Printing is one of the most executed tasks across the world since the advent of computers, and if your printer won’t print in Windows 10, it must be a frustrating experience.

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Whether you’re working from home or the office, a printer is a must-have especially if paperwork is involved.

Printer problems come and go, especially those we can easily fix with a restart. But they’re more than we can handle, then it becomes mind-boggling and we need to seek external help.

One of the issues communicated about Windows 10 users, is that either the printer won’t print in Windows 10, or there are some challenges in how the printer operates after upgrading to Windows 10.

Here are some quick-fix solutions to fix the chop when your printer won’t print in Windows 10 OS.

What to do if printer won’t print on Windows 10

  • Check if your printer is compatible with Windows 10
  • Check printer power and connection
  • Uninstall your printer, then reinstall again
  • Update drivers
  • Reboot your computer
  • Run the printing troubleshooter
  • Disable Print in background
  • Print in clean boot mode
  • Boot in Safe Mode then test printing

Solution 1: Check if your printer is compatible with Windows 10

Some printers may not necessarily work with Windows 10, or may have limited functionality altogether, so you need to check if your printer is in this category before using the solutions below.

Follow these steps to check if your printer is compatible:

  • Right click Start button
  • Select Control Panel
  • Click on Hardware and Sound
  • Select Devices and Printers. You will see a list of devices, and another for printers
  • Check under Unspecified section to see if your printer is listed there.

Once you establish whether your printer is unspecified or not, go to the next solutions to fix the issue.

Solution 2: Check printer power and connection

Ensure your printer is correctly plugged into a power outlet and switched on, including the surge protector. Check also that the USB cable that connects your printer to your computer is securely plugged in.

If you’re using a wireless connection for your printer, make sure the following is in place:

  • Turn on the wireless option and ensure it is available for your printer
  • Run a wireless connectivity test for your printer, check also that your computer is connected to a wireless network (this should be the same for your printer and computer).

Should this not work, go to the next solution.

Solution 3: Uninstall your printer, then reinstall again

This is one of the quick fixes to resolve the issue.

Follow these steps to uninstall and reinstall your printer:

  • Right click Start button
  • Select Control Panel
  • Click on Hardware and Sound
  • Select Devices and Printers. You will see a list of devices, and another for printers
  • Find your printer
  • Right click on your printer
  • Select Remove device

How to reinstall your printer after uninstalling it:

  • Right click Start button
  • Select Control Panel
  • Click on Hardware and Sound
  • Select Devices and Printers. You will see a list of devices, and another for printers
  • Click Add a printer, a pop up will appear that scans for new devices. If your particular printer is on, Windows will automatically scan and find it.
  • Perform a test page print to see if it is working

To install or add a local printer, connect the printer to your computer then turn it on.

Solution 4: Update drivers

If you upgraded to or updated Windows 10, there is a possibility that your printer’s current driver will not work with the operating system. Other issues that cause your printer drivers not to work including power surges, viruses, and other computer issues that may arise to damage your printer’s drivers.

To update the drivers, you can use either of these three methods:

  • Windows Update
  • Printer software installs
  • Download and install driver manually

Method 1: Update printer drivers using Windows Update

  • Right click Start button
  • Choose Device Manager
  • Click on Printers to expand the list
  • Locate your device then right click on it
  • Choose Update Driver
  • Choose Search automatically for updated driver software

Method 2: Update printer drivers by installing printer software from your manufacturer

Check your printer’s hardware for a disc that came with it so as to install any software for your printer.

Method 3: Download and install driver manually

  • Go to your printer’s manufacturer website
  • Check for driver updates under the support section
  • Identify your printer and download the newest version of drivers for your printer
  • Follow the installation instructions to update your drivers

Sometimes after downloading drivers, you can double click on them to automatically set off the installation process by following these steps:

In the event none of these methods work, you can reinstall the driver, but remove the old drivers first using these steps:

  • Unplug the USB cable connecting your printer to your computer
  • Right click Start button
  • Select Control Panel
  • Click on Hardware and Sound
  • Select Devices and Printers. You will see a list of devices, and another for printers
  • Select your printer
  • Right click and choose Remove device
  • Type Print management in the search box and select Print Management
  • Choose All Printers
  • Check for your printer under the list
  • Right click and choose Delete
  • Reboot your computer
  • Plug back your USB cable to connect your printer and computer
  • Reinstall the printer’s driver and software

Method 4: Use a third-party driver updater

A simpler and quicker way to repair and update your drivers is to use dedicated software such as DriverFix. Once you have the app, just open the main window and press the scan button.

