One possible fix for a printer that won’t print - ozunaweland

My poor dad has the worst luck when it comes to engineering science. Seems like all day he's bumping into some radical problem with his phone, laptop computer, Oregon an accessory.

The latest: His Lexmark inkjet printer suddenly refused to print.

Because my dad lives several 1,300 miles forth, I used my favorite remote-accession root—LogMeIn Disembarrass—to connect to his laptop computer and paper bag some for problems.

What I discovered was that the print queue contained a number of failing publish jobs—and Windows wouldn't allow ME to delete them. Thankfully, I know about Stalled Printer Repair, a free utility that does what Windows seemingly can't.

Merely eventide so, the Lexmark would non print. I had Dad power-cycle the printer, unplug it from the laptop, reboot the laptop computer, etc.. I uninstalled and reinstalled the printer driver. In other words, I tried every troubleshooting step I could think of, but nothing worked.

Then Dad mentioned in passing that the printer was fine with the old ink pickup, which atomic number 2'd newly replaced because the output was acquiring light. (How quaint: Lexmark doesn't force you to buy in a new pickup the moment the ink level gets alto.)

Aha! I asked Dad if he still had the old magazine, and, luckily, helium did. I told him to swap it back in, and guess what? The printing machine written. Clearly the problem had been the new cartridge.

It's unusual, but information technology happens. Inkjet cartridges are notoriously finicky beasts, whether they'ray misreporting how a great deal ink they have nigh Beaver State getting clogged because they haven't been used in a while. As it turned out, this "new" cartridge had actually been purchased sixer months earlier, so the receipt was oblong gone. But Dad was sole too halcyon to buy out a untried one if it meant he didn't have to buy a newfangled printer.

Moral of the chronicle: Windows isn't always to blame for printer snafus. Occasionally the trouble lies with the printer itself. So add that to your list of troubleshooting efforts.

Contributive Editor in chief Rick Broida writes about business and consumer technology. Ask for help with your PC hassles at hasslefree@pcworld.com, or essay the trove of helpful folks in the PC World Community Forums. Sign to have the Hassle-Free PC newsletter e-mailed to you weekly.