We are having an unsuaual problem all of a sudden printing to networked printers from Windows 7 clients. XP and Vista clients print as usual. Windows 7 clients say the printers are offline. I'm sure I was able to print from Windows 7 clients last week.

Hi, First, I would like to confirm how the printer is connected and what the model of the printer is. Please update the printer driver to latest version first. If it does not work, I suggest a System Restore: System Restore ============= 1. Click the Start Button, type "system restore" (without quotations) in the start search box and press enter. 2. Click "Choose a different point" and click next. 3. Check Show more restore points box. 4. Choose a date before this issue happening, and click Next. 5. Click Finish. If it persists, try removing and reinstalling this printer: 1. Click Start button and choose Devices and Printers. 2. Right click on the network printer and choose Remove printer. After that, add a printer again. Vivian Xing - MSFT

I'm having a similar problem in Windows 7 Ultimate. I have a shared network printer that's an HP LJ 4000 - this thing has been around since the stone age and works fine - the driver has been bundled with every version of Windows since 95 I think. The HP LJ 4000 is connected to a Windows Server 2008 box and shared across the workgroup. Everybody in my workgroup can print to the printer just fine, but if I RDP to my main workstation running Windows 7, then next time I log in through the console, the HP LJ 4000 (which is my default printer) shows up as offline even though all the other workstations and server can print fine, so the printer isn't offline at all. I can connect to the server fine and I can delete the printer, but I can't reinstall it until the workstation reboots. Alternately, a reboot is required to show the printer back online again. I used to have a similar problem in Vista Ultimate when I would login remotely via RDP but then it would only clear the default printer flag, so I'll I had to do was re-select it as the default printer. This is very annoying. Jeff Balcerzak

I was having the same issue with Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate. For some reason the port changes. Had to go in any manually reset the IP address from 192.168.0.101 to 192.168.0.100.

thkx a lot! reinstalling the printer works!!

I am having this same problem with windows Vista and two different computers, one a Dell Laser the other an HP office Pro.

I am having this problem as well. I have been able to get the printers to show online again by restarting the print spooler. Does anyone have a fix? I have Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

Dear Vivian, I don't think you are solving any problem. This is a Windows 7 issue, either configuration or some bug as the printer works in the past via network now appears offline. Pls do not BS the users to restore a perfectly running system as a trial and error way to brush off the real roblem. SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

Thanks Vivian, My windows 7(64bit) laptop all of a sudden showed my wireless printer (brother MFC_255CW) as "offline" eventhough it had been working fine for weeks. Your first suggested step (installing the latest printer driver) did the trick. Thanks again!

I know this issue is still not fixed. Restoring to an earlier date does not work. This has been an issue for me as soon as I bought a 64 bit computer and added Windows 7 Pro. I have a domain and we setup one of our domain controllers as a print server for our users. We have Toshiba copiers and I have installed latest, greatest drivers and such, but I still have the offline problem. I have restarted my print spooler - - Did not fix. I have changed the power options on my network card to not shut down to save power. I have tried every suggestion I have found on every forum. Bottom line is this issue needs to be fixed before I commit my entire network (150 computers) to Windows 7 Pro - - Or tell me how to get them to online status so I can print and not have to use my Big Chief tablet and #2 pencil - - - Howard

I have the same problem but have already committed all of our users to W7. At first I would restart the Print Spooler and Workstation service on the workstations having the problem. This seemed to help but then later the user would experience the same problem, next I disabled the power management for the NIC and that seemed to help until about 2 weeks ago something happened and again I was getting calls from users unable to print. I try to keep the print drivers up to date and I removed all of the older HP Printers using the universal drivers. I have a mixed environment of 2003 and 2008 servers, someone mentioned that maybe the server running 2003 which is also my print server may be the issue and that I need to upgrade it to 2008, not really the answer I was looking for. The one common thing with these users are they all use one of the seven HP1055 plotters. This may boil down to print driver problems using older printers, it would be nice for HP to step up and help since that is what I think the issue is, but HP wants us to buy their newer plotters.

