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
    2016-03-04T18:12:32+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.

    SimilarI have a Win 10 machine and a Win 7. The latter has all my printers on a home network.

    Printspooler is switched off every time I restart the machines.

    The printspooler is switched off my Win 10 machine even when it is on.

    How to fix this annoying problem?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2016-03-03T02:37:59+00:00

    martinashton,

    Not to be mean, or anything, but if you need to ask those questions, then setting up a network printer is probably beyond your skill level. I would probably be better if you can find a tech that does house calls. There are videos on youtube that could help you, but if you don't know the most basic concepts of networking (like the difference between a static and a dynamic ip address) then you are more likely to mess something up. Once you have messed it up, you will then be calling the tech anyway, and likely pay twice as much because the tech will have to fix your mistakes before fixing the original problem.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-03-02T16:22:20+00:00

    How do I reset the IP address? What constitutes a static address? How do I access it, and what does it look like?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments