Network printer shows offline on Windows 8

Anonymous
2013-04-05T06:09:56+00:00

Original Title: I have hp laserjet 1020 plus printer installed on win 7 it was a share printer when i was giving any print from win8 pc printer is going to offline & when i remove & add printer its working

i was installed win8 latest  drivers on all pc

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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.

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Anonymous
2013-04-06T03:27:53+00:00

Hi Hrishikesh,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I would like you to add few information:

Did you make any hardware or software changes on the computer prior to this issue?

I would suggest you to make sure that all the cables for the printer are connected properly and the printer is turned ON. Sometimes, offline status for a printer could be due no power to the printer.You also need to make sure that network sharing might be turned off.

For more information, refer to the link:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/turn-sharing-on-or-off

If all the basic settings are checked and are up to the mark, you can follow the methods to troubleshoot the issue:

Method 1:

You can refer to the link to fix printer issues by running the printer troubleshooter:

“Fix printer problems”

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/printer-problems-in-windows-help#fix-printer-problems=windows-8&v1h=win8tab1&v2h=win7tab1&v3h=winvistatab1&v4h=winxptab1

Method 2:

I would suggest you to uninstall and reinstall the driver for the printer.

You can follow the steps to do so:

Note: Please make sure that you have the setup file for the driver of the printer before uninstalling the current version.

a) Press Windows and x key together and click on Device Manager.

b) Locate the printer driver and expand the driver icon.

c) Right click on the driver icon and click on Uninstall.

d) Follow the onscreen instructions to uninstall the driver.

e) Locate the setup file of the driver for the printer.

f) Double Click on the setup file and follow the onscreen instructions to reinstall the driver.

Check if you are able to find the printer online.

For further reference, you can refer to the links:

“How to solve printing problems in Windows”

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/how-to-solve-printing-problems

“Install a printer”

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/install-a-printer

Do let us know about the status of this issue.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-03-18T14:15:16+00:00

    As we all have been going back and forth on this topic now with absolutely no support from Microsoft besides being advised to remove our printer drivers, I will attempt to contact one of their customer support representatives to look into this topic.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-03-18T05:48:19+00:00

    I have the same recurring problem with Win 8 and a Brother printer going into a Server Offline mode if the printer has not been used for a few hours.  The spooler fix described above seems to work.  In addition, I have found that by simply opening and then closing Print Server Properties windows is usually (but not always) enough to bring the printer server back up.  Please try these two work-arounds before uninstalling and reinstalling printers, drivers, etc.  Of all the buggy issues in Win 8, this one problem is (for me) by far the most frustrating and irritating production killer.  MS needs to fix this as an update.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-03-17T15:27:40+00:00

    Same issue here. Network printers often show offline when users power-on their laptops after working at home.

    We're also using stop/start spooler as a workaround, but would like to see a structural solution. SNMP polling is not enabled on the prt port.

    Surely, there must be a way to force windows to poll again for the printer state when the computer is moved to another subnet?

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-03-15T20:46:11+00:00

    I have a a wireless Epson printer that worked fine in windows 8 but since upgrading to 8.1 only works if reinstalled each session. The stop and start spooler fix brings it online for a brief moment but it 'greys out' again seconds later!

    Any other ideas gratefully received.

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