Problem seems to be fixed with Win7 SP1 update I installed this morning. Let's see if this update fixes the problem for others who have posted here.Seth Thomas

The only thing that would fix it for me was to turn SNMP off on the printer driver/properties and it stays online now. Andy

Hi, The actual problem is with file sharing, (Printer Sharing works Exactly same like file sharing) if you can access PC A from PC B only than you can Print from Printer (Windows 7 features are advance) Next time if you face such problem with Shared Printer not printing (Windows 7 shows Offline) Open that PC from My Network Places, than it should ask you for Credential (check remember me) Note: when you open file system in network it asks for User name & password, when you print from network without knowing User printer goes offline, you can't access. Harjit

As I read over this and other post, there is no "fix" to "printer offline" that works long term. Yes reinstalling the printer works until whatever conditions drive this issue happens again. jcr

I think I found a fix or you may consider it a work around. I just had the same problem with my printer. My laptop is running 7 64-bit version and I have a Hp OJ 6500 series shared on my network. Here's how I put my printer back online 1. Double click the offline printer to bring up the print queue 2. Select printer from the menu tab- Once you select the printer you will notice that offline function is checked. Click on it an the printer goes back online. 3. Print a test page to see if the issue is resolved. I didn't have to reinstall the printer or update the drivers. True, for some old reason, when you share a printer using Window 7 it kicks the printer offline. Now, I'm not sure this is the solution but it is a great work around. Maybe MS will come out with a patch to correct this problem but from the print queue you have the ability to put an offline printer back online. The printer also retains its share permission as well so you don't have to remove the share capabilities from it to apply this fix. I hope this Helps God Bless

Hi, I've been having this problem for as long as this forum's had the original post and have tried most of the things mentioned. As someone else has stated they all appear to be temporary fixes and the problem keeps reoccuring suggesting it's a software issue. Any chance of a fix in an upcoming Windows Update?

hello, same problem happened to me yesterday, printer suddenly stop working (wirelessly) on my Windows7. In the Word document I was about to print, it says the printer is ready but when I clicked the print button, I got this message indicating printer cannot communicate with computer. I checked my printer's (Lexmark) network connection via my computer and via printer but it's fine, printer is connected to network. Then I tried uninstalling my printer's software on my computer and reinstalled it, but again it didn't work, it says printer cannot communicate with computer. So, I checked my firewall set up, but printer has full access. I checked updates to Windows7, but my computer is up to date. Please help.

I just figured out my offline printer problem. I have a wireless Lexmark Printer 4600 series. I have it wirelessly connected to my desktop upstairs. I also have a laptop which uses the same wireless network and it is connected to the printer as well. I just looked at my printer settings and it says under the sharing tab: You can share this printer with other computers on your network. The printer will NOT be available when the computer is sleeping or turned off. This is exactly what my problem was. I turned on my computer that has the wireless router and the printer went immediately on line and I was able to print. Now I just need to figure out why and how to set up my wireless printer to print from my laptop as well. I hope this helps others.

Hi, Just reset your all printer setting and start up.I think its really can work. http://www.uniquemarking.com/products/laser-marking-yag-2/

I had the same problem with my Windows 7 Pro desktop and a Brother MFC-7440N that had been working fine. The printer power was on and I could use it to scan, but the printer driver was showing as offline. I could print files and they would show up in the queue, but not actually print unless I rebooted the computer. Yes, during startup (before getting the CTRL-ALT-DEL prompt), files previously queued would suddenly start to print, but then once I logged in, the printer would show as Offline. My fix was to: 1. 'Remove Device' from 'Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Devices and Printers' (right-click on icon) 2. Select 'Add a Device'. My printer showed up in a list, double click on it, and voila, re-installed and now working fine as far as I can tell. Other information: My printer is setup with a static IP address. It responded to ping, telnet and http:// appropriately. My $0.02 Cheers, Tristan.

