Local”, “\LocalLow” and “\Roaming” folders.
Now hold your breath and restart your computer. Go to your printers manufacturer's website and download the latest drivers for your printer or go to the Printers and scanners section, hopefully it's working, and just add your printer.
Bottom line, seems it was corrupted drivers and I had to dig a little bit deeper into the system to remove all of th parts.
A bit of work and a little complicated but it worked in this case.