Finding Hidden Printers

Katie Lacy 1 Reputation point
2022-05-11T13:34:56.82+00:00

Our in-house computer program (Epicor Eagle) is finding printers that claim to be on windows (middle window pictured below). As you can see Windows doesn't have any record of these printers. These printers were previously installed locally or from a network device on the computer but are since gone. I've spoke with tech support on our Epicor end and he seems to think its windows harboring old information. Any ideas where these devices could possibly be stored besides Print Management, Settings, or Device Manager? I've also made sure all the old ports were deleted and I've deleted/uninstalled every printer/driver on the computer besides the three that are circled.

201093-ghost-printers.jpg

Windows Server Printing
Windows Server Printing
Windows Server: A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.Printing: Printer centralized deployment and management, scan and fax resources management, and document services
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  1. Michael Obermayr 81 Reputation points
    2022-05-11T13:53:56.757+00:00

    As "\" might be a sign for shared printers, i'd guess someone has activated the share option after installing the printer. The "OneNote for Windows 10"-Entry shows you have either an installed copy of "OneNote for Windows 10" or, if already uninstalled, a leftover registry-key active. About the NPID-Printers, they have been installed locally and can be uninstalled via appwiz.cpl, if you have installed HP's software suite.

    If i have misunderstood your question don't hesitate to tell me, we are all humans.

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  2. Katie Lacy 1 Reputation point
    2022-05-11T13:57:50.463+00:00

    Yes those \ printers were shared at one point but have be uninstalled on the shared PC as well as the local PC in the screenshot. You're on the right track. I'm looking for the printers listed in the center of the screen with the ? in windows so I can delete/uninstall them so they are not listed anymore.

    I can't uninstall the HP suite forever as all of our printers are HP. I've uninstalled HP software suite temporarily in hopes of those shared printers disappearing, but they didn't.

    I've revisited the issue with Epicor to see exactly where this data is coming from in hopes of looking there.

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  3. Michael Obermayr 81 Reputation points
    2022-05-11T14:45:29.947+00:00
    • After uninstalling the printers, have you restarted your system?
    • It's possible the manufacturer for your software stores old printer connections in a file
    • The screenshot with Print Management window shows a Windows Server environment or a client?
    • Have you uninstalled the printer's drivers?
    • What did you change until your issue happened?
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  4. Katie Lacy 1 Reputation point
    2022-05-11T17:56:39.637+00:00

    Found leftover data in the Registry, thats where the printer names were showing up from.

    When the old printers were deleted or uninstalled, their data wasn't deleted in the registry.

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