The only thing that would fix it for me was to turn SNMP off on the printer driver/properties and it stays online now. Andy Perfect Andy! Did this for all of the printers showing offline while using wireless and they all showed up online immediately. :)

I agree that Vivian does not have an answer here. I have the same problem on a network setup with 7 printers going offline. Win 7 64bit! SP1 seems to be the only change in my setup from original Win 7 install over a year ago and in some cases from date of release. This seems to be a bug to me and we need a windows update. Also there is no option to go back online when double clicking the printer to see whats printing ... connect and update driver are both grayed out.

i suppose thrs two things that should be tested. 1) allow guest to access network (without username & password should be able to access network) 2) change DNS (maybe its taking long time to find printer server) Add one Local default gateway in DNS & other Internet DNS let me add one more thing 1. In Windows 7 Control Panel 2. Select "Programs and Features" pane 3. Click "Turn Windows Features on or off" 4. Turn on the LPD protocol. with Regards.

I had the same problem and found by deleting the printer from list of available printers and then adding the printer again solved the problem :)

I had similar issue and discovered that on my network-attached printer I had different network mask that the one on the computer exhibiting this problem. I made my printer's static IP's mask match the mask on DHPC, i.e. on the local computer -- that fixed the issue.

Thank you ! it worked for me, although it wasn't easy to find how : for my printer I had to go to " HP OfficeJet Pro L7700 Serie Properties" (clic on "Customize your printer" in "Devices and Printers" from the Control Panel), then in the "Ports" tab, selected the Port with my IP adress and then clicked "Configure Port", then I was able to uncheck "SNMP Status Enabled" ! Thanks a lot Andy !

I had the same problem... This has something to do with security settings. Check if you can access other folders on the host where printer is installed. If Windows prompts you for the username and password simply enter it. Printer then appeared online. It worked for me. I need to check shared options to have a permanent solution.

Thank you andygee11!! After working on this problem all morning, disabling snmp did the trick for me.

I'd like to thank everybody on this forum for their suggestions. I was having almost the same problem as this. However only one of three Windows 7 clients was unable to print. They all were able to print when configured a year ago. However one started having the printing problem about two months ago. I'm using a Brother network printer. After a few moments of time, success occurred. Steps: Reinstalled printer driver - No Success (NS) Installed Win 7 (X64) SP1 - NS Reinstalled printer driver - NS (even though printer was found during install process, regardless of firewall settings) Switched the port to ensure it was going to the printer - NS In the process at several alternatives, turned off firewall (Comodo) entirely - NS Then installed printer driver via "New Printer", not via Brother install - Success !!! So far, so good. Have turned off SNMP according to some posts - still able to print. (Was able to do so even with SNMP enabled). Tags for the search engines : printer offline with Windows 7 even though other computers can print okay

This solution worked for me. Okidata C3530 MFP. Was working for several days, after long weekend printer was offline on all computers. Unchecked SNMP within printer settings and printer immediately can online. Good job Andy!

The only thing that would fix it for me was to turn SNMP off on the printer driver/properties and it stays online now. Andy Excellent advise Andy.... I have been trying for hours upon hours. I even unistalled and reinstalled the print drivers/software. Configured the port to deselect SNMP and the printer came online immediately... Thanks for the advise.

Hi, First, I would like to confirm how the printer is connected and what the model of the printer is. Please update the printer driver to latest version first. If it does not work, I suggest a System Restore: System Restore ============= 1. Click the Start Button, type "system restore" (without quotations) in the start search box and press enter. 2. Click "Choose a different point" and click next. 3. Check Show more restore points box. 4. Choose a date before this issue happening, and click Next. 5. Click Finish. If it persists, try removing and reinstalling this printer: 1. Click Start button and choose Devices and Printers. 2. Right click on the network printer and choose Remove printer. After that, add a printer again. Vivian Xing - MSFT FAIL!!! Thx alot Andy, you made my day!

