OT Computor Printer Issue

[chip maker]

Maybe can get some HELP for someone here. I have a computor with Windows 7 Pro the problem is, the other day couldn't print so looked into the printers and they are all gone except for the icon for the Canon and HP but they both have an error. couldn't get either of they to run. with eveything I try it comes up with Windows Print Spooler not running, it is running in automatic tried in start maunal no go removed both printers and software but also installing soft ware comes up with the Spooler error says can't install because Windows Spooler not running. Got on line and did try clearing the spooler temp files there wasn't any. Crazy thing is all the printers are missing, Word, Fax,Acrobat vertual printers are also gone. Got a good friend that came over tried everything I did and also done some windows repair things but still no go. Everything elase seems to be working fine. Short of reinstalling the Windows 7 and than rebuilding all the software is there anything anyone can come up with that may help !!!!!! I also tried to do a restore from two past dates that I know things were good but that failed also. Thanks John

 

[Masterjuggler]

This may not be the answer you want to hear, but short of switching to linux, your best option is to move on to windows 10 and all the new headaches it brings. Windows 7 hasn't been supported in a long time, and is a serious security risk. Sometimes windows just up and craps itself with no explanation and no fix, and there's no way to actually find out what happened because it's all closed source, so you can't look at the code to know what's happening.

If you keep trying to fix your current installation though, I wish you luck. Troubleshooting windows is usually an exercise in futility.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

Maybe can get some HELP for someone here. I have a computor with Windows 7 Pro the problem is, the other day couldn't print so looked into the printers and they are all gone except for the icon for the Canon and HP but they both have an error. couldn't get either of they to run. with eveything I try it comes up with Windows Print Spooler not running,

It is time to do a system restore. That is start from ground zero with a new machine.

It is likely you got "root kitted".

 

[tq60]

Run Windows update.

Make sure everything is done.

There may be some fails, it will continue to try until done.

Just scratch built one on Monday and last update today...we think...

Next focus on only one printer.

Are they USB?

Locate the device manager.

As you navigate to it look for when you see the icon and drag it onto your desktop while holding down the "ctrl" key as this will force copy.

Open device manager and look for "?" Devices.

Plug in the printer and observe what happens.

Nothing then try other ports until something, may be bad usb.

Something...if changes but driver cannot load then locate the original install disk and run software.

If it asks to repair or remove, remove.

Reboot then install again.

If good then do next one.

If it sees the printer then use the printer tool.

If not use the system restoration tool and look for a point when the printers worked and try that.

Last is Google.

Search for any error or other description of issue.

You may have had a power interruption or other glitch timed with a write cycle that trashed something.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[matthewsx]

IT guy here.

Your computer is telling you something.

Way past time to upgrade. If you're not going to replace the whole thing at least buy a new hard drive and install Linux.

This isn't a good battle to fight, copy your files off and buy a new or refurbished machine with Windows 10. Windows 7 is all the way done, your registry files are probably hosed and I'm not going to even try to explain that other than to say reboot three times in a row....

John

P..S. Ubuntu Linux will make you wonder why Windows is even a thing, you can make a thumb drive and try it out on your existing machine without changing a thing,

Download Ubuntu Desktop | Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an open source software operating system that runs from the desktop, to the cloud, to all your internet connected things.

ubuntu.com

 

[markba633csi]

You can try running Comodo or Avast and see if you have an infection, but often a full reinstall is the only sure way to get clean. Windoze gets infected so easily, I only use Linux online now
-Mark

 

[Masterjuggler]

I'm an ubuntu guy myself, I truly hate windows. If you have the time to learn to use a new OS, I also STRONGLY recommend you move away from windows. That being said, it's not for everyone. Despite it being pretty polished now compared to what it used to be, you will still need to learn a few commands in a terminal, and that scares a lot of people. Short of demanding 3d games and programs like photoshop, the majority of windows application either have a linux equivalent or can be run under WINE or in a virtual machine.

 

[matthewsx]

I have to support all kinds of users on all kinds of computers, it's a tool like anything else. If you neglected maintenance on your lathe for 15 years you couldn't expect it to work flawlessly and you would have to decide if fixing it was worthwhile vs. replacement. Fortunately computers are cheap compared to machine tools and they generally won't take your fingers off if you are careless.

I like buying refurbished machines because often they have a lot of life left in them and I can get them super cheap. Here's one for the OP that will probably print stuff fine.

Refurbished: Hp Elite 8200 Core i5 3.1Ghz Computer 4Gb 160Gb Dvd Windows 10 Home - Newegg.com

Buy Refurbished: Hp Elite 8200 Core i5 3.1Ghz Computer 4Gb 160Gb Dvd Windows 10 Home with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

John

 

[middle.road]

The print spooler went belly up along with the configuration for all output devices.
There are numerous things that cause this malady.
From power outages to rogue programs.
As John mentioned above - the registry/config is probably hosed and that's a whole 'nother battle to contend with.

One thing to try is to download the proper printer driver for your printer from the printer manufacturer's site and install that.
Is the printer connected via Wi-Fi or direct cable?

If you're only using the machine for browsing the web and such, and have no special programs installed, take the leap and migrate over to Linux.

 

[brino]

Run Windows update.

Can you still do that on Win7?
I thought they'd have shutdown those servers by now.
.....or are you suggesting a change to win10. (note: I did NOT say "upgrade"!)

==================

I use Win10 at work (mandated by the company).
I use Linux at work.

I use only Win7 at home.
I've never had a reason to change, and I do consider win10 a very steep downgrade!

Contrary to many above, I advise sticking with Win7!
-it is much lighter weight than win8 or win10
-it is not changing every damn day breaking all your default applications like win10
-win10 out of the box is configured to treat you/your data like a product! It phones home with your stats and advertises MS crap.
-you may have to do a clean format / install (hopefully you have a win7 sp1 installer)

The only real issue is that some new CPU architectures are not supported by win7.
When my existing hardware dies I'm going to have a real tough choice to make....it will likely be linux with a win virtual machine.

Note however that you do NEED:
-decent anti-virus / anti-malware
-good computer hygiene; NEVER click on links in emails or random web-sites!

Also good ideas:
-a hardware firewall
-a good password manager (it becomes easy to use different long, strong passwords for each account and it will only enter those passwords at the real configured site url like "paypal" but not fake ones like "paypa1")

-brino