Locally connected Printer shows as offline on Windows 7 network after initially working

Anonymous
2010-02-06T13:46:55+00:00

Ok, have checked similar threads wihich got no successful answers.

I have a PC with Epson printer connect directly via USB. Print driver installed correctly.  Works fine. 

Windows 7 Ultimate (32 bit) no security other than windows firewall and microsoft security essentials.

Laptop connected wirelessly to PC.  On same network and homegroup, file and media sharing all working fine.

Laptop running Windows 7 Ultimate (32 bit) same security as PC.

When I add a network printer it finds printer on PC and correctly installs driver etc.  Printer appears in devices and will print the first couple of times.

However, by the next day the network printer shows up as "offline" in the print spooler on the laptop.  Documents simply stack up.

The PC does not go to sleep and is left on all of the time except for the monitor which is switched off.  Printer works fine on PC, indeed with docs stuck on the laptop I can still print directly from the PC - even this does not show the printer as online on the laptop.

Have checked that the printer spooler on laptop is running and set to automatic.

Epson unable/unwilling to help - have found a similar thread with no answer - anybody any guesses as to what to try?

Many thanks

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2010-05-03T09:50:43+00:00

I had a similar problem and for me  the Problem is with the EPSON driver.  

My printer was connected wirelessly to my network, I had IP address and could ping it but WIN 7 showed it as OFFLINE.

I then went and had a look at the printer driver, (start, Devices and printer, selected the epson printer then under printer management, customise printer, ports then configure port)

And noticed that for Standard TCP/IP Port it was pointing to a different IP than that what my printer currently had. I edited it to match what the printer was and it came ONLINE.

When you turn your printer off, its IP address goes back in your routers pool to be reassigned.

The Epson windows driver still has the old IP. You turn your printer on and your router happens to give it a different IP from last time. It now doesn't match with what the Epson driver stored before and tells you it is OFFLINE.

For me,  rather than changing the IP in the driver each time this happend I assigned a static IP (fixed host ) address in my router to match my printers MAC address. This way it always gives my printer the same address everytime and no more fake OFFLINE messages appear in Windows.

This is an Epson driver problem, not a windows problem.

Was this answer helpful?

10+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2010-05-28T07:49:43+00:00

Set the IP address of the printer to a static address as stated earlier in this thread.  If you add the printer again by browsing the network, the Standard TCP/IP port will only work as long ast the printer retains the same IP.  If the print device support DNS or WNS name registration you can add a Standard TCP/IP Port using the hostname rather than a transient IP address for DHCP enabled print devices. 

Alan Morris Windows Printing Team; Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here: http://support.microsoft.com/search/Default.aspx?adv=1

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments

88 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2016-07-02T17:30:24+00:00

    simple Microsoft even in window xp time add manufacturer submit  their driver to make sure it was working with windows xp. in windows xp update in other update it would offer you the manufacturer software update driver patch etc. now it is the same except that the computer find it automatic and install it automatic when you connect a device.

    so if the driver is not up to date is because of the manufacturer since they are the one that submit their software to Microsoft.

    to put it simple

    1 the manufacturer make  driver or other software to make their device work.

    2 they send it to Microsoft to be tested and sign as approve by Microsoft.

    so blaming Microsoft as their driver or software being not good for a manufacturer product make no sense.

    since the manufacturer is the one that provide the driver software in the first place. even if it comes from Microsoft on the web.

    and when the manufacturer does not make a driver for their device Microsoft provide one for basic fonction. of course having the manufacture software can give you more option on your device.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-01T08:45:42+00:00

    Most of this thread is above my head. I might have followed better in the early days of DOS and 1mb mainframes !

    What I have determined is that contrary to the advice of restarting the printer, it is the PC that has to be restarted to get the printer to work. Start the PC first and the printer later then it remains offline and will not print. Start the printer first then the PC and you may or may not get an offline message but it will print.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-06-30T05:51:16+00:00

    Exactly how did you determine that? If the manufacturer actually produced a driver to submit to Microsoft, then why would they not also include that driver on their website for customers to download direct from them, rather that waiting almost 2 year ( the the case of the HP 2600N) In this case, it was not like HP didn't know about it. They (HP) claimed they did not (initially) make a Win7 driver for the printer and thus have no way of solving the problem. However, after a large enough group of their customers complained to them about the problem they finally after 2 years release a driver on their website.

    Now if your story is true, they why did HP not submit the fixed driver to Microsoft? If they did, then Microsoft again is in the cross hairs for failing to update their database, as the update database still (as of June 2016) has the broken driver.

    Also considering I have personally observed this problem across many brands including Oki, Lexmark, Dell, Canon, HP, Brother, and a few others. So perhaps you don't like HP and figured they just screwed up, but it is a problem that spans many brands. The only common thread in each of them is Windows 7.

    Personally, after I in detail explained in detail about how Windows 7 though the printer was offline, but a virtual PC (windows xp mode), and Windows 2008 Server (in a virtual mode) both print to the printed, and I got nothing but chirping crickets from Microsoft, I took that as a confirmation that they are aware of the problem and are unwilling to admit to it. They tried to blame connection issues but when a virtual pc on the same computer can print when the host operating system cannot, that pretty much rules out connection issues.

    Your story doesn't really make sense. Either:

    1. HP screwed up and submitted a bad drive (along with every other major printer brand) AND Microsoft also screwed up by not updating the Microsoft Update database with the fixed drivers,

    or (much more likely)

    1. Microsoft was the root of the problem in the first place, and silently tried to ignore the problem when blame could not be diverted else where. (Meaning MS thought they knew more about the printers than the manufacture and made drivers that didn't work quite right)

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments