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: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2011-11-05T17:52:03+00:00

    I read thru this thread and tried several recommended solutions with no fix. I have a HP 6100 series connected via a USB to a desktop PC running a Windows 7 - 32 bit OS and a Dell notebook running Windows 7 - 64 bit OS. The 6100 printer will randomly drop offline on the notebook. The only fix I came up with was to remove the printer (Start, Devices and Printers, Highlight the Printer then right click, click remove device. I first tried reinstalling the printer using Add a Printer and even though the printer showed up under the available printer list, got an error, and did not install. The only work around for me was to reboot the notebook, then went thru the add printer process again. This time the printer reinstalled OK. I too agree this is a Windows 7 issue and MS needs to fix their OS. I just bought these PCs within the last 6 months and I can kick myself in the butt for not going to Apple. I hate Windows.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2011-11-06T10:06:48+00:00

    Hi there. I fixed the problem quite quickly and simply. I had left my system and printer running for several days for some reason and the trouble with the printer arose. My I.T. guru son suggested that I shut down everything (reboot) and see what happens.

    Well, the accumulated documents printed is what happened. The spooler or something like that corrected and the printer is fixed.

    Now, as an economy measure, everything is turned off, shut down safely and unplugged from the wall as electricity bill management is now a priority in our house as I have stopped work.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2012-01-26T20:23:51+00:00

    I have a print server with 3 printers connected all using HP's Universal Print Driver.  There are about 70 computers making use of this print server.  Randomly, about 2 or 3 compters go offline every day and the students reboot.  The printer comes back online after the reboot and then they are able to print.  This is NOT a printer driver issue.  This is a Windows 7 issue as this problem did not exist until all the PCs in the building were updated from XP to Win 7.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments