You were almost out the door when you realized what you forgot—to print out the boarding pass for your flight. After logging in, you checked in only to find that your printer wasn't working—dooming you to wait in line at an airport kiosk or for an airline agent to get your boarding pass. Troubleshooting an unresponsive printer may take anywhere from a few seconds (reconnecting a disconnected cable or adding more paper) to a couple of hours, depending on the issue. To help you rule out and fix possible issues, we’ll provide step-by-step troubleshooting instructions.
Am I Missing Something?
Many recent printers include a power-saving mode that will automatically turn the printer off after a given period of time. Often, the printer will wake when you select the Print command in an application, but sometimes, you may need to turn on the printer. Look for signs that the printer is on, such as an illuminated LED (light-emitting diode) near or on the Power button. If no evidence of power is visible, press the Power button and listen for signs that the printer is on, such as the printer pulling paper through its rollers or cleaning the print heads.Begin by looking for signs that the printer has power and is turned on, such as an illuminated LED (light-emitting diode).
If the printer still doesn’t appear to have power, check that the printer’s power cable is plugged into both the printer and the wall outlet. Those using a power strip should double-check that the power strip is turned on and connected to the wall outlet. Assuming your printer uses a wired connection to your computer, you’ll also want to ensure the printer’s data cable is firmly connected on both ends because loose cables may prevent the printer from receiving the entire printout.
Once you’re sure the printer is connected and has power, see if there are lights flashing on the body of the printer. Typically, a flashing light indicates the printer has encountered some type of error. Fortunately, the symbol next to the blinking light or the printer’s users manual will indicate the problem. For example, many printers feature an “out of paper” or “paper jam” light to help you quickly determine why the printer isn’t working. Check out the “Paper Problems” sidebar in this article to see how to remove a paper jam.
Smaller models, such as portable photo printers, may feature a single LED and use blink codes, so you’ll need to watch the blink pattern and reference the users manual to figure out the printer problem. If you installed the utility program included with the printer, the program may also tell you what type of problem the printer encountered. For instance, many printer utilities—including software for most Epson, HP, and Canon printers—communicate with the printer to indicate the amount of ink left in the ink or toner cartridges.
Default Printer
If you install a new printer on your computer—even a virtual printer (such as Microsoft’s XPS Document Writer or ActMask’s PDF Virtual Printer)—Windows may change your default printer to the newly installed option. To check your default printer in Windows Vista, click Start, Control Panel, and Printer (under Hardware And Sound). Right-click the icon for the printer you want to use and click Set As Default Printer. For Windows XP, click Start, choose Control Panel, click Printers And Other Hardware, and click Printers And Faxes. Right-click the model you prefer and select Set As Default Printer.If you don’t see your printer listed, you may need to reinstall the printer driver. To do so, you can use the software disc included with your printer, or you can visit the manufacturer’s Web site, go to the Support section, and install an updated driver for your printer. Typically, you’ll first need to connect the printer to your PC before installing the new printer driver.
Wireless Printers
If your printer communicates with your PC over a wireless network, start by checking if your PC can connect to the Internet, which will ensure the wireless router is communicating with your hardware. Assuming the PC’s network connection is functional, you may need to use the printer’s setup utility to reconfigure the printer with the router. You may also need to run the printer setup utility if you’ve recently reset or replaced your wireless router or access point.Although each wireless configuration application will vary, it’s likely you’ll need to know your network’s SSID (Service Set Identifier; the name of your network); wireless mode, such as Infrastructure or Ad Hoc; security mode, such as WEP (Wired Equivalency Privacy), WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), or WPA2; and the network key. Similar to when you first set up the wireless printer, you may need to run an Ethernet cable to your router—or a USB cable from your computer—to configure the wireless connection. Once you successfully finish using the setup utility, you can unplug the cables and wirelessly print your documents and photos.
Time For Testing
One of the best ways to locate the trouble of your printing problem is to print a test page. If you open the printer's Properties, it typically features a Print Test Page button under the General tab. Barring a Print Test Page button, you can open a different application, such as a word processor, Web browser, or photo-editing application, and then select File and click Print.If the printer starts working, the previous application may be configured to use a different printer than the one you set up in Windows. If the printer still doesn't respond, open the print queue dialog box by clicking the Printer icon that appears in Windows' System Tray (located
Make certain the printer you want to use is set as the default printer in Windows.
in the bottom-right corner) to see if Windows can provide a more detailed reason for the problem. In some cases, you may find that a
previous print job, such as a document whose job was paused, may be stuck in the queue ahead of your printout. Right-click the print job and select Cancel Print Job until your test print is at the top of the queue. If the document fails to print, Windows should generate an error message, such as ‘Windows Cannot Connect To The Printer,’ that will help you determine the problem’s cause.
If the test page won’t print, it’s likely your PC and printer cannot communicate with each other. Read your printer’s manual and find out how to print a self-test page. Printers unable to print a self-test page may be broken, and you should contact the manufacturer (assuming you’ve gone through the other troubleshooting tasks in this article). For printers able to produce the self-test page, the printer likely has a corrupted or otherwise nonfunctional driver.
You’ll want to open up Windows’ Printer dialog box (open the Control Panel and click Printer in Vista or Printers And Faxes in WinXP), remove the printer by right-clicking the printer and selecting Delete, and then download and install the latest driver from the manufacturer to resolve the problem.
Paper Problems
To remove a paper jam, you’ll typically need to open up the printer, but if you’re lucky, the jammed paper may be accessible from the printer’s paper exit tray. Most printers feature an illustration on the front or side of the printer that will show you how to open the printer, but the printer’s users guide will likely give you a better idea of what you’ll need to do. Once you open up the printer, you may need to remove the ink cartridges (for inkjet printers) or toner cartridge (for laser printers) to reach the paper stuck in the printer’s rollers. Don’t just tear the paper out of the printer because the torn pieces may cause the printer to jam again. It’s best to gradually, carefully pull the paper out or slide the paper side to side until the page is free.What To Do When Your Printer Freezes Page 1 6/1/2009 9:15:00 PM