Troubleshooting Printers Problems

The printer is a device that assists users in printing anything from computers, memory cards, websites, and other USB media storage. Printer converts information from electronic form to physical forms such as papers. During the use of a printer, various types of problems may occur that require troubleshooting steps to correct the errors.

Some issues are complex that need the help of experts while some printer problems are minor and require the use of troubleshooting skills of the printer to identify common problems. The common printer problems and solutions can be sorted out by contacting PCASTA team, a live tech support company on Support Chat to help in troubleshooting printer problems.

Problem 1- Printer Paper Jam Issue & Solution

Paper jam occurs when the printer stops feeding pages. Additionally, it occurs when there is jam in the fuse or when a paper gets stuck within the inkjet of the printer. Furthermore, a paper jam occurs when the printer either push out a crumpled or a smudged paper. The printer can also stop and an individual may need to pull out the paper that is stuck in the printer.

A solution to a paper jam entails the use of certain steps such as: –

1. Checking the paper tray to give an opportunity of removing any loose paper from the paper tray and gently pulling out the paper out of the printer by Pressing resume button on the printer, it is the only spot that the paper jammed.
2. Removal of the rear access door of the inkjet printer to look into the printer and remove any jammed paper and performing the following activities.
3. Pulling out any paper stuck in the rollers at the back of the printer and making sure all the paper has been removed, including any scraps of paper or ripped pieces.
4. Replacing the rear access door of the printer and pressing the resume button, in case of no other paper stuck.
5. Lifting the front cover of inkjet printer and removing any additional paper jams.
6. Checking the printer carriage to make sure that it works properly.
7. Testing the printer and ensuring it prints correctly and does not jam again or finally.

Problem 2- Printer Setup Problems & How to Fix

Printer setup problems occur because of problems with supplies or hardware. The printer driver might reject the wrong paper use of the selected media. The solution to a setup problem such as wireless or wired network connections include the use of different steps such as

Step 1: Checking of network and printer connection status-network needs to work correctly and the printer needs to be ready for network setup. The use of a wireless router necessitates that the following requirements are met effectively

1. The router band must be checked properly to operate in both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz.
2. The router needs to support Bonjour especially for HP printers.

Confirming that the printer is ready for network set up by

1. Checking network connection.
2. Wiring network connection.

In case of a Mac machine, click on the network icon within the menu bar and the view the network name and status connection to confirm.

1. If the selected network is not yours.
2. If the network signal strength is weak.
3. If the network status is not connected

Disconnect any virtual private networks before the installation process of printer software.

Try installing Printer software again to confirm

1. If the installation has completed and there are any issues resolved
2. If the installation fails and continues to the next step

Step 2: manual connection of the printer to the network.

Step 3: Temporarily disabling firewall software on the computer.

Step 4: Resetting the print system.

Step 5: Restarting the computer, printer, and router.

Step 6: Uninstalling the Printer software.

Step 7: Reinstalling the Printer software.

Problem 3- Printer Not Printing – Printing Problem & Soltuion

The problem of a printer failure to print is associated with connectivity issues to faulty configurations or drivers’ fault within the print. The following methods are relevant in solving printing problems

A. Performing basic troubleshooting

Performing basic troubleshooting include checking the status of the connection between the printer and the computer. It is important to ensure that the devices are properly connected with each other through the network cable that is connected normally.

B. Updating the printer driver

Printers fail to print because of faulty drivers and hence the need to update and reinstall printer drivers is important in fixing printer issues. The use of driver easy automatically recognizes the system and corrects the faulty drivers. Additionally, downloading and installing drivers using free or pro version of driver easy is important in updating printer drivers.

C. Setting up the printer to default

During the printing process, computers automatically assign the printing tasks to the default printer unless another choice is taken on one purpose. The setting of a printer to default include the following steps:

1. Press the window logo key and R key on the keyboard at the same time to open the run dialog. Type control in the dialog and hit enter to open control open.
2. In the control panel select devices and printers.
3. In the printers section, right click on the printer icon and select set as the default printer and click ‘yes’.
4. The presence of the tick below printer confirms that it is set as default printer.

D. Cancel all the printing jobs

Another cause of a faulty printer not to print is because of the presence of a stuck print queue. Printing queue contains failed printing jobs which stops the functioning of a normal lead printer causing a printing issue. The clearing of all print jobs gets the printer back to normal status by following the steps below

1. Open devices and printers in the control panel.
2. Right click on the printer in the printers section and select see what’s printing.
3. Open the printer menu and select open as administrator.
4. Open printer menu again and select cancel all documents.
5. Confirm the action.
6. After canceling all printing jobs of the printer, check and see if it can run normally.

E. Checking the printer status

After the completion of the methods above and the printer still cannot print, check if there are any hardware issues on the printer. Ensure that the HP printer has enough paper, ink or toner and no paper is stuck as a paper jam. Besides, it is important to check the status of the printer cartridge and try to replace it with a new one.

Cases of printer faults in printing after replacing some parts, install the original ones back and check if the problem is solved. Additionally, have the printer serviced or contact the printer support for further assistance and get the printer repaired or replaced.

Problem 4- Printer not connecting to PC – Here’s what you need to do!

Printer sometimes does not connect to the PC despite the presence of WIFI or a cable giving an error that says “Error Printing”. The following suggestions are necessary for ensuring that the computer connects to the printer

1. Turn printer on, if off
2. Wait until the printer is idle and silent before continuing
3. With the printer on, disconnect the power cord from the rear part of the printer
4. Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet
5. Wait for at least 60 seconds
6. Plug power cord back and into the wall outlet
7. Reconnect the power cord to the rear part of the printer

Turn on the printer

Wait for the warm-up period of the printer and uninstall the printer driver from root level by following the steps below: –

• In windows, search for open programs and features.
• Select the printer.
• Select Uninstall.
• In Windows, search open devices and printers.
• In the devices and printers windows, look for the printer and click on the right and choose delete or remove a device.
• Open up run command with Windows Key and R key on the keyboard.
• Type printui.exe/s and click ok.
• Click on the driver’s tab.
• Click on printer driver and select ok.
• Select apply and ok on the print server properties of windows.
• Close devices and printers.
• Restart notebook or PC and download full feature software while following onscreen instructions.

Problem 5- Printer Connectivity Problems (Solved)

Printer connectivity problems causes are damaged USB cable and lack of printer detection to the computer or a problem with the printer driver. The following solutions are important to fix the connectivity problems as follows:

Fix 1: check the printer connection by

1. Restarting the computer
2. Checking the connection issue
3. Checking the network connection

Fix 2: updating the printer driver

Faulty drivers contribute to problems of connection hence there is a need for printer driver update. The two main ways of printer driver include manual and automatic driver update. A manual update can be done by downloading the printer driver from the manufacturer and installing it in the computer while ensuring it is the latest correct version and compatible with windows system. An automatic driver update is done with Driver Easy.

Fix 3: troubleshooting printer issues

Opening the troubleshooting tool to diagnose and fix printer issues

Fix 4: restarting the printer spooler service

The print spooler service spools ensure that print jobs and interactions’ of the printer are handled effectively. If it does not work, restart the print spooler service and fix the issue.