Hi, If you face an offline error message with your network printer, you need to make sure that the printer is running and that all cables are secure. You have two options to turn off the offline mode. One is by changing the printer settings on the computer, and the other is by pressing the button on the printer. To change the settings of the printer, you need to select ‘Printers and Faxes‘ from Control Panel. Double-click on the printer you want to change to online from the displayed window. A pop-up window will open and you need to uncheck the ‘Printer Offline‘ option from the menu bar. http://printers.iyogi.com/help-support/network-printer-offline-windows-7.html Hope this information helps you.

That does not, in fact help, as the problem is with Windows 7, not the printer, and simply unchecking 'Printer Offline' won't help, else people would have already done that. Please read the other comments in this (or any) thread before responding.

The only thing that would fix it for me was to turn SNMP off on the printer driver/properties and it stays online now. Andy I had to first turn on SNMP in Windows Features. Once I did that, I had a SNMP checkbox in Configure Ports on the printer properties. The moment I unclicked that, the printer started printing. Thanks for a real fix in place of a useless MS drone response about System Restore (at least that's not as harmful as recommending reformatting the drive, as I've gotten more than once from these types). It's easy to see why these sorts of bugs persist in MS systems for years, when the same person who gives such a non-answer marks it as the answer.

Thank you so much Andy. Have Windows 7 on laptop, lexmark 7600 all in one. Worked like a charm.

This problem just reared up on several networks I manage. These are environments that have been running fine for more than a year, in some cases 3 years. The scenario exist in Windows SBS 2008 and Windows Server R2 domains. The problem only exists for Windows 7 clients both 32 and 64 bit Professional and Ultimate As of Oct 5th my network printers started showing off line on the servers. I go to the server, I remove and reinstall but that doesn’t solve the issue. I pulled all the drivers and reinstalled but that doesn't solve the issue either. Windows 7 clients have the same scenario except that if I remove the printer which is shared form the server and reinstall it to print directly the IP port, they work. However, they're not reliable. What I'm seeing is the Print Spooler service keeps crashing resulting in loss of connectivity to the printers. This is happening with all different printers from all different manufacturers. I have it with Epson, HP, Ricoh, Lexmark

After several aspirins and searching through the Internet. I think I found the answer to Windows 7 printer offline error. 1. goto devices and printers 2. Select the printer you are having problems with and right click on it and select "printer properties" 3. Select the ports tab 4. Select "configure port" 5. Uncheck "SNMP Status Enabled" and press ok. This resolved my printer offline problem.

Thanks. This method works. After several aspirins and searching through the Internet. I think I found the answer to Windows 7 printer offline error. 1. goto devices and printers 2. Select the printer you are having problems with and right click on it and select "printer properties" 3. Select the ports tab 4. Select "configure port" 5. Uncheck "SNMP Status Enabled" and press ok. This resolved my printer offline p

No, it doesn't: [Window Title] Configure Port [Main Instruction] An error occurred during port configuration. This operation is not supported. [OK]

Doesn't work for me either

It didnt work for me either...tried turning it off, still didnt print so I tried turning it back on and still nothing. Only happening for one computer for me right now, but it could become a huge issue if it isnt resolved. Is there anyway to mark this topic as not resolved and take Vivian's "answer" down so someone else will look at it?

After reading through this thread and other similar ones, I was able to resolve my issue after trying nearly every suggestion posted to no avail (unless you count the cheap and temporary band-aids such as system restore and/or reinstall of printers) - it turns out to be some sort of permissions issue that decides to rear its head at different times on different computers, perhaps after a specific update? My environment/Problem: All users on Windows 7 64bit SP1, old print server is Server 2003, new print server is Server 2008R2. Almost randomly, users would report not being able to print anymore - the easiest resolution for me would be install the printer locally, but this is obviously not ideal. On my personal computer, I was able to print for months to shared printers on both print servers, but recently all shared printers through both the 20003 server and the 2008r2 server went offline on my computer, although I could still print to any of those printers after installing them locally on my box. My fix: I made my user account a local admin on my 2008r2 server and now the printer shared through that server is online and works just fine. The same printer shared through the 2003 server, however, shows as offline still. Local admin rights, therefore, provides a satisfactory fix for me. This works as a resolution for my company as we can give users local admin rights for our new print server (it's dedicated for this purpose, unlike the 2003 server from which we're slowly migrating away as it did nearly everything at one point), but I'm sure there is a more specific permission that one of you can find to resolve the issue without giving basic users too much power. I hope this helps you, -Adam

