Windows – How to completely remove printer from Windows 7

canon-pixmadriversprinterwindows 7

I'm having some issues with my Canon Pixma IP1900 printer – it doesn't respond to any OS requests. I am using Windows 7 x64 with additional Canon drivers and the printer used to work ok, but recently it doesn't anymore.

I've connected it to a second PC running on Win7 x86 and no additional Canon drivers and the printer worked again – not only did Windows find appropriate drivers all by itself, but everything else did work like a charm as well.

Now I assume that the problem is either the drivers (messed up by OS) or the OS itself. My idea is to completely remove Canon drivers and any data associated with the printer. How do I do it?

Best Answer

Take a look at this tutorial which explains how to use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), to remove unwanted printer driver packages.

If that does not work for you, try using the printui.exe tool.

In an admin elevated command prompt type printui /s /t2, be sure to remove the driver AND the package.

Here's how to do it, step-by-step:

  1. Open a command line with administrative rights: Start->All Programs->Accessories->Command prompt; Right click -> Run As Administrator
  2. Run the printui tool: printui /s /t2
  3. Try deleting the printers. If that doesn't work... (i.e., if removing the printers listed in the printui is not successful.)
  4. Click Start > Run > Services.msc
  5. Locate the Print Spooler service, and right-click > Properties > stop service.
  6. Open My Computer and browse to C:\Windows\System32\spool\Printers (you will need to click "OK" to get access to the folder).
  7. DELETE the contents of the folder you opened in step 6.
  8. Go back to services.msc and Restart the Print Spooler service.
  9. Go back into the printui utility (you might need to restart it using same method as above) and try removing printers again. This time it should work. If necessary, check the "Ports" tab and remove any TCP/IP ports that are associated with the old printer.
  10. Last but not least, check other computers on your home network to see if any of those map to the old printer, and remove these mappings
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