Basic Printer Troubleshooting

Introduction

This document will provide the simple troubleshooting steps when you have encountered a printing problem to your printer.

Basic Printer Troubleshooting

When you are having problems printing, you would have to determine if everyone is having a problem printing to this printer or if you are the only one having a problem.

1          If everyone is having a problem, it is likely there is either something wrong with the printer or

there is a network problem.

2        If only you are having a problem, it is likely a problem with your PC, your connection to the

network (or printer) or a problem with the application or file you are working with.

Basic Printer Display Errors

Most networked printers will have a display that will tell you its status.

No Display

Turn the printer on.

Offline

Press the Go or Online button. If this does not change the printer display to Online: Power the printer off for 1 minute and then turn it back on.

Paper Jam

Open the doors and remove any paper, being careful not to tear it and lose pieces inside. Paper may also be lodged under the toner cartridge so you may have to pull it out. If you believe you have removed the paper but the display still says Paper Jam, power the printer off for 1 minute and turn it back on.

If the jam is severe, contact the printer vendor for their expertise to rectify the problem.

Processing Job

If the printer displays Processing Job but nothing is printing the job may just be really large and taking a while to print.

If it has not printed after 5 minutes, press the Cancel Job button on the printer. If the job will not cancel, power the printer off for 1 minute and turn it back on.

IO or Other Error

Most IO errors will be cleared by powering the printer off for 1 minute and turning it back on. You may also need to check to make sure the network cable on the printer is plugged securely into the printer and into the network jack on the wall.

Tray Empty

Add paper to the appropriate tray.

Flashing Lights

Some printers will have flashing light codes to tell you what is wrong. These differ from manufacturer to manufacturer and also from model to model. Consult your manual or manufacturer's web site.

No Error on the Printer Display

If the printer display says Ready or Power Save but you are still unable to print, there are other troubleshooting steps.

Work Offline/Pause Printing

Click on Start -> Devices and Printers, double-click the printer. Make sure Use Printer Offline or Pause Printing are NOT selected. If either is checked, click it to remove the check. If the print job does not print, reboot your PC. When you log back in, try to print again.

Cable Connections

Check to make sure all cables are connected securely. This includes the power cable, connections from your PC to the printer (for a local printer) and connections from the printer to the network jack in the wall (network printers.) Sometimes they look like they're plugged in all the way when they're not. To be safe, unplug the cable and plug it back in, especially the network cable.

Printer Drivers

In the case of local printers, sometimes a driver can become corrupted. Please try downloading the newest driver from your manufacturer's web site and reinstall the printer.

Software vs. Document/File Problems

Sometimes, the problem printing is related to one particular software package or a certain file.

Try printing from another application such as Word, Outlook, Excel, etc. If you can't print from any other applications, reboot your PC and check the printer for any error messages. If you can print from another application, it could be a problem with the application itself or there could be something wrong with the file you are working on.

Try opening a new, blank document, typing in a few words and try to print the new document. If it prints, there is something wrong with your file. If it doesn't print, reboot your PC and try printing again. If it still doesn't print, try reinstalling the application

Deleting Stuck Print Jobs

Sometimes print jobs may get stuck in the queue and will need to be deleted before anyone else can print.

To delete a print job, press the Cancel button on the printer.

You can also delete your own jobs by clicking Click on Start -> Devices and Printers, double-clicking the printer and deleting the job from the list.

If you are having a problem deleting a print job, please contact NUS IT Care. The printer may need to be powered off for 1 minute to clear out its internal memory.

Troubleshooting Tips

Here are a few simple techniques that will solve many printer problems.

·            Reboot your computer. This generally solves most printing problems.

·            If it's not printing, or you're getting a message about the Fax printer, change your default printer: Click on Start -> Devices and Printers, right-click the printer, and then select (left-click) Set as Default Printer.

·            Check and make sure all connections going to and coming from the printer are firmly in place.

·            Check that the printer is on-line:

·            Print a test page. If that prints and the application you are using doesn't, you probably will need to contact the application's vendor for support.

·            Turn off your printer for 10 seconds and turn it back on. Make a note of any error messages or flashing lights when the printer is turned back on.

·            If your printer is connected directly to another computer, try rebooting that computer.

·            You may try to uninstall and then re-install your network printer.

Uninstalling and Re-installing a network printer:

To uninstall:

·            1. Click on Start -> Devices and Printers -> right-click the network printer that you would like to uninstall.

·            2. Then click on Remove Device.

To re-install:

·              1. Click on Start -> All Programs -> Printers -> Network Printer Selection.

·              2. Select the network printer, then click on Connect.

·              3. Print a test page to verify.