Can't install printer - Add printer error

richdave

Member
I have Vista 32bit and the system recently "lost" its printer.

I have checked the HW and the printer and cable work fine on another system. The strange thing is when I go control panel > printers the pane is blank - not even the XPS writer is there.

When I press add printer I get error "Windos cant open Add Printer. The local print spooler service is not running. Please restart the spooler or restart the machine.

Checking under services the spooler appears to be there and running.

I have tried to use the Brother driver removal utility but it ends with a failure. I have tried reinstalling driver and I get the pop up from the taskbar saying driver installed and device ready to use but it just does not work!
 

Attachments

  • Error when trying to add printer.jpg
    Error when trying to add printer.jpg
    922.2 KB · Views: 74
  • No Printers visible.jpg
    No Printers visible.jpg
    532 KB · Views: 27
  • Driver installed OK.jpg
    Driver installed OK.jpg
    811.2 KB · Views: 69

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E8400
    Motherboard
    GA-EP35-DS3R
    Memory
    4G Kingston PC6400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Powercolor HD4850/512M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24" WS
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500G SATA
    PSU
    Enermax 620W
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    MX518
Play with the spooler settings again.
Go to start
Type services in the search box
Scroll down to alphabet P = Print Spooler
Right click and Start the service

Now the printer should appear in the Device and Printers box.
Test by printing to confirm, and if it still does not, stop the spooler service and start it again.

Let us know how it goes.
 

My Computer

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E8400
    Motherboard
    GA-EP35-DS3R
    Memory
    4G Kingston PC6400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Powercolor HD4850/512M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24" WS
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500G SATA
    PSU
    Enermax 620W
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    MX518
yes I have tried rebooting system many times. I would not be asking for help if it were that obvious... :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E8400
    Motherboard
    GA-EP35-DS3R
    Memory
    4G Kingston PC6400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Powercolor HD4850/512M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24" WS
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500G SATA
    PSU
    Enermax 620W
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    MX518
Have you pushed the Start button on print spooler settings? Check the attachment to see what I mean. The service may be running - automatically there but you will need to check if actually is after adding printers. Otherwise I don't see any reason for your printer not working.
 

Attachments

  • Untitled.jpg
    Untitled.jpg
    195.1 KB · Views: 49

My Computer

Thanks for your continued interest. Yes I have "started" the service and stopped/started it as well without any success. The printers in control panel remains blank even though the driver appears to load OK...
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E8400
    Motherboard
    GA-EP35-DS3R
    Memory
    4G Kingston PC6400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Powercolor HD4850/512M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24" WS
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500G SATA
    PSU
    Enermax 620W
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    MX518
Okay.
Could you got to services again start Bluetooth Support Services.

I'm not very sure it will help. But try it and post back and I'll come back with more suggestions.
 

My Computer

thanks for the posts. The PC does not have BT functionality at all. I have tried other USB ports, I cant use a different user - I am logged in as ADMIN and I has to work under ADMIN. The HL2140 thread did not provide anything useful that I haven't already tried.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E8400
    Motherboard
    GA-EP35-DS3R
    Memory
    4G Kingston PC6400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Powercolor HD4850/512M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24" WS
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500G SATA
    PSU
    Enermax 620W
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    MX518

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Thanks Koolkat77 the topics covered in your link have either been tried or are not relevant.

Thanks Brink, I have already manually cleared the Print Spooler Queue as per option 2 of your link
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E8400
    Motherboard
    GA-EP35-DS3R
    Memory
    4G Kingston PC6400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Powercolor HD4850/512M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24" WS
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500G SATA
    PSU
    Enermax 620W
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    MX518
Back
Top