I have same issue with my Samsung CLX-3700 printer, hooked up in my home network. Turning off SNMP works (well, for the timing being anyways). Here are the steps: 1. Open up your printer 2. In the "Printer" tab, pull down and click on "Properties" 3. Click on "Ports", and then click the "Configure Port" button (your network printer should already be highlighted as active) 4. Check off "SNMP Status Update" You will see your printer comes online. Everthing is there for a reason, so taking it off SNMP may have consequences that we don't know. Heck -- I actually work for Microsoft (not on the driver!) :(

Nothing in this thread up to this point worked for me. I'm not doing a system restore to fix a printer

Just because the Printer says Ready because you uncheck the SNMP box, does not mean the printer will print. This has never worked for me. Sometimes the issue is that the printer has a new IP address and that needs to be reset. I have a fairly new wireless all-in-one printer that always works (unless someone turns off the power and it gets a new IP address). Sometimes a wireless adapter is connected to the printer and that needs to be reset. I have an old HP LaserJet 4 that doesn't have wireless built-in. When using a wireless adapter I tried using a fixed IP address for the printer, but that didn't solve the problem of almost always needing to reset the wireless adapter. Seth Thomas

Why would you have a printer using DHCP ? Wireless printing is less than reliable anyway but adding DHCP to the mix is just poor design. That's like using DHCP on a server. Network devices should be configured in a way that if they get restarted, due to power issues or anything else, they come back up in a usable state. That's networking 101 or maybe even 100

Would love to be educated about the how to set up a printer without using DHCP. I did try a setup for the HP LaserJet 4 to use a manual IP address. That didn't solve the problem for me. Is there something else I can do other than DHCP or manual IP address?Seth Thomas

Seth, that's a topic for a different thread. But think about it. That's the same reason we disable keyboard and mouse checking on servers, so we can remotely restart them or so they come back up in the event that they do loose power. If you have a network printer, it's usually pretty clear how to assign a static IP. I'm not saying that will have anything at all to do with the problem discussed here but it's the difference between right and wrong. If it must be DHCP so some reason unknown to me then it should be a reserved address in the pool. Imagine a company with 100 network printers. If they all got a new IP address when the power failed how would anyone get any work done? If you care to share your email I'll elaborate further but this thread is not the place.

Codewize, So all you seem to be saying is to assign a static IP address instead of DHCP. I said in my original post that I tried that and it didn't help because the problem was the wireless adapter connected to the HP LaserJet which for some reason loses the connection and needs to be reset. There was no difference in behavior whether the printer was using a static IP address or DHCP. But agree that using a static IP address is advisable for printers. Seth Thomas

Turning of SNMP in the printer driver properties did it for me too. Let's see how long it lasts.

That SNMP "trick" (which by the way is on the Configure Ports tab of the Printer Properties dialog) seem to do the trick, thanks. Since it's intermittent we will have to wait and see. So strange that I used to print from a PC as far back as 1981: it was not fancy, it was not fast, it was not in color, it was not wireless..., but it worked 100% of the time... A.R.

