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I want to remove/delete printer/driver from Windows 7, and unable to find any documentation.

Anonymous
2010-05-27T13:20:50+00:00

New DELL computer Windows 7 (less than 30 days old), and want to remove/delete persistant printer/driver.

Was not able to find any documentation on the issue, and neither DELL nor Microsoft are willing to provide any kind of support unless its paid for a product/service that is less than 30 days old.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-06-19T11:22:13+00:00

    OK, I have found the solution to this problem... the info above is correct as far as it goes, but in my case there was (a) no option to clear the print queue on two 'ghost' printers because they were disconnected and unavailable, so no option for the print queue was displayed, and (b) one was shared on the network and had a TCP/IP printer port assigned to it.

    Here's how I did it, step-by-step:

    1. right-click on desktop, create a new shortcut with target as 'cmd.exe'.
    2. right-click on the shortcut, "Run as Administrator"
    3. Run the printui tool:  printui /s /t2
    4. Try deleting the printers. If that doesn't work...
    5. CLick Start > Run > Services.msc
    6. Locate the Print Spooler service, and right-click > Properties > stop service.
    7. Open My Computer and browse to c:\Windows\System32\spool\Printers

    (you will need to say "oK" to get access to the folder).

    1. DELETE the contents of that folder.
    2. Restart the Print Spooler service.
    3. Go back into the printui utillity (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.
    4. Last but not least, I checked other computers on my home network to see if any of those had mapped to the old printer, and I removed those mappings, as the date of spooled documents suggested it was printed to long after it was physically removed.

    100+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2010-06-02T22:13:48+00:00

    You can remove print drivers that are not associated with a local printer or connection using the printui.exe tool

    in an admin elevated command prompt type

    printui /s /t2

    Be sure to remove the driver AND the package.

    Alan Morris Windows Printing Team; Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here: http://support.microsoft.com/search/Default.aspx?adv=1

    40+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2010-05-27T14:43:41+00:00

    So if you enter 'Printers' in the search programs and files, and select Devices and Printers, the printer you want to remove isnt there?

    Its also the case that many printer makers have a utility to remove their software / drivers

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2011-12-23T01:46:51+00:00

    THANK YOU!!  You saved me from buying a new printer!!!  I am so excited. :)

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2010-05-27T17:09:11+00:00

    I had installed these printers, but now I no longer want them, so I tried to remove them. When I select to remove them Windows 7 no longer displays them, however when I reboot they reappear grayed out. There is just no way I can remove/delete old printer/drivers -very frustrating.

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