Windows 10: Windows 10 - All Printers Disappeared

We have two computers on our network probably the first two of many that have suddenly stopped showing any printers of any kind. It happened overnight user could print one day, left for the day, returned and could not so I'm guessing a reboot or update or some kind triggered the error but that's just suspicion.


At any rate - all printers are gone: Microsoft Print to PDF, locally installed printers, networked printers, etc. Trying to print will lock the program you're printing from up as trying to pull a list doesn't work. When you go to "Printers & Scanners", none show. I can stop the Printer Spooler service and they'll show again, but starting it makes them disappear again.


Please help!

:)

 

Printers Disappeared Windows 10

Hello,

Thank you for posting the query on Microsoft Community.

From your issue description, I understand that you are facing issue with printers. Not to worry, I am here to help you with this issue.

• Do you receive any error message?

I would suggest you to try the below methods and check if it helps.

Method 1:

I suggest you to run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter and check.

1. Click on search bar next to Start Menu.

2. Type “Troubleshooting” without the quotes and click on
Troubleshooting.

3. Click on View All on the left panel of the screen.

4. Click on Hardware and Devices.

5. Click on Next and follow the prompts to run the troubleshooter.

Method 2: Printer Troubleshooter

The built-in Printer Troubleshooter can automatically detect and fix most of the incorrect settings and errors that could cause issues while printing. I would suggest you to run this troubleshooter to check if there is any issue
occurs.

• Press Windows and x key together and select Control Panel.
• Click on Troubleshooting and select the
  view all option on the left pane.
• Click on Printer troubleshooter and follow the prompts.

Method 3: Uninstall and Reinstall the Printer's Driver

Step 1: Uninstall the Printer's Drivers

• 
  Press “Windows Logo” + “X” keys on the keyboard.
  
• 
  Click on “Device
  Manager” from that list.
  
• 
  Search for the Printer from the device list, right click on it and then select “Uninstall”. On the un-installation window, if you have an option: “Delete the driver software for this
  device” you may select that and then remove the corrupted drivers from the computer.
  
• 
  Follow the on-screen instructions to complete it and then restart the computer if prompted.
  

After the restart, please go ahead with the next steps to install the latest drivers and check if that resolves the issue.

Update Driver Software from the Manufacturer’s website:

Step 2:
Go to the Printer manufacturer’s website and search for the latest Windows 10 drivers available for the printer model and then install it by following the instructions given in the website.

Kindly let us know if you need any further assistance with Windows. We are glad to assist you.

Thank you.

 

Network printer disappeared after windows 10 update

After doing the latest update of windows 10, for some reason one of my network printers has disappeared. I am still able to print on the other 2 network printers that I have installed, but the 3rd one is missing. When I try to go add it again it doesn't
show up in the suggested list after going into add a device from the device and printers menu. And for some reason now it doesn't give me the option to even select "the printer I want inst listed".

Any thoughts?

Thank you

 

Windows 10 update cause printer problem with: "Printer not activated - Error - 20"

Hi John,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community, we appreciate your interest in Windows 10.

I understand your concern about accessing the printer after the Windows Update, we will help you with this issue.

Do let us know the following:

• What is the make and model of your device?
• How is the printer connected to the computer, locally or through network?
• Have you tried any troubleshooting steps to resolve this issue?

I suggest you to try the below and check if it helps.

Step 1: I suggest you to update the drivers for printer and check.

• 
  Right click on the Start button from the desktop and select
  Device Manager.
  
• 
  Locate and expand Print queue.
  
• 
  Right-click on the printer driver
  that is listed and click Update driver software.
  

Step 2: I suggest you to run the printer troubleshooter from
“Fix printer problems”
and then check if this fixes the issue.

Hope it helps. Reply to the post with an updated status of this issue and required information, we will be happy to help you further.