Unchecking SMNP didn't work for me at first. I opened up the printer, then I clicked on "1 documents in queue" yours may vary if you sent a job or several jobs and they are stacked up for example. You can also get there from "See what's printing." So I went under the "Printer" menu tab selection and I noticed "Use Printer Offiline" was checked. I unchecked it, and all the sudden, my job kicked out without any hassle. I sent another job to confirm it and it worked fine. Also to give some technical background... I was loading the driver for my Brother IntelliFax 2820. Of course during the install shield it wants you to plug it into a USB port. So I did. But I want it networked so any computer can print to it. I have a HP JetDirect en1700 USB print server. It was worth every penny! HP rocks! So after installing the driver, I unplugged the USB cable and plugged it into the print server. That is when my problems started. Sure I got a few prints off of it and then it croaked or "stopped working." So I googled and found this blog, and with a little bit of everyone's input, I got the problem resolved: 1) Unchecked the SMNP for the port setting. 2) Unchecked "Use Printer Offline." Hopefully my experience can help others, because knowing where to look and what to do/try is half the battle.

I would really like to try unchecking SMNP but I get the same response as zdrawcke "Configure Port" leads to "An error occurred during port configuration. This operation is not supported." Seriously this is not an isolated problem here. I'm using a Windows 7 Home 64Bit. Brand New Vaio that has been printing fine in a workgroup environment since January 4 of this year. Anyone have the solution and not a band aid?

I'm at the point where I'm replacing printers. I have NOT had this issue with HP printers yet. SO everyone gets a new HP 1606. Problem solved! The HP 4000 previously mentioned in this thread isn't supported on Server 2008 or Windows 7 anyway so that's a moot point. Especially 64 bit

THANK YOU!!! Simple fix!

THANK YOU!!! Simple fix! What worked for you?

I would really like to try unchecking SMNP but I get the same response as zdrawcke "Configure Port" leads to "An error occurred during port configuration. This operation is not supported." Seriously this is not an isolated problem here. I'm using a Windows 7 Home 64Bit. Brand New Vaio that has been printing fine in a workgroup environment since January 4 of this year. Anyone have the solution and not a band aid? I'm getting the same message. Have you found any resolution? On another forum, someone mentioned they had to actually turn on SNMP from Windows Features to gain the check box to turn it off. I haven't given this a try yet.

It seems that unchecking SMNP only applies to a printer connected directly to the network, correct? My printers are connected to a host PC via USB, and neither has this option available. I found this registry solution on another thread; it's supposedly for systems running Windows Server, but I decided to give it a shot on my Windows 7 problem. Anyone else try this? So far so good, but I've been burnt before. ----------------- Hi, Thanks for posting in Microsoft TechNet Forum. First of all, please kindly refer to the following article to see if it could help you: A computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 intermittently cannot use a shared network printer to print If this issue persists, perform the following steps after backing up the registry 1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit , and then click OK . 2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print 3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. 4. Type SNMPLegacy, and then press ENTER. 5. Right-click SNMPLegacy, and then click Modify. 6. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK. Note:This hotfix does not work if the SNMPLegacy registry entry is set to 0. If this registry entry is set to 1, the print queue status is displayed as "Ready" instead of as "Offline" when a printer device does not respond to SNMP commands. 7. Exit Registry Editor. Hope it helps. Alex Zhao

Many thanks Tydacomputerguy; Your solution worked for me.

Thanks andy, you were sopt on - remove SNMP from the properties and all back on line.

This post such a waste of users time, irresponsible at best - follow Andy's advice

This post such a waste of users time, irresponsible at best - follow Andy's advice You're wrong. Andy's solution didn't work for several users here, including myself.

As a Network Adiministrator, I can tell you what is the cause and how to fix this issue. The cause is DHCP. Plain and Simple. Your computer is looking for the printer on the network with the IP address it was set up with. And now the DHCP has renewed the IP address lease and giving it a different IP address. There are two seneros: 1. Your printer is connected to a computer via USB. This printer is configured as Shared. DHCP changes the IP address of computer and now the printer also has a different location. Solution: Set computer with static IP address and in your router configure an IP address reservation for your computer with the same IP addrress. 2. Your Printer is connected to the network wirelessly. (Only cable out of your printer is power cord). You need to configure your printer with a static IP address in your printer. (This varies by model but you can access printer configurations via a browser or printer front panel) and you also need to configure IP address reservation in your wireless route with the same IP address as your printer. You can unplug all or lose all power and your printer will always be ready.

