Windows Cannot Connect to the Printer
Before applying anything, sometimes power cycling your printer can resolve the issue. Turn off your printer and unplug it, wait 30 seconds, plug your printer back in, and then turn the printer back on.
1 Windows Cannot Connect to the Printer1.1 Restart Print spooler service1.2 Copy mscms.dll manually2 Create a New Local Port2.1 Delete Incompatible Printer Drivers2.2 Tweak Windows Registry
Restart Print spooler service
Press Windows + R, type services.msc and ok to open the service console,Scroll down and look for print spooler service,Right-click on print spooler and select restartIf the service not started, Right-click on print spooler select properties,Change the startup type automatic and start the service next to service status.Click ok and apply to save changes.Now try to connect to the network printer.
Copy mscms.dll manually
Manually copying the mscms.dll file to the driver installation folder is the best working solution to fix this issue. As we discussed the main Reason For this Windows Cannot Connect to the Printer Error Mscms.dll file. This mscms.dll is a color module that may be failing to reach its destination folder. You Can copy this mscms.dll file manually to fix this issue.
Navigate to the following folder: C:\Windows\system32\Look for mscms.dll in the above directory and right-click then select copy.
If you have a 32 bit Windows installed, navigate to the following folder and paste the previously copied mscms.dll file in it:
C:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3
And, If you have a 64 bit Windows installed, navigate to the following folder and paste the previously copied file in it:
C:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\x64\3
Reboot your Windows computer to save changes and again try to connect to the remote printer again. If it doesn’t connect, re-add the printer and test.
Create a New Local Port
Open control panel,Search for and select Devices and PrintersClick Add a printer from the top menu.Windows will scan for available shared printers on the local network.If you don’t see your printer listed click the link which says “The printer that I want isn’t listed.“Here From the next screen select “Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings” and click Next.
Select Create a new port Then from type of port drop-down select Standard TCP / IP Port and click Next. Here Type the printer’s address in the Printers port name field in the following format: \IP address or the Computer Name\Printers Name For example \192.168.1.50\HP LaserJet Pro M1136 Note: Type the IP address or computer name where the shared printer physically installed. For the network, the printer type the IP address of the printer.
Press Windows + R, type cmd and okNow type ipconfig and press enter key.Look for IPv4 Address for the computer’s IP in the black window.
Now click OK and then click Next. Select your printer model from the directory to install its drivers, Click Next.If you have a disk, insert the disk, click “Have Disk” and browse to the driver’s location in the disk.Click OK. Type in a name for your new printer.Click Next. Print a test page to check its connection. And click Finish.
Delete Incompatible Printer Drivers
Some Times The problem can be caused due to incompatible printer drivers. Also, the installation of the previous printer can prevent the printer spooler from adding new printers. So you can try to remove these outdated drivers and re-install them again.
Press Windows + R, type printmanagement.msc and hit Enter key.This will open print management, here From the left pane, click All Drivers.Now in the right window pane, right-click on the printer driver and click Delete. If you see more than one printer driver’s name, repeat the above steps.Then Restart windows and Again try to add the printer and install its drivers.
Tweak Windows Registry
First of all, stop the print spooler service from the services console,Now Press Windows + R, type regedit and ok to open registry editor,Backup registry database, and Navigate to the following registry key:
Delete the “ICM” folder which is under the “CopyFiles” folder. Then close the registry editor and restart windows to take effect the changes you have made. Now again try connecting to the printer see the problem fixed this time. Registry Tweak If the first option failed to fix then here is another registry Tweak, First open windows services and stop the print spooler service. Then navigate to the following key.
Here right-click on Client Side Rendering Print Provider and select Delete. again start the Printer Spooler service and reboot your PC to save changes. Did these solutions help to Fix windows cannot connect to the printer? Let us know on the comments below, also read:
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