Some PC issues are hard to tackle, especially when it comes to corrupted repositories or missing Windows files. If you are having troubles fixing an error, your system may be partially broken. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify what the fault is.Click here to download and start repairing.

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The software will let you know whether you have outdated or problematic drivers. You can choose to fix/update them in bulk or select one specific driver that you want to work on.

Will your printer won’t print in Windows 10 still? Try the next solution.

Solution 5: Reboot your computer

This is the first line of action whenever such an issue comes up (or any other issues with your computer and any other hardware you may be using along with it). However, if you restart your computer and nothing happens on your printer, you can go to the next solution.

Solution 6: Run the printing troubleshooter

If your printer won’t print in Windows 10, or you cannot connect to your printer, run the troubleshooter by doing the following:

  • Plug in your printer into the power supply
  • Turn on the printer
  • Check the USB connection if using a wired printer, or wireless connection for wireless printers
  • Download and run the printing troubleshooter

Did this fix the problem? If not, try the next solution.

Solution 7: Clear spooler files and restart spooler service

Here’s how to do this:

  • Click Start
  • Type Services in the search box
  • Select Services from the search results
  • Find Print Spooler and double click on it
  • Select Stop
  • Click OK

That clears the spooler files, so now restart the spooler service using the steps below:

  • Click Start
  • In the search box, type %WINDIR%system32spoolprinters
  • Select it from the search results
  • Delete all files in that folder
  • Search again for Services
  • Double click on Print Spooler
  • Click Start
  • Go to the Startup Type list and select Automatic
  • Click OK

Check if your printer won’t print in Windows 10 after these steps. If not, try another solution.

Solution 7: Disable Print in background

Take the steps below to do this:

  • Open a Word document
  • Click on File menu
  • Click Options
  • Click Advanced
  • Uncheck the Print in background option to disable it
  • Try printing again.

Solution 8: Print in clean boot mode

Performing a clean boot for your computer reduces conflicts related to software that can bring up the root causes of the printer won’t print in Windows 10 issue. These conflicts can be caused by applications and services that start up and run in the background whenever you start Windows normally.

Here’s how to perform a clean boot before printing:

In order to successfully perform a clean boot on Windows 10, you have to be logged on as the administrator, then follow these steps:

  • Go to the search box
  • Type msconfig
  • Select System Configuration
  • Find Services tab
  • Select Hide all Microsoft services box
  • Click Disable all
  • Go to Startup tab
  • Click Open Task Manager
  • Close Task manager then click Ok
  • Reboot your computer

You will have a clean boot environment after all these steps are carefully followed after which you can try and check if the printer won’t print in Windows 10 problem is gone.

Solution 9: Boot in Safe Mode then test printing

Safe mode starts up your computer with limited files and drivers but Windows will still run. To know whether you’re on Safe mode, you’ll see the words at the corners of your screen.

If the printer won’t print in Windows 10 issue persists, check whether it occurs while your computer is in Safe mode.

There are two versions:

  • Safe mode
  • Safe mode with Networking

The two are similar, though the latter includes network drivers and other services necessary to access the web and other computers in the same network.

Follow these steps to start your computer in Safe Mode:

  • Click on Start button
  • Select Settings – the Settings box will open up
  • Click Update & Security
  • Select Recovery from the left pane
  • Go to Advanced startup
  • Click Restart now
  • Select Troubleshoot from the choose an option screen, then click Advanced options
  • Go to Startup Settings and click Restart
  • Once your computer restarts, a list of options will come up.
  • Choose 4 or F4 to start your computer in Safe Mode

A quicker way to get into Safe Mode is to restart your computer then do the following:

  • From the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot>Advanced options>Startup Settings>Restart
  • Once your computer restarts, a list of options will come up.
  • Choose 4 or F4 to start your computer in Safe Mode

Once you’re in Safe Mode, test print your document.

If the printer won’t print in Windows 10 problem isn’t there while in Safe mode, then your default settings and basic drivers are not contributing to the issue.

Once you’re through and the printer won’t print in Windows 10 issue is sorted, exit safe mode so you can get your computer back to normal mode.

How to exit Safe Mode:

  • Right click Start button
  • Select Run
  • Type msconfig
  • A pop up will open
  • Go to the Boot tab
  • Deselect or uncheck Safe Boot option box
  • Restart your computer

Did any of these solutions work for you? Share with us your experiences in the comments section below.

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