As a Network Administrator, I can tell you what is the cause and how to fix this issue. The cause is DHCP. Plain and Simple. Your computer is looking for the printer on the network with the IP address it was set up with. And now the DHCP has renewed the IP address lease and giving it a different IP address. There are two scenarios: 1. Your printer is connected to a computer via USB. This printer is configured as Shared. DHCP changes the IP address of computer and now the printer also has a different location. Solution: Set computer with static IP address and in your router configure an IP address reservation for your computer with the same IP address. 2. Your Printer is connected to the network wirelessly. (Only cable out of your printer is power cord). You need to configure your printer with a static IP address in your printer. (This varies by model but you can access printer configurations via a browser or printer front panel) and you also need to configure IP address reservation in your wireless route with the same IP address as your printer. You can unplug all or lose all power and your printer will always be ready. You're also wrong, we spent a bunch of time talking about DHCP. That's not the issue. I'm a 17 year network veteran. My printers are all configure with either static IP or reserved IP depending on the client and specific situations. Anyone who sets up a network printer with DHCP should be fired. I've probably forgotten more about TCP and IP than most people will ever know. Your small home network attitude / view on networking is not helpful. I have printers that have been on the network functioning for years with static IP and as I add Windows 7 clients to the network they do not stay connected. The solution is to replace all your printers with HP printer. For whatever reason I've never seen this problem occur with an HP device. This whole thing with SNMP is a workaround that works for some and not others. The real underlying reason for the failures is that the drives you're using for the failing devices are causing the print spooler on the Win 7 machines to crash. Then when you recover the print spooler, for whatever reason the printers in question don't reconnect and won't reconnect. I know this isn't really an answer but replacing the printer with a current HP model will in fact make your headaches go away.

Set to never Sleep or Hibernate. I've been having this problem for sometime now with one Windows 7 machine only. I was using a print server and the printer would go offline, so I connected the printer to another Windows 7 machine (which by the way never had a problem with the printer being offline)and the printer would still go offline. SNMP isn't there to uncheck and neither is offline printing. My son-in-law (who owns a computer business) told me it could be having the problem after coming out of "Sleep" or "Hibernate" mode. The Windows 7 machine that had printing problems was set to both sleep and hibernate. The Windows 7 machine that never had print problems was set to never sleep or hibernate, only a blank screen saver. The machine is now set to never sleep or hibernate and so far so good. I thought I'd throw this out because it had never been mentioned as a potential cause.

Set to never Sleep or Hibernate. I've been having this problem for sometime now with one Windows 7 machine only. I was using a print server and the printer would go offline, so I connected the printer to another Windows 7 machine (which by the way never had a problem with the printer being offline)and the printer would still go offline. SNMP isn't there to uncheck and neither is offline printing. My son-in-law (who owns a computer business) told me it could be having the problem after coming out of "Sleep" or "Hibernate" mode. The Windows 7 machine that had printing problems was set to both sleep and hibernate. The Windows 7 machine that never had print problems was set to never sleep or hibernate, only a blank screen saver. The machine is now set to never sleep or hibernate and so far so good. I thought I'd throw this out because it had never been mentioned as a potential cause. Hmmm I'll have to check that. Makes sense I've seen laptops have problems with wireless connections for the same reason. I'll check the settings, test the theory and report back.

I am having issues also, running Aficio NRG MPC3500 on PCL5c driver, networked printer with static IP, Nodes on Win7U. I have run through all of the 'fixes' on here and other forums. I find the whole "go get HP products" thing unhelpfull. I am currently IT support with only a few months experiance and limited knowledge from a home network (no servers P2P). In Devices and Printers Periodically the MPC3500 greys out and displays as offline. Heres what i have tried; -Reinstallation of printer (many times) -SNMP Deactivation -Altered Hibernation/Sleep options on printer and nodes The only logical option left is Spooling, Best hit the threads again this problem has stalled my developement for a week GRRRR FML F00k MS

Turning off hibernation / sleep has not made a difference for me. The computers in question already had those turned off and still do.

