In this post we will take a look at some common printer problems in Windows 8 and how to fix them. We have set out two common scenarios that you may experience and what steps you should take to address your Windows 8 printer issues.

Scenario 1-   You print a file. The printer starts makes some noise, the lights starts blinking and nothing prints

Scenario 2 – You print a file but nothing happens 

The above mentioned scenarios are common and the reason for these problems varies from power failure to connectivity issues to a print spooler issue or wrong printer selection in the Operating System.  Let’s take a look at the troubleshooting steps one at a time.

Printer Drivers Download & Updates

Check the printer’s power connection 

Make sure the printer is receiving power supply and there are no blinking lights on the printer which generally indicate a hardware issue.

Check for physical issues in printer

With most printers, you will see an amber light flashing if there is any problem with the printer. The problem can be a cartridge jam, paper jam, cartridge dried out, out of paper, or front and rear covers not properly closed.  Rectify any issue you find.

Check connecting cables

Remove connecting cables from both ends of the printer and connect them again. If the printer uses a USB connection, try connecting to a different USB port.  If the printer is connected through a network, find the IP address and try pinging to check the connectivity. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Move the mouse pointer to bottom left corner of the screen to launch the Charms bar
2. Move the mouse pointer upwards and click Settings
3. Click Devices and Printers
4. You will see a list of installed printers. Right-click on the printer (for which you want to know IP address)
5. Select Printer properties from the menu and not the Properties that is last in the menu
6. In the Printer Properties window, go to Ports tab
7. You will see a tick against the network printer in the list. You may see an IP near the printer name but that might not be the real IP, it might be the Port name
8. Click Configure port
9. You will now see the actual IP address of the printer in the IP address field
10. Note down the IP address
11. Go to command prompt through Search Charms
12. Type “ping 00.00.00” where 00.00.00.00 is the IP address of the printer
13. You should get a successful reply which indicates proper connectivity between the network printer and computer.

If the connection is fine, but the problem is not resolved, you can try restarting print spooler service by following the steps given below.

Restart the Print spooler service 

1. Go to Search Charms
2. Type services.msc
3. Open Services and locate Print Spooler
4. If the Service Status mentions Stopped state,  click Start
5. Select “Automatic” in Startup Type
6. Click OK