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Fix: Printer Not Responding in Windows [Canon, HP, Epson]

Follow our detailed guide to fix printer not responding errors

7 min. read

Updated onJune 13, 2024

updated onJune 13, 2024

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Key notes

Are you getting aPrinter not respondingerror when trying to print a document with Windows 10? If so, there are a variety of potential fixes.

It doesn’t matter if you’re no pro. We’re here to help you out, so read on to find out all about them.

What can I do if the printer is not responding?

1. Check your antivirus and firewall

In some cases, thePrinter not respondingmessage can appear due to your antivirus or firewall. This usually occurs if you’re using a Wi-Fi or network printer.

To check if your antivirus is the problem, we advise you to disable it temporarily and check if that helps.If not, your next step would be to uninstall your third-party antivirus software.

Once you do that, check if the problem is still there. If removing the antivirus solves the issue, you should definitely consider switching to a different antivirus solution.

There are many great antivirus solutions on the market, and you can analyze them and choose from themosteffective antivirus software now.

2. Check all the printer connections

The most obvious thing to check first is the printer’s connections with desktop or laptop to see if they’re all correctly plugged in.

If the printer connects via a USB port, try connecting it with an alternative USB port. For Wi-Fi printers, you’ll need to check that the printer is connected to the correct Wi-Fi network.

For example, it could be that the printer isn’t detecting the correct network name.

3. Update the Printer’s Device Driver

Outdated printer drivers can cause thePrinter not respondingmessage to appear. However, you can fix that problem simply by installing the latest drivers for your printer.

The simplest way to do that is to use the Device Manager. Windows will try to download a suitable driver for your printer.

If that doesn’t work, you can always download the latest driver directly from the manufacturer’s website.

If you don’t want to manually download the drivers, you can use dedicated software to automatically download the missing drivers.

⇒Get Outbyte Driver Updater

4. Run the Printer Troubleshooter in Windows 10

If you’re getting aPrinter not respondingmessage on your PC, you might be able to fix the problem simply by running a troubleshooter on your PC.

Windows 10 has various troubleshooters that can fix common problems, and if you’re having issues with your printer, you just need to run the troubleshooter by performing the above procedure.

After the troubleshooter finishes fixing the problem, the issue should be completely resolved.

5. Make sure the selected Printer is the default one

You should also check if the printer that isn’t responding is the default one. Note that Windows 10 has aLet Windows manage my default printeroption that automatically configures the last printer you printed with as your default one.

You can switch that option off andselect your default printeras follows.

6. Check the printer’s Windows 10 compatibility

If you’ve recently upgraded to Windows 10, check if the printer you own is compatible with the platform.

Almost all new printers will certainly be compatible with Windows 10, but older printers might not be.

You can check if a printer is compatible with Windows 10 on the manufacturer’s website.

For example,this pageon the Canon site provides printer compatibility details. If you clickSELPHY Serieson that page, you’ll find that most models in that series are not compatible with Windows 10.

The page also highlights that Canon isn’t issuing Windows 10 device drivers for the Photo Inkjet Series. So look for a similar page on your printer manufacturer’s website.

7. Restart the Print Spooler service

In order to print, Windows relies on Print Spooler service, but sometimes certain issues with this service can occur.

These issues can lead to aPrinter not respondingmessage and other similar problems. However, you can fix this issue by doing as described above.

Once you restart this service, the problem should be completely resolved and everything will start working again.

Several users are recommending completely stopping this service and then deleting the files associated with it. Stopping the service is simple, and you can do it right from theServiceswindow.

Once you disable the service, go to theC:WindowsSystem32spoolPRINTERSdirectory and delete all files from them. After doing that, start the service once again and check if the issue is still there.

8. Make sure that your printer is properly configured

According to users, thePrinter not respondingmessage can appear if your printer isn’t configured properly.

After making these small adjustments, check if the problem with your printer is resolved.

9. Install the latest updates

If you’re gettingPrinter not respondingmessage on your PC, the issue might be a missing update.

Sometimes there might be certain glitches on your system, and in order to remove them, you need to install the latest updates.

Microsoft is frequently releasing new updates, and Windows usually downloads these updates automatically.

However, sometimes you might miss an update or two, but you can always install them manually. Windows will now check for available updates and download them in the background.

Once the updates are downloaded, restart your PC to install them. After updating your PC, the issue should be completely resolved.

Now you should be able to get the printer responding and printing again. However, if not you can always check out otherWindows Report articlesthat provide further printer fixes.

We also recommend taking charge andmanaging your device and printer settingsfor optimized performance.

As you’ve seen above, thePrinter not responding messagecan cause certain issues on your PC and prevent you from printing documents.

However, the solutions previously detailed may be used to fix any of these problems reported by users:

Fix: Printer Not Responding in Windows [Canon, HP, Epson]#

What can I do if the printer is not responding?#

1. Check your antivirus and firewall#

2. Check all the printer connections#

3. Update the Printer’s Device Driver#

4. Run the Printer Troubleshooter in Windows 10#

5. Make sure the selected Printer is the default one#

6. Check the printer’s Windows 10 compatibility#

7. Restart the Print Spooler service#

8. Make sure that your printer is properly configured#

9. Install the latest updates#