I have a Network Printer i.e Canon C2020 Model. I was ping the printer ip address 172.21.142.121. ping is reply. then after While I was given to print to the printer then print is working. I need a solution.

The only thing that would fix it for me was to turn SNMP off on the printer driver/properties and it stays online now. Andy Well done, Andy! That fix works on every Windows 7 machine on my network! Do you (or anyone here) have a clue as to why SNMP was the issue? Best regards, Paul

The only thing that would fix it for me was to turn SNMP off on the printer driver/properties and it stays online now. Andy Perfect Andy! Did this for all of the printers showing offline while using wireless and they all showed up online immediately. :) My printers are hard-wired, and the fix worked similarly.

I read this tread 2 months ago but nothing here help me, so i decide to open a case to MS. After 5mn the tech answer me that it is a KNOW problem with win7 x64 SP1. He provide me this as solution we applied this and so far so good :) 1. Try opening printers and devices and hitting F5 to refresh when they are showing offline and see if they return without a spooler restart (some customers have reported this works. While not a solution, we just need to confirm if this brings them online or not). 2. Disable Asynchronous RPC Client side key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\EnabledProtocols Type: DWORD Data: 6 Server side key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print REG Value: "DisableRpcTcp" REG_DWORD 1 3. Add the following registry key on clients (save in notepad with .reg extension and import): Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers] "DestinationReachablePollingInterval"=dword:00000005 This changes the spooler behavior for polling the print servers for the print queue status. Default is 30 seconds, this changes the polling to 5 seconds. 4. Please ensure we disable Client Side Rendering. There is information about this in the following page: http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/archive/2008/02/10/ws2008-client-side-rendering.aspx But all you really need to do is uncheck the Render Print Jobs on Client Computers checkbox under the printer properties for the printer. You can also disable CSR via group policy, you would need to enable the Always render print jobs on the server policy setting in the following Group Policy container: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Printers. We didnt apply the point 3 but we apply point 1-2-4 and we dont have this problem anymore.

Nikolas57, I have been fighting this issue for the last 2 months. My symptoms are exactly like you and Codewize describe. None of the fixes described earlier solve this problem, only temporary work arounds. Based on your post I searched for Disabling Asynchronous RPC and found a new Hotfix Rollup from Microsoft that may help others here with this issue. KB2647753 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2647753 dated March 14, 2012 describes correcting several printing related problems. I am applying the hotfix to a single workstation now to check the results. I will post back with status. ckidd

Nikolas57, I have been fighting this issue for the last 2 months. My symptoms are exactly like you and Codewize describe. None of the fixes described earlier solve this problem, only temporary work arounds. Based on your post I searched for Disabling Asynchronous RPC and found a new Hotfix Rollup from Microsoft that may help others here with this issue. KB2647753 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2647753 dated March 12, 2012 describes correcting several printing related problems. I am applying the hotfix to a single workstation now to check the results. I will post back with status. ckidd

As soon as I did turn off the SNMP it started printing straight away, great fix! Thanks heaps. Was a bit difficult to find. Had to click on printer and then configure ports. Once I could see the right printer port, under port settings it shows SNMP status enabled. I de-selected it and it started almost immediatley after hitting apply. Cheers

For what it is worth, un-checking "SNMP Status Enabled" worked for my situation as well. Issue: Printer would go offline even though it was available online and others around the office could print. My Setup: Windows 7 Pro Printer Konica Minolta BizHub 350/250/200Static IP address Here is what my screens looked like. Find this one under port configuration. User is limited on desktop PC

For what it's worth I've actually found something that worked for me with some Lexmark devices. Log into the printer WEBUI Disable SNMP totally. Unchecking the box in the printer properties doesn't seem to change or do anything for me. Make the user or users have permission the the print spooler process. Restart the computer This is the only complete resolution That I've found that works for more than a day.