In Windows, it is possible to add (connect) a printer to the system by using the appropriate function in the printers and fax section (in Windows XP), devices and printers (in Windows 7), devices -> printers and scanners (in Windows 10).
Similarly, the removal of a printer from the system is normally achievable through the appropriate function found in the same section.
However, it can rarely happen that Windows gets stuck in a perpetual waiting state and the connection to the printer is never actually removed, even after restarting the PC!
CAUSE
The most likely explanation is that the Windows print spooler service (spoolsv.exe) has become stuck. In computer science, a Spool (Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On-line) refers to a technique that uses the disk as a temporary buffer to store incoming data from input devices or save output data until output devices are ready to accept them.
For example, when a user decides to print a document, to avoid blocking the computer in the printing activity, the operating system sends the file to the print spooler. In this way, the operating system immediately becomes fully available for any other type of activity, while the spooling software takes care of sending the individual pages to the printer, allowing it the time necessary to complete the job.
If this service does not start or does not work well, Windows is not able to manage any printer, and no operation can be performed on devices and printers.
SOLUTION
Force the elimination of the printer in question through the Windows registry.
- For Windows XP: press START-> RUN and type regedit
- For Windows 7: launch the regedit command in the appropriate text box that appears by clicking on the Windows Start icon.
- Before proceeding, create a backup of the system registry. Inside the registry, search for the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers.
- Under this entry, all printers installed in the system are listed and can be removed by selecting them with the right mouse button and choosing delete. Obviously, only delete the one that is not working!
- Restart the PC.
At this point, the problematic printer will no longer be present on the PC. This procedure does not uninstall the drivers of a printer but simply forces its removal from the list of those available on the PC (managed by the spoolsv.exe service).
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
In at least one case, I had to resort to regedit because Windows 7 refused to remove the printer, even after restarting! Even closing the device window resulted in error messages and prompted me to restart file explorer (without results). Instead, with the manual method through regedit, Windows immediately removed the printer!
