Windows 10: network ghost printer

i have a ghost printer on my wireless network and it does not belong to me. never had this printer installed on my computer and can't figure out how to block it. the ip does not show up. any ideas?

:)

 

Network Printer NOT RECOGNIZED!

Hi Laura,

Thanks for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

To assist you better, please provide few details.

• 
  Is your printer is connected to wired or wireless network?
  
• 
  Are you able to view your printer on your network location?
  

I would suggest you to try running Printer troubleshooter and check if it helps.

Follow the below steps:

• 
  Type troubleshooting in the
  Search area on the taskbar.
  
• 
  Click on View all on the left panel of the Troubleshooting Windows.
  
• 
  Select Printer.
  
• 
  Follow the on screen instruction.
  

Hope it helps, reply to us with the status of your issue. We will be happy to assist you.

 

Removing Ghost Printer

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

As per the description, I understand that you are facing some issues using Windows 10.

This might have occurred due to hardware conflicts.

Try the methods.

Method 1:

Uninstall the Printer Drivers.

Follow the steps given below to uninstall the Printer drivers.

• 
  Press Windows key + X and select Device Manager.
  
• 
  Search for Printer Adapters and expand it.
  
• 
  Right click on the Printer driver and select
  Uninstall.
  

Method 2:

Note: Ghost devices are the previously installed devices which are not connected but the drivers for that device is still present in the computer and sometimes shows in the
devices list.

To get rid of unwanted drivers, devices, or services, use the following steps:

• 
  Open the Start menu.
  
• 
  Swipe to the upper right corner to bring charm bar.
  
• 
  Type cmd in search box.
  
• 
  Select cmd from the displayed list, right click and
  Open as administrator.
  
• 
  At the command prompt, type in
  set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 and press Enter.
  

(Note that nothing seems to happen. This is expected. You are actually setting an environment variable which is going to help you to see hidden devices.)

• 
  On the next command prompt line, type
  devmgmt.msc and press Enter. This will launch the Windows Device Manager Console.
  
• 
  In the Device Manager Console, from the
  View menu, select Show Hidden Devices.
  

As you expand the different drivers and devices in the device manager, you will see not only the items that Windows currently detects as installed on your PC; but you will also see drivers, devices, and services which have
been loaded in the past but were not uninstalled or are not currently started. You can find your offending device, right-click, and choose
uninstall to remove it from the system completely.

Note that ghost devices, drivers, and services are “grayed” out, but that does not necessarily mean that you should delete all of them. Only remove items you know you do not need. Be careful that you do not change too many
devices.

Once you have removed the ghost drivers completely from the system, try to reinstall the drivers for the Webcam and check if it helps.



Hope this information helps. Please let us know if you need any other assistance with Windows in future. We will be happy to assist you.

 

Did our Epson printer get hacked?

Another question, is this on a home network or a work network? The steps @eidairaman1 listed are always a good first step. If this is on a work network you manage, I'd be much more concerned than the home one. It is possible someone is screwing with you, but malware